Smog and Mirrors: China's Plan for a Green Olympics

"China won its bid for the 2008 games in part by vowing to put on a "Green Olympics" — a symphony of clean tech and energy efficiency that would do Greenpeace proud."

"Lovely stuff, long overdue. And, this being the Olympics, there's also plenty of showboating. The new national stadium — dubbed the Bird's Nest — is rigged with an intricate rainwater-capture system to feed the infield grass. The bubbly blue National Aquatics Center — better known as the Water Cube — is wrapped in a high-efficiency thermal polymer skin. The Olympic Village is being outfitted with solar-powered showers. A fleet of electric buses is on the way, along with 3,000 lithium-ion garbage trucks. Even grim old Tiananmen Square, 5 miles due south, now boasts energy-efficient streetlights."

http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/m...08/ff_pollution

 

Still, was blown away by the sheer scope of the beginning of cleanup in China, I mean 3000 li-ion garbage trucks, there goes the lithium. It takes tremendous manpower and cheap labor to accomplish this on such a large scale. Unfortunately, it's starting to look like those pictures in LA/OC area of California. More blue sky, for now, but have noticed year by year the smog closing in. Thankfully, California is also being aggressive about environmental practices.