Good news! Bejing has reopened their roads

[MattTuck]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-07/beijing-smog-closes-highways-as-travelers-return-after-holiday.html

Just in time for the Tour of Bejing... it is a wonder that any riders actually show up to this race.

[#campyuserftw]

I wish Al Gore would focus on China, and I am not being sarcastic here; the amount of pollution emanating from their land and water is almost beyond comprehension.

[Louis]

Furthermore, I wonder where they're getting the money to buy all those cars, and build all those factories that need coal-fired plants to provide electricity?

[Vientomas]

I like a little sarcasm with a side of irony.

[verticaldoug]

I wish Al Gore would focus on China, and I am not being sarcastic here; the amount of pollution emanating from their land and water is almost beyond comprehension.

Americans were no slouches themselves. The 1970's weren't that long ago. The Chinese still view clean air & water as a luxury not a necessity.

On some measures, CO2 emissions per capita, China is still about 1/2 that of the U.S. If you want a more like for like, developed Japan and Germany are both about 1/2 the U.S. per capita emission.

I always view the trade as we buy their cheap stuff and exported our production pollution.

[J.Greene]

Just in time for the Tour of Bejing... it is a wonder that any riders actually show up to this race.

With Pat McQuaid out of the UCI this may be the last year for bribery and intimidation. Isn't a relative a McQuaid the promoter?

[verticaldoug]

With Pat McQuaid out of the UCI this may be the last year for bribery and intimidation. Isn't a relative a McQuaid the promoter?

GCP is the for profit race promoting arm of UCI with McQuaid also president of that entity. McQuaid is probably too greedy to even share with a relative.

[oldpotatoe]

I wish Al Gore would focus on China, and I am not being sarcastic here; the amount of pollution emanating from their land and water is almost beyond comprehension.

I am SURE the ruling 'family' of China would listen to Al Gore.

Oh please..not in China, not in India, who together have what 1/3 of the globe's population??

Nor does the US listen...

Not until energy(and water) is scarce, will people change how they do business.

NOT expensive..scarce.

Then it's gonna be about anarchy, survival...

[redir]

You know oil is too cheap when the US ships wood across the world only to have it come back as chairs. It's a complicated thing with China but I think it's coming to an end for many more reasons then rising oil prices. Oil prices will definitely put an end to China's massive manufacturing works but so is rising labor costs, concerns over government-sponsored I.P. theft, and production time lags are already causing companies such as Dow Chemicals, Caterpillar, GE, and Ford to start moving some manufacturing back to the U.S. from China.

And it's not just that. The move to China was almost solely due to cheap labor cost, lets call it what it is - slave labor, and of course lax government regulations which is why you can't breath in Beijing. But those slave labor jobs will soon be replaced by technology - robots.

[oldpotatoe]

You know oil is too cheap when the US ships wood across the world only to have it come back as chairs. It's a complicated thing with China but I think it's coming to an end for many more reasons then rising oil prices. Oil prices will definitely put an end to China's massive manufacturing works but so is rising labor costs, concerns over government-sponsored I.P. theft, and production time lags are already causing companies such as Dow Chemicals, Caterpillar, GE, and Ford to start moving some manufacturing back to the U.S. from China.

And it's not just that. The move to China was almost solely due to cheap labor cost, lets call it what it is - slave labor, and of course lax government regulations which is why you can't breath in Beijing. But those slave labor jobs will soon be replaced by technology - robots.

Really don't want to get into this BUT..my wife worked for CaseLogic..all of their stuff was manufactured in China...Shenzen

Big, multi story factory...all the workers(mostly young women) in neat rows, in uniform, with the lady at the front, with the red hat, running the show. And all the young women, were pretty happy according to my wife(who got pneumonia from the air quality, BTW). Most from the countryside, rural areas. Free meals, free housing, free medical, free uniforms, better pay than they have ever had. No more than 9 hours per day with an hour for lunch.

YES, very regimented..whistle to start, whistle to stop, type thing. Could not marry and keep the housing(altho they got paid the same..just no married housing provided.

Wife went out in the 'town' with the factory managers. off duty workers everywhere doing what mostly young women who have some Yuan in the pocket, do. City was incredibly dirty tho. Locals didn't seem to notice..

BUT to characterize them as 'slaves', at least at this factory, is not accurate.

[redir]

Yeah ok fair enough but there certainly are many many examples of real slave labor in China. But it still doesn't change the premise of my post. Labor costs are going up in China because the workers realize they are more important and have grounds to take a stand. So they buy cars and motor bikes and everything else we enjoy here in the US and so they are polluting more. Because these labor cost are going up and the other reasons I mentioned we are now seeing a trend back to the US. It's interesting how it works like that.

