OPINION> Chen Weihua
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OPINION> Chen Weihua
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Hazy car culture erodes green Earth
By Chen Weihua (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-25 08:07 If green is the new gold for many people in the world, the favorite color in Shanghai would be anything that is hazy, like the obscure sky in the city.
Which is why the 40th World Earth Day last Wednesday went totally unnoticed in the metropolis, while the Chinese Grand Prix and Auto Shanghai 2009 ignited a public frenzy. The thousands of cars leaving the Shanghai circus after the Formula One race caused an hour-long jam last Sunday. And, last Wednesday, 68,000 visitors flocked the auto show on its first public day, all trying get a peek at the posh cars and foxy women leaning on the sedans. The two auto events have become the darling of local news media as well, with TV stations scheduling special programs devoted to them every evening. Carmakers, many albeit struggling on the verge of bankruptcy, still squander money for airtime, betting on a fast emerging maniacal Chinese car culture as their savior from the ongoing recession. It is a car culture that turned the country from a bike kingdom to the world's top auto market in the first quarter of this year, overriding the United States. On the other hand, the Earth Day arrived like an ugly duckling, receiving no media coverage. No city leaders seem to be interested in any Earth Day event, after meeting top executives of auto companies. It seems that Shanghai made a solemn choice and declaration last week. The city is starting an intense love affair with four-wheel gas-guzzlers. And Shanghai cares more about cars than about our periled mother earth. This is in total disregard of the fact that the growing number of cars has destroyed air quality, causing all sorts of health hazards, from high blood lead levels among children to more incidences of lung cancer among adults. Air pollution was also cited as a major cause for some 100,000 sterile men in Shanghai. Currently, 80 percent of the urban air pollution in the city is contributed by car exhaust. It is also despite the fact that the 2.4 million cars in Shanghai have aggravated traffic congestions and caused more than 1,000 deaths each year, while more subways in service have created a rapid and convenient public transit network.
Some people have already called it immoral or criminal to drive in a city, which has convenient public transport. But in Shanghai, the romance with cars is simply a temptation irresistible. It will be a dangerous romance though when many more cars hit the road after a 15-year-old car license plate auction system is phased out once the World Expo in 2010 draws to a close. None of the city leaders seem to have enough guts now to talk about imposing a congestion charge system that Shanghai has been studying since 2001. "The technical aspect of the plan is as sophisticated and feasible as those in London and Singapore. It just needs the political will of city leaders to execute the plan," a Tongji University professor, who has been involved in the plan, told me. While most adults believe that automobiles will help make Shanghai a better city, with a better life, hundreds of children at Shanghai Rainbow Bridge International School clearly disagree. They will hold an Earth Day party in the Shanghai Zoo today, with various cultural and art performances, promoting recycling and environment awareness. These children are going to send a clear message to those addicted to cars: They don't want to inherit from us an Earth with a hazy sky. chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily 04/25/2009 page4) |
