Chinese Government to Close 1,200 Companies to Help Clear Beijing Smog

We could tell readers' that earlier today, just like two weeks ago when Beijing was blanketed by the worst smog on record, the official reading of Beijing air quality moved from "hazardous (at a 24 hour exposure at this level)" to the laughable "Beyond Index" reading (which maybe means Beijing needs a bigger index)...

Who would have thought that ultra-rapid industrialization, building entire empty cities to goalseek a supply-driven GDP number that has no reflection on demand reality, and ramming an entire country's industrial output into overdrive without any concern for the environmental impact would have a disastrous effect on smog levels. Certainly not China.

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Public anger in China at dangerous levels of air pollution, which blanketed Beijing in acrid smog, spread Monday as state media editorials queried official transparency and the nation's breakneck development.

BEIJING — A Chinese businessman angry about a filthy river has come up with an equally dirty dare: He’ll give an environmental official about $32,000 just for swimming in the polluted waterway. Businessman Jin Zengmin posted on his microblog photos of a garbage-filled river in his hometown of Rui’an city in the eastern province of Zhejiang. He dared the local environmental protection chief, Bao Zhenming, to swim in it for a cash prize of 200,000 yuan.

Beijing's smog problem has become an international issue this year, with reports of canned air being sold, a ban on BBQs and even talk of moving the capital from Beijing to escape the fumes.

Would it surprise you to discover that China is planning to add 800 miles to its subway system over the next two years? That’s the distance equivalent to building a network from Dallas to Chicago in less time than the U.S. Congress can resolve a budget! In 2015, when the infrastructure build-out is complete, China’s subway track alone will be a mind-boggling 1,900 miles, according to JP Morgan.