Anyway this is about bike racing yeah? :)

[oldpotatoe]

Yeah ok fair enough but there certainly are many many examples of real slave labor in China. But it still doesn't change the premise of my post. Labor costs are going up in China because the workers realize they are more important and have grounds to take a stand. So they buy cars and motor bikes and everything else we enjoy here in the US and so they are polluting more. Because these labor cost are going up and the other reasons I mentioned we are now seeing a trend back to the US. It's interesting how it works like that.

Anyway this is about bike racing yeah? :)

It is also about transportation. Consumers are in the US..transportation is getting expensive by ship(oil $)..so along with labor, other costs are lower, to make it in the USA.

BUT workers there don't 'make a stand'..if they do, they are replaced.

They also
'don't make a stand' because they are paid well, better than ever(hence the rising labor costs)....with the ability to buy a scooter.

[Saint Vitus]

Americans were no slouches themselves. The 1970's weren't that long ago. The Chinese still view clean air & water as a luxury not a necessity.

On some measures, CO2 emissions per capita, China is still about 1/2 that of the U.S. If you want a more like for like, developed Japan and Germany are both about 1/2 the U.S. per capita emission.

I always view the trade as we buy their cheap stuff and exported our production pollution.

Can't comment on the CO2 levels, but here in So Cal we regularly see a brown haze on the western horizon, 25% or more of which is imported from China.

[yashcha]

Pollution? What pollution? I thought it was mist?

[soulspinner]

We never really paid for our ability to go anywhere on or above the earth with our machines, ie what we have done to are doing to and will do to our environment. And so it goes.

[verticaldoug]

Yeah ok fair enough but there certainly are many many examples of real slave labor in China. But it still doesn't change the premise of my post. Labor costs are going up in China because the workers realize they are more important and have grounds to take a stand. So they buy cars and motor bikes and everything else we enjoy here in the US and so they are polluting more. Because these labor cost are going up and the other reasons I mentioned we are now seeing a trend back to the US. It's interesting how it works like that.

Anyway this is about bike racing yeah? :)

Slave Labor? You mean UNICOR?

[redir]

Slave Labor? You mean UNICOR?

That's an interesting take on it.

[Kirk007]

I wish Al Gore would focus on China, and I am not being sarcastic here; the amount of pollution emanating from their land and water is almost beyond comprehension.

"He" is sorta - there's a big fight trying to keep coal in the ground rather than being exported to China. A lot of that air pollution is coming from their coal fired power plants.

[ORMojo]

...it is a wonder that any riders actually show up to this race.

It is a wonder that anyone chooses to ride there on the worst days, yet they do. And I'm not talking about those that have to ride their bike for transportation, I'm talking choice riders.

When I was living in Beijing, it was hard to notice any reduction in outdoor activity - walking, riding, etc. - even on the worst pollution days. Not that this will surprise anyone, but here is a photo I took one day, not an atypical day, but a regular view of the air quality. No fog in this photo, all pollution.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv48/ORMojo1/DSCN4029_zps888e9eb4.jpg (http://s668.photobucket.com/user/ORMojo1/media/DSCN4029_zps888e9eb4.jpg.html)

When my daughter first started living in Beijing, she mentioned in an email that "There's a large mountain range about 20 miles to the north of here that I saw for the first time today after a month in the city because the air was clear from a lot of rain."

[54ny77]

That's nuts!

Progress, baby. Progress.

:p

It is a wonder that anyone chooses to ride there on the worst days, yet they do. And I'm not talking about those that have to ride their bike for transportation, I'm talking choice riders.

When I was living in Beijing, it was hard to notice any reduction in outdoor activity - walking, riding, etc. - even on the worst pollution days. Not that this will surprise anyone, but here is a photo I took one day, not an atypical day, but a regular view of the air quality. No fog in this photo, all pollution.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv48/ORMojo1/DSCN4029_zps888e9eb4.jpg (http://s668.photobucket.com/user/ORMojo1/media/DSCN4029_zps888e9eb4.jpg.html)

When my daughter first started living in Beijing, she mentioned in an email that "There's a large mountain range about 20 miles to the north of here that I saw for the first time today after a month in the city because the air was clear from a lot of rain."

[Tin Turtle]

I did 1000 miles earlier this year in Beijing. I would not typically ride with an AQI over 120 or 130. That meant I rode about 2 days out of every 2 weeks on the average, but a lot of stretches went beyond 3 weeks.

Here is a link to a hi-rez image I shot showing the view from my apartment on a good day... and a 500 AQI day.

Beijing Air Pollution (http://www.tinturtle.com/images/gallery2/500AQIDay_Large.jpg).

Here is a link showing the AQI in real time, from the US Embassy.

US Embassy Beijing Air Monitor (http://iphone.bjair.info/).

There are lots of riders in Beijing who are very much into bikes of all kinds. You know them... they are the rare ones wearing helmets. It would be awesome to see organized rides there, in good weather and good air it is an amazing place to ride.