The Environment and China (through my camera lens)

Two cups of REAL coffee later...you're getting more updates today then the entire trip (brought to you by Starbucks). Below are some of the "environmental" things that I have noticed during my trip.

Solar heated water. In our hotel our (electric) water heater only turns on when we are actually using it; it does not store heated water.

Apparently, Coke is a Climate Friendly Company...according to their sign. This was taken at one of the Olympic venues. Beijing set out to host the first "Green" Olympics". I guess their sponsors are also jumping on board.

Less litter because of this trashcan in the park?



Smog Reduction...These pictures were taken 14 days and 5 days before the Olympics respectively. They were both taken from Tienanmen Square. This is pretty incredible. The smog reduction is probably due to many factors including the weather (it had rained a few days before the second picture), alternation of cars by even/odd license plates (excluding taxis and buses), and shut down of factories.

Even though cars are being added to the roads at a rapid rate, bicycle travel is still abundant. Many people have traditional bikes, but there are some motorized bikes (which still use less gasoline than cars).

All clothing is lined dried. I see clothes hanging in front of every shop and home. They save energy by using the sun's rays instead of a dryer.

I don't have a picture, but Walmart uses resuable shopping bags. One of the Olympic Merchandise stores had a sign that read "Please Save the Environment, bring your own bag" and they did not have any plastic bags in the store.