英闻天下——126 Pollutant Surge The Major Cause of Smog

 　　Authorities in Beijing have now dropped the yellow alert for smog.

 

　　The PM 2.5 index in the capital is now sitting at around 100.

 

　　While still above the Chinese government's safety standard of 75, the PM 2.5 count is down significantly from the near one-thousand levels reached on Saturday.

 

　　A yellow alert still remains¹ in effect for a number of areas outside Beijing.

 

　　The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau says a spike² in emissions³ is the main cause of the dangerous conditions the past few days.

 

　　Zhang Dawei is the director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center.

 

　　"A surge in the emissions of pollutants⁴ including that from fire coal, motor vehicle, industrial production as well as dust is the prime cause of the build up of pollution this time. Beijing is a mega city, a large number of pollutants are discharged everyday. Under an unfavorable weather condition, the pollution can be trapped and the air quality will get worse. "

 

　　Municipal authorities in Beijing brought in steps to try to deal with the problem, temporarily shutting down 58 high-polluting operations, including automaker Hyundai's manufacturing plant.

 

　　At the same time, the authorities ordered 30-percent of government vehicles off the road.

 

　　Data released by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau contends around one-fourth of the air pollution in the capital is generated from Beijing's neighbors.

 

　　Hao Xiaoxia is the director of the Green Beagle Environment Institute, which is a Beijing-based environmental protection NGO.

 

　　"There is a poverty-stricken area and an economic zone around Beijing. To control pollution in the city, Beijing has moved its factories to these places, and pollutants from these factories can be blown back into the capital. I went to a small county of Baoding once; it has a paper mill and a quarry⁵ yard. You can even smell the stink⁶ in the air."

 

　　Zhu Tong is the Dean of College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Peking University.

 

　　He says the problem of rampant⁷ air pollution won't be solved through peace-meal solutions.

 

　　"To tackle the problem, authorities need to identify the sources of pollution, be it vehicle exhaust fumes⁸ or industrial emissions. The pollution control plan will only be effective when authorities take actions to roll out coordinated⁹ response. In the long term, cities need to change their power consumption model. Currently most of cities in the northern region rely on coal for heating and industrial productions, which can lead to heavy pollution."

 

　　Vice-Premier Ki Keqiang is on record saying the authorities are planning to strengthen the enforcement of environmental laws and beef up measures to tackle air pollution.

 

　　China consumed 3.7 billion tons of coal in 2011, which is almost half of the world's total coal consumption.

 

　　The figure is expected to hit 4.3 billion tons by 2015.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

3 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

4 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

6 stink   

vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。
• The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

7 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

8 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

9 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法