Chinese Clean-up

The efforts to make Beijing cleaner are underway and they seem to be making only a minimal impact on the "fog" that hangs over the city and the games. The Minister of Environmental Protection announced yesterday new regulations to close down additional factories, steel plants, and coal-fired power plants if the air quality does not improve. Further measures include taking more cars off the road and possibly stopping additional construction. While these efforts are needed, long-term solutions are the more important goal and as someone who has witnessed first hand the conditions in Beijing, I applaud any long-term strategies that can make the air and living conditions better for all the city residents.
Gil-