 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Energy And Pollution Woes Need Urgent Attention In China
Beijing (AFP) July 10, 2007 China's Premier Wen Jiabao has reiterated that China needs to urgently face the challenges of climate change by curtailing its polluting inefficiencies, a government statement said Tuesday. "Cutting energy consumption and pollutant emissions and dealing with climate change are urgent, critically important tasks," Wen said in remarks posted on the central government's website. Wen was speaking Monday at the inaugural meeting of a high-level task force set up to research China's response to climate change, the statement said. The task force has been charged with setting and implementing policy to address global warming and the nation's worsening environment, the statement said. No concrete initiatives were put forward at the meeting, according to the statement. The Chinese government had set a five-year goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent by 2010, but has fallen far short of its goals as the economy roared ahead last year at 10.7 percent. Energy consumption fell only 1.23 percent last year, less than one third of the stated annual goal of four percent. China also missed last year's targets to reduce by two percent emissions of major air and water pollutants, as levels instead rose by almost two percent. Last week a senior planning official warned that double-digit economic growth was making it difficult to reach the targets as fast-paced growth, largely fueld by coal burning. "If this situation is not turned around quickly, then we will not only miss our energy saving task for this year, but the overall goal for the five-year period will be difficult to realise," state press quoted vice planning chief Xie Zhenhua as saying.
Source: Agence France-Presse Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
Rats Not Welcome As They Flee Flooded Homes In China
Beijing (AFP) July 11, 2007Two billion rats that have fled their flooded homes are on the march in central China, destroying farmland and posing a health risk to humans, state press reported Wednesday. The rats have spread out across 20 counties in central Hunan province, gnawing on crops and roots as they search for new homes, the China Daily said. Locals have launched a massive counter-attack, beating rats to death with shovels and spreading out loads of poison. One district reported that residents there had killed 2.3 million rats alone, according to the paper. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement |
