中国与世界，环境危机大家谈 WHERE CHINA AND THE WORLD DISCUSS THE ENVIRONMENT
January 08, 2010
A Chinese environmental update
A seam of coal formed in China 250 million years ago -- during the worst extinction event on record -- may be responsible for unusually high lung-cancer rates among women in part of Yunnan province. Wired said researchers have proposed a link between silica particles in the coal, the “great dying” and carcinogens inhaled when the coal is burned.
As oil and gas pipelines are quickly extended to meet fuel demands, China will face increasing threats to its environment, territorial safety and energy security, China Daily reported, quoting energy experts. Meanwhile, severe winter weather has put pressure on fuel supplies in parts of the country, according to SINA.
China and Canada have signed a deal that will see PetroChina investing US$1.7 billion in two Canadian tar-sands deposits in Alberta, United Press International said.
A severe drought around the Yangtze River has caused the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir to remain lower than the anticipated 175-metre level, potentially complicating power generation, farming and navigation plans, Xinhua reported.
Genetically modified rice cleared for commercial sale could be growing on Chinese farms as early as next year, New Scientist said, making China the first country to allow commercial cultivation of GM rice strains.
In the years since China announced a moratorium on creating golf courses, their number has nearly tripled, according to the Financial Times. Few people play the game – considered elitist and environmentally unfriendly – but it is a vital part of Hainan province’s development.
The Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway, arguably the world’s fastest train journey at a speed of 350 kilometres per hour, has begun operations, said China Daily.
Unease about the rising cost of flats is growing in many Chinese cities, fuelling fears of a property bubble. According to the Financial Times, nothing screams “Dubai” more than a seven-star hotel and indoor ski slope that are part of plans for a luxury complex in Tianjin.
More than 100 workers at a lighting factory in the Pearl River delta have suffered suspected mercury poisoning, Reuters reported, while CNN said 51 children living near a battery factory in Jiangsu province were found to have high levels of lead in their blood.
A Shanghai dairy company and three of its executives have been arrested for selling milk products tainted with the chemical melamine, a case that was kept from the public for a year, Sohu.com reported.
Prepared in cooperation with PACE
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