ACTION NOW: Residents of Zaoying Beili Residential Community, Beijing, learn to sort rubbish at an education campaign on April 11 (GONG LEI)

Garlic Price Fixing

The price of garlic has leapt a hundred times in a year. Its rocketing price is somewhat related to shrinking production, but this is not the reason for the enormous price hike. Even if production had dropped by half, the price should have only doubled.

Though new garlic is going on sale, retailers predict the high price will remain even if garlic is already more expensive than pork. The reason is this year's garlic crop had already been purchased by speculators at high prices even before the harvest. Meanwhile, speculators with idle funds have spared no efforts to push up garlic prices.

As garlic is one of the daily necessities, crazy price rises hurt average consumers' interests. The government should not turn a blind eye to this dangerous trend as, in this case, self-adjustment of the market alone won't work. The government must intervene. To invest more and give timely information to farmers will help to balance garlic supply and demand. What's more important is to crack down on speculative hoarding.

Garlic is only one kind of agricultural produce whose price is being deliberately pushed up by hot money. Speculators, once they have made huge profits, will soon withdraw their money and, in this way, farmers' losses will be unavoidable. To prevent disastrous consequences, it's time for the government's intervention.

Yanzhao Metropolis Daily

Conservation, Not Run-off

Several provinces in south China have been plagued by rainstorms and floods for quite a while, with city streets submerged in deep water.

It's not only extreme weather, but also poor urban drainage systems that should be blamed for so many cities being drenched in water. But is to guide rainwater out of the city really the best thing to do? Many Chinese cities, especially big cities like Beijing and Guangzhou, are water-thirsty. The problem is, on one hand, they are trying to get water and, on the other, they are wasting rainwater, an important water source.

Statistics show in 2004 alone, rainwater in Chinese cities totaled 260 billion cubic meters. How much of this huge amount of water was effectively used?

In Japan, for example, underground flood retention and water storage pools have been built extensively in cities, and the stored water is used to wash streets and water plants, among other applications.

Thus rainstorms are not doomed to be disasters. With proper strategy, we can change harmful objects into useful resources. To achieve this, we need special laws and regulations that limit the use of cement and pitch on city streets. Besides, there should be sufficient underground water storage facilities.

The Beijing News

Sorting out Garbage

The amount of urban rubbish grows at a rate of 10-15 percent year on year in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province. The city's No.1 Garbage Plant is already operating beyond its capacity. The No.2 Plant is under construction and soon the No.3 Plant will be on the way—or the city might be buried in rubbish.

Rubbish has been a global headache for many years, but most of developed countries have solved the problem. Their countermeasures include landfill, burning and sorting it.

The first option is not only expensive but changes vast areas into landfill sites, and therefore harms the environment. To burn garbage not only wastes land but also needs huge capital input and triggers the risk of secondary pollution. Nowadays, classification and then recycling are widely adopted in many countries. With successful solutions already around the globe, China is still troubled by accumulating garbage. Why can't we turn to this low-cost and highly efficient garbage treatment method?

If the nation is taught to sort rubbish, under government guidance, and then gradually develops the habit of doing it, China can surely avoid mistakes developed countries made in the first days of garbage treatment.

Qilu Evening News

Charging for Congestion

Qiu Baoxing, Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, recently suggested charging congestion fees to ease heavy traffic in Beijing. He said economic means would be the most effective solution to the traffic problems in downtown metropolises.

In theory, charging congestion fees can increase costs of those car owners entering downtown areas of a city, which may lead to smaller car inflows and ease traffic pressure.

But the reality is not always that simple. First, the standard of charging is hard to set. With low charges, there will be no effect; but high charges will be opposed by the public. Second, adding staff and facilities for fee collection will cause more pressure on traffic.

London has, since 2003, charged a congestion fee for vehicles entering the inner city. But London's success in cutting traffic in the city center was based on large numbers of free parking spaces in areas for urban-rural connection transport that Beijing lacks.

Therefore, the solution should be building park-and-ride lots near main subway stations in suburban areas and expanding coverage of public transportation, such as subways.

Youth Times