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It's 2008, which means that the Olympics are coming up this summer. The Summer Olympics will be held from August 8 to August 24, in Beijing, China. This really isn't recent news the Olympics were awarded to Beijing in 2001 after a vote by the International Olympic Committee. However, advertising for the event hadn't kicked off until mid-2006, when promotional products such as t-shirts began circulating around the globe. But that doesn't guarantee that Beijing will still be the hosting city.

Since 2004, there has been major concern about the high levels of pollution in Beijing. It is home to many factories that induce horrific pollution into the air, not to mention the seventeen and a half million people living there. In fact, the average pollution levels in Beijing are five times above the standard set by the World Health Organization. The International Olympic Committee grew worried about this how could they host an event that relied on the good health of its participants if the city was so unhealthy to be in? They did not want to put the athletes involved in the Olympics in danger, yet the IOC did not have to move the Olympics either.

The city has made a huge effort over the past year to clean up the city as the Olympics draw nearer. In September, the city held a "no-car day," a day in which citizens took to riding their bicycles instead of using their cars. The event had a dual purpose; it was meant to encourage the people to reduce the pollution spewing from their cars, and it was also meant to get people back on their bikes something that Chinese cities used to be famous for. In addition to the no-car day, Beijing held an experiment to determine just how much cars attributed to pollution in the city. The government took 1.3 million cars off of the streets for four days. During this time, pollution levels decreased, and citizens have become more conscious of how much they use their cars ever since.

However, the production and registration of new vehicles in the city is inevitable. Yes, China's population is still growing, and Beijing has had over 3 million cars since last May. Air quality has been going up and down in the city since then, and by using data collected from no-car day, many experts are beginning to think that taking more cars off of the streets forever would be much more effective than taking them off for four days.

The city has also been working to preserve the ancient cultural history that makes up the city. This includes renovations of the Forbidden City, restoration of the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven, and the preservation of the Summer Palace. The State Council has compiled a list of the new "national preservation" sites in and around Beijing. When the Council last made a list such as this 45 years ago, only 60 sites from Beijing were included this year, the completed list is expected to be over 90.

The city's main concern has been its automobiles, but it is also home to many factories that release harmful chemicals into the air. In another attempt to decrease air pollution, the government is closing what it believes to be the worst factories in Beijing for the environment. The International Olympic Committee has high hopes that when August comes around the corner, Beijing will be a clean and safe environment for the Summer Olympics. Still, it's all up to the efforts of the city's government and citizens. Maybe another "no-car day" would do the trick.

Learn more about this author, David Aaron White.
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