NoQuickFixforChina'sAir January15Tocontrolthepollutionthat'schokingBeijing,demolitionsquadsrecentlyswoopeddownonthisindustrialcitylocatedtwohoursawaybycarandcrippledabatchofcoal-burningsteelworks.TVcamerascaughttheofficiallysanctionedsaboteursdismantlingmassivepiecesofequipmentinoutdatedsteelfacilitiesthathadlongresistedernmentorderstoclose.Somereportssaytheyusedexplosivestoblowupboilersinwhatwasdubbed'OperationSunday.'Themessagetolocalofficialswhoareoftencomplicitwithownersofpollutingfactories,manyofthembigtaxpayers:getseriousabouttheurbanAsChina'sairpollutionindexeshitrecordhighs,it'seasytoconcludethatthecountry'scentralernmentlacksresolveindealingwiththeButthemilitary-styleoperationinTangshansuggeststheoppositeistrue.Infact,ateamofscientistsandengineersfromHarvardUniversityintheU.S.andseveraltopChineseinstitutions,includingTsinghuaUniversity,saythatChina'sairqualityisgettingworsedespitedraconianeffortstoeliminatesourcesofpollution.And,evenastheskiesoverBeijingandothermajorcitiescontinuetodarken,theseexpertscredittheernmentwithsomeofthemostsuccessfulpollutionabatementprogramsinTheconclusiontheyreachisatroublingonebothforChinaanditsneighbors,includingJapanandSouthKorea,whichstandintheexhauststreamofChina'sroaringindustrialengine:ThebesteffortsofChineseauthoritiestocombatpollutionare

beinerwhelmedbythesheerpaceofeconomicexpansioninthecountry.Inshort,thesescientistssay,therearenoquickoreasyfixes.'There'snothingirrationalabouttheclaimthatChinahasbeenverysuccessfulatcertaintypesofpollutioncontrol,'saysChrisNielsen,theexecutivedirectoroftheChinaProjectatHarvard'sSchoolofEngineeringandAppliedThefactthatthissuccesshasn'timmediaytranslatedintobluerskiesshowthat'theseareextraordinarilycomplexproblems,'heargues.Bruteforce,exemplifiedbytheTangshandemolitionraids,isabeguilingoptionforChinesepoliticianseagertodemonstrateprogressagainstpollutiontoanincreasinglyangryandimpatientAirpollutionisnowthefourth-biggesthealththreattoChinesepeople,accordingtoastudypublishedlastyearintheLancet,aBritishmedicaljournal.About1.2millionpeoplediedprematurelyinChinain2010asaresultofairpollution,thestudyshowed.Chineseernmentdatashowthatlungcancerisnowtheleadingcauseofdeathfrommalignanttumors.Tangshanisgroundzerointhisescalatinghealthcrisis.Oagelastyear,theairbreathedbyits7.6millionpeoplewasconsideredhazardoustohealthforfivedaysoutofsevenaccordingtoChina'sownofficialstandards.ThatmakesTangshanoneofthefilthiestcitiesinChina--andthustheworld.Itsnoxiousemissions,combinedwiththosefromothergrittycitiessurroundingBeijing,producedthe'airpocalypse'ayearagowhentheChinesecapitalexperiencedairpollutionmorethan70timesgreaterthanthelevelconsideredsafeintheU.S.What'smore,Tangshan'ssteelindustryisdbyovercapacity--animmenseprobleminChinawhosetotalredundantsteelcapacityisestimatedtoequaltheentiresteelproductioncapacityoftheDisablingtheoldestanddirtieststeelplants,therefore,struckattwoproblemsatonce.However,saysMr.Nielsen,thehugecomplexityofChina'spollutionchallengedoesn'talwayslenditselftothekindoftop-downsolutionsfavoredbyChinesestateplanners.Forinstance,China'sdramaticprogressinreducingsulfurdioxideemissionsfromcoal-firedpowerstationsmayactuallyhaveincreasedthelevelsoffinePM2.5particlesintheairinnorthChinaduringthewinter.Theparticles,whichdothemostdamagetohumanlungs,areformedbychemicalreactionsintheair.Removingthesulfurallowedevenmorepollutingreactionstooccur,saysMr.Nielsen.

Shiftingclimatepatternsarealsoconspiringagainsttheenvironmentalcleanup.Atonetime,coldfrontsmovingthroughBeijinghelpedflushpollutantsouttosea.Butlaytheairhas morestationary.'They'regoingafteramoving,'saysDeborahSeligsohn,anexpertontheChineseenvironmentwhoisaresearcherattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.Still,shepredictsthatinfiveto10years'therewillbeanimprovementinairqualitythatyou'llbeabletosee.'Lastyear,aNationalActionPlanedmassivespendingof$275billiononantipollutionmeasuresoverthenextfiveyearsuntil2017.Overthatperiod,theernmenthaseda25%reductioninPM2.5levelsintheregionaroundMr.Nielsenbelievesthattheultimateanswermaybeacarbontaxonindustry,amarket-basedsolutionalsofavoredbyChina'snewfinanceminister,LouJiwei.Still,hepointsoutthatnocountryintheworldhasbeenabletoshiftsuddenlyfromgreyskiestoblue.'It'sgoingtotakedecades,'hesays.Andrew中國治理空氣污染沒有為了治理嚴(yán)重的空氣污染，拆除小組最近奔赴距離兩個(gè)小時(shí)車程的工業(yè)城市唐山，的機(jī)把高爐拆除過程記錄了下來。在這次經(jīng)批準(zhǔn)的拆除行動(dòng)中，一些長期以來服從關(guān)停命令的鋼廠的大量設(shè)備被拆除。有稱，拆除小組在此次“周日的空氣質(zhì)量仍在。這個(gè)小組的成員來自美國哈佛大學(xué)(HarvardUniversity)及包括即使和其他主要城市的空氣持續(xù)，這些還是對(duì)開展的一些史上最成功的污如會(huì)受到中國污染物排放影響的和韓國中國為治理污染而做出的最大努力無法敵過經(jīng)濟(jì)快速增長帶來的作用。哈佛大學(xué)工程與應(yīng)用(Harvard'sSchoolofEngineeringandAppliedSciences)項(xiàng)目執(zhí)行董事尼爾森(ChrisNielsen)說，有關(guān)

面對(duì)越發(fā)且失去耐心的民眾，中國渴爐就是個(gè)例子）是一個(gè)的選擇。據(jù)英國醫(yī)學(xué)雜志《柳葉刀》(Lancet)去年發(fā)布的一項(xiàng)，空氣污染現(xiàn)在是民年大約有120萬人因戶外空氣污染而過早。而中國的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，因患在這場不升級(jí)的健康中，山是重災(zāi)區(qū)根據(jù)中國自己的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，唐山70萬人去年75康的。唐山由此最臟的城市之一，同一年前，本地的