Cans of ‘fresh air’ for sale in China

[jw33]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/cans-fresh-air-sale-china-234302171.html

Air pollution in China has gotten so bad that one entrepreneur has decided to sell cans of fresh air.

The decision by Chen Guangbiao to sell the cans of air isn’t actually an attempt at a profit-generating venture. Rather, Chen, already worth a reported $740 million, is using the cans as social commentary on the declining environmental conditions in China.

"If we don't start caring for the environment, then after 20 or 30 years our children and grandchildren might be wearing gas masks and carry oxygen tanks," Chen told Fairfax Media.

Still, it's hard to not think of Mel Brooks in "Spaceballs" shotgunning a can of "Perri-Air," as his planet deals with a crisis stemming from a lack of oxygen.

Chen is selling the cans for about five yuan each (80 cents), according to the Brisbane Times, and the cans come in a variety of “flavors,” including “Taiwan,” “Tibet,” and “Yan'an,” early home of the country’s Communist Party.

The American Embassy in Beijing issued its second recent alert this week about the level of airborne PM 2.5 particulates, which it says can lead to a number of health issues, particularly for children and the elderly.

As recently as Friday morning Beijing time, the embassy measured a “very unhealthy” warning on its site.

The World Health Organization's standard is levels of around 25. The levels in Beijing’s atmosphere according to the U.S. Embassy peaked at 205 on Friday morning, nearly 10 times that standard limit.

Chen is known in China for other high-profile acts to promote environmental causes. He recently gave away 5,000 bicycles to encourage people to pursue alternatives to driving cars.

"People say I am high profile or love to stage a show, but I don't think those who seek 'stability' and a low profile can do much for social progress," he said.

...

[FreightTrain]

LOL at the Space Balls link.

[scootro]

thats scary!

[4eyedwillie]

BUT....BUT EPA regulations cripple a business making money!! OOOHHHHNNOOOEEESSS!!!

[Vertnut]

BUT....BUT EPA regulations cripple a business making money!! OOOHHHHNNOOOEEESSS!!!

Your EPA buddies just shot down a new power plant that was to be built down by Corpus. 3900 construction jobs went along with it. If you can't see them as Barry's bulldogs, you need more than 4 eye's...Willie.

[4eyedwillie]

Your EPA buddies just shot down a new power plant that was to be built down by Corpus. 3900 construction jobs went along with it. If you can't see them as Barry's bulldogs, you need more than 4 eye's...Willie.

What reason did they give for canceling the project?

[Strychnine]

What reason did they give for canceling the project?

http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama-epa-kills-power-plant-3900-jobs-in-texas/article/2519575

Obama EPA kills power plant, 3,900 jobs in Texas
January 24, 2013 | 9:56 am

Chase Power, the parent company behind the $3 billion Las Brisas coal power plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, announced yesterday that it was cancelling the project.

“Chase Power … has opted to suspend efforts to further permit the facility and is seeking alternative investors as part of a plan of dissolution for the parent company,” Chase CEO Dave Freysinger told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

Freysinger made it very clear who was responsible for the projects death. “The (Las Brisas Energy Center) is a victim of EPA’s concerted effort to stifle solid-fuel energy facilities in the U.S., including EPA’s carbon-permitting requirements and EPA’s New Source Performance Standards for new power plants,” he said.

The Las Brisas power plant had been part of a larger Las Brisas Energy Center project planned for Corpus Christi’s Inner Harbor. Economists had projected that in the first 5 years of construction and operation the project would create as 1,300 direct and 2,600 indirect jobs. Now none of those jobs will exist.

“These costly rules exceeded the bounds of EPA authority, incur tremendous costs, and produce no real benefits related to climate change,” Freysinger commented.

[Vertnut]

Thanks, Strych.

[jayjohnson600]

I was in Beijing in 2010, and experienced it first hand.
Shanghai wasn't bad.

The only way to see the sun, is for a rain to come through and wash down all the smog.
A few days later the smog accumulates again.

[line-em-up]

Obama's Promise the Bankrupt the Coal Industry

[likeitfast55]

When George W. Bush took office, he effectively shut down the EPA. California and Texas were left on their own to enforce environmental laws- to be short, they were left all but powerless. Prior to George W. Bush California had become progressively cleaner, both water and air were at the very cleanest in 50 years. Within months both Texas and California's air quality plummeted to the point that it had become the most toxic and dangerous to human and animal health in their entire existence. The respective state governments begged the EPA simply to enforce existing law- nothing was done. The US has allowed the vast majority of it's waterways and underground water supplies to become damaged by a free-market that does not give a darn about the vital land resources that we have.

