Eye of Modok

A minimum-security prison on a lush island about one and a half miles off the coast of Norway now claims to be the world’s first ecological prison. Bastoey Prison does not rely on barbed wire or locked doors to keep the inmates in, but rather expects that they will enjoy their stay so much that they won’t risk a return to a maximum security prison. The prisoners also learn about individual responsibility, sustainability and the rewards of hard work, often leading to genuine change of heart, at least according to the program sponsors. Sounds like a move in the right direction to me. More than one right direction at that.

Original story
[tags] ecology, ecovillage, environment, prison, Norway, Bastoey Prison [/tags]

The Beijing Municipal government is conducting a 4-day traffic experiment within Beijing city limits, limiting cars that can drive within the city according to whether drivers have an even or odd number on their license plate. The results are not in yet, but I can say that since August 8th, one year out from the Olympics, the weather has been excellent and visibility better than ever, with only one really smoggy day. If this can be repeated next year, we should be in good shape.

Of course, with an estimated 1,000 cars added to the city streets each day in the capital city, other measures are also likely to be needed. However, preliminary results of the experiment seem to be very positive. Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing municipal environmental protection bureau, said his team of experts is keeping close watch on the data collected by its 32 monitoring stations and that the impact was “obvious”, citing the achievement of a Grade II record on the first day of the test, Grade I and II being deemed suitable for the hosting of international events.

I’m all for this and even tougher restrictions, but, then again, I don’t drive a car in Beijing.

Ugh!! The past week in Beijing has seen some of the worst air pollution of the year. For most of the week it has been surprisingly cool, which has been a “positive” side to the smog-induced inversion. However, today the temperature is rising and humidity levels are high, leading to what I’ve always referred to as smog soup. Of course, to truly experience smog soup, you need to head to southern China or southeast Asia. Bangkok stands out as a prime example, though Shanghai or Hong Kong can serve equally well.

I’ll be very interested to see what the weather is like in Beijing on August 8, one year away from the Olympics. We are still many days shy of the target for “blue skies” this year, and from what I’ve seen this week, I’m not too confident we’ll reach it.

[tags] smog, pollution, Beijing, Olympics [/tags]