Home
» City specials
» Hangzhou
Naming and shaming stinkers
By Dai Yiyun |
October 30, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A 70-year-old bicyclist is pursuing smoke-belching vehicles and naming and shaming offenders in a blacklist of 100 stinkers. The city applauds. Dai Yiyun reports.
Chasing by bicycle after a bus that billows black smoke and jotting down the plate number, 70-year-old Wang Hongsheng has drawn up a blacklist of high-pollution vehicles in Hangzhou.
He has been at it since June, for 100 days, and has noted 100 vehicles.
He turned over his list over to the Hangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau, which has praised him, taken action and called for more volunteer pollution spotters.
Wang is still at it.
Eating exhaust, however, is not an easy job, or a healthy one for Wang who is dedicated to biking as it's eco-friendly and good exercise.
"I ride my bike wherever I go, I never take public transport," says Wang.
His determination and endurance are extraordinary - for his age.
"The furthest I rode was 15 kilometers, which was exhausting," he says.
Sometimes when he rides behind a bus belching exhaust he has to hold his breath, pedal ahead or detour to avoid the toxic pollution.
"I was riding near a bus station and an old bus was pouring out smoke like a chimney. People everywhere were coughing. I got angry."
So Wang decided to list all the big polluters, mainly buses, and give them a warning.
It's tough to keep pedaling and watching, while taking out a pen and pad and jotting down the plate number.
"Sometimes by the time I take out my pad the bus has passed and I have to follow it to the next stop so I can see the number clearly," he says.
Wang has to go that extra mile, but he doesn't mind.
"Being pro-environment is not about words, it's about action and everybody should start from the tiniest thing.
"Smoke is bad for health so I want everyone to pay attention to air pollution."
Of all the 100 vehicles, he noted, 49 come from buses No. 49, 21 and 89, and 51 come from other coaches and private cars.
Wang made two nonscientific tables, indicating the level of pollution, from one X to XXXX, four Xs being the worst.
The four-Xs vehicles account for around one-quarter, and three-Xs vehicles represent around a half.
These days most vehicles in Hangzhou have been labeled as "eco-friendly," but some buses clearly haven't met the standard.
"I genuinely hope the situation will change," says Wang.
Vehicle pollution contains carbon monoxide, oxynitride, hydrocarbons and particulate that cause great harm to the health, especially the respiratory system, says Zhu Bin, deputy director of the Hangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau.
"What Wang has done needs publicizing."
Wang has been asked to join a bureau-sponsored training course, and volunteers are joining Wang with pen and pad to identify polluters.
"Professionally speaking, Wang's act needs improvement. The polluting vehicles should be reported immediately, not several months later," says Li Daohu, deputy chief of the Inspection and Monitoring Branch of the Environmental Protection Bureau's Vehicle Emissions Department.
Since 2005, the bureau has organized volunteer teams to report high-polluting vehicles.
The reporting hotline is 8831-8153.
"When you see buses letting out smoke, you should follow for 30 or 40 meters to see if it is really a polluting bus. Sometimes the smoke is caused by a sudden press on the accelerator, but the bus does continuously pollute."
Sometimes the smoke is caused by mechanical problems, some by improper operations. All factors should be taken into consideration, says Li.
Hangzhou has a strict emission standard for vehicles, and it aims to quickly eliminate buses that fail the test.
"We will watch out for polluting vehicles and cooperate with traffic police to inspect high-emission vehicles," says Li.
"If a car is below standard, we issue a citation and order the problem be corrected," he says. "Citizens should not worry about air quality. Vehicle pollution will be strictly limited."
Chasing by bicycle after a bus that billows black smoke and jotting down the plate number, 70-year-old Wang Hongsheng has drawn up a blacklist of high-pollution vehicles in Hangzhou.
He has been at it since June, for 100 days, and has noted 100 vehicles.
He turned over his list over to the Hangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau, which has praised him, taken action and called for more volunteer pollution spotters.
Wang is still at it.
Eating exhaust, however, is not an easy job, or a healthy one for Wang who is dedicated to biking as it's eco-friendly and good exercise.
"I ride my bike wherever I go, I never take public transport," says Wang.
His determination and endurance are extraordinary - for his age.
"The furthest I rode was 15 kilometers, which was exhausting," he says.
Sometimes when he rides behind a bus belching exhaust he has to hold his breath, pedal ahead or detour to avoid the toxic pollution.
"I was riding near a bus station and an old bus was pouring out smoke like a chimney. People everywhere were coughing. I got angry."
So Wang decided to list all the big polluters, mainly buses, and give them a warning.
It's tough to keep pedaling and watching, while taking out a pen and pad and jotting down the plate number.
"Sometimes by the time I take out my pad the bus has passed and I have to follow it to the next stop so I can see the number clearly," he says.
Wang has to go that extra mile, but he doesn't mind.
"Being pro-environment is not about words, it's about action and everybody should start from the tiniest thing.
"Smoke is bad for health so I want everyone to pay attention to air pollution."
Of all the 100 vehicles, he noted, 49 come from buses No. 49, 21 and 89, and 51 come from other coaches and private cars.
Wang made two nonscientific tables, indicating the level of pollution, from one X to XXXX, four Xs being the worst.
The four-Xs vehicles account for around one-quarter, and three-Xs vehicles represent around a half.
These days most vehicles in Hangzhou have been labeled as "eco-friendly," but some buses clearly haven't met the standard.
"I genuinely hope the situation will change," says Wang.
Vehicle pollution contains carbon monoxide, oxynitride, hydrocarbons and particulate that cause great harm to the health, especially the respiratory system, says Zhu Bin, deputy director of the Hangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau.
"What Wang has done needs publicizing."
Wang has been asked to join a bureau-sponsored training course, and volunteers are joining Wang with pen and pad to identify polluters.
"Professionally speaking, Wang's act needs improvement. The polluting vehicles should be reported immediately, not several months later," says Li Daohu, deputy chief of the Inspection and Monitoring Branch of the Environmental Protection Bureau's Vehicle Emissions Department.
Since 2005, the bureau has organized volunteer teams to report high-polluting vehicles.
The reporting hotline is 8831-8153.
"When you see buses letting out smoke, you should follow for 30 or 40 meters to see if it is really a polluting bus. Sometimes the smoke is caused by a sudden press on the accelerator, but the bus does continuously pollute."
Sometimes the smoke is caused by mechanical problems, some by improper operations. All factors should be taken into consideration, says Li.
Hangzhou has a strict emission standard for vehicles, and it aims to quickly eliminate buses that fail the test.
"We will watch out for polluting vehicles and cooperate with traffic police to inspect high-emission vehicles," says Li.
"If a car is below standard, we issue a citation and order the problem be corrected," he says. "Citizens should not worry about air quality. Vehicle pollution will be strictly limited."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