We cannot allow lawsuits to rule the day - courts can be corrupted and besides most of the time environmental damage is deep and long lasting if not permanent. Human beings end up dead by the millions from cancerous tumors and their children are born without brains or with damaged bodies and brains from the toxins that are so recklessly dumped into the environment. We need a clean and transparent EPA with very strong powers to stop this. One that works with the states to assure we have a healthy and clean nation. We don't want one state to say "it's ok to pollute here" who is trying to get more jobs. Pollution doesn't respect borders. We need to have a national effort with even better and more comprehensive powers than the EPA has. If you want to engage in a business that renders the greater environment damaged then you need to fix that before you go about setting up your business. We will end up with a nation that is not even possible to live in if you pull the plug on the EPA and environmental enforcement.

[Vertnut]

When George W. Bush took office, he effectively shut down the EPA. California and Texas were left on their own to enforce environmental laws- to be short, they were left all but powerless. Prior to George W. Bush California had become progressively cleaner, both water and air were at the very cleanest in 50 years. Within months both Texas and California's air quality plummeted to the point that it had become the most toxic and dangerous to human and animal health in their entire existence. The respective state governments begged the EPA simply to enforce existing law- nothing was done. The US has allowed the vast majority of it's waterways and underground water supplies to become damaged by a free-market that does not give a darn about the vital land resources that we have.

We cannot allow lawsuits to rule the day - courts can be corrupted and besides most of the time environmental damage is deep and long lasting if not permanent. Human beings end up dead by the millions from cancerous tumors and their children are born without brains or with damaged bodies and brains from the toxins that are so recklessly dumped into the environment. We need a clean and transparent EPA with very strong powers to stop this. One that works with the states to assure we have a healthy and clean nation. We don't want one state to say "it's ok to pollute here" who is trying to get more jobs. Pollution doesn't respect borders. We need to have a national effort with even better and more comprehensive powers than the EPA has. If you want to engage in a business that renders the greater environment damaged then you need to fix that before you go about setting up your business. We will end up with a nation that is not even possible to live in if you pull the plug on the EPA and environmental enforcement.

The problem is not the EPA, but the people running it. The EPA answers to no one, and takes on the personality of who the prez picks to run it; who is usually a reflection of the prez.

[Chas_svo]

When George W. Bush took office, he effectively shut down the EPA. California and Texas were left on their own to enforce environmental laws- to be short, they were left all but powerless. Prior to George W. Bush California had become progressively cleaner, both water and air were at the very cleanest in 50 years. Within months both Texas and California's air quality plummeted to the point that it had become the most toxic and dangerous to human and animal health in their entire existence. The respective state governments begged the EPA simply to enforce existing law- nothing was done. The US has allowed the vast majority of it's waterways and underground water supplies to become damaged by a free-market that does not give a darn about the vital land resources that we have.

We cannot allow lawsuits to rule the day - courts can be corrupted and besides most of the time environmental damage is deep and long lasting if not permanent. Human beings end up dead by the millions from cancerous tumors and their children are born without brains or with damaged bodies and brains from the toxins that are so recklessly dumped into the environment. We need a clean and transparent EPA with very strong powers to stop this. One that works with the states to assure we have a healthy and clean nation. We don't want one state to say "it's ok to pollute here" who is trying to get more jobs. Pollution doesn't respect borders. We need to have a national effort with even better and more comprehensive powers than the EPA has. If you want to engage in a business that renders the greater environment damaged then you need to fix that before you go about setting up your business. We will end up with a nation that is not even possible to live in if you pull the plug on the EPA and environmental enforcement.

So, you're saying we need the EPA to do what is supposed to, rather than the business-killer it has become?

Someone needs to research the above, as it sounds to be straight from the democratic press...

[Downs]

How about the states take some responsibilities in keeping their states clean? Enforce the EPA laws with your state law enforcement personnel.

[majorownage]

BUT....BUT EPA regulations cripple a business making money!! OOOHHHHNNOOOEEESSS!!!

I bet you would find it hilarious to have the EPA fine you 37,000 PER DAY because they determined your land is some BS wildlife refuge. This has happened not to businesses, but to individuals and families.