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How bad is the smog these days, really? Who is keeping tabs on the state of our drinking water? What has the government done about carbon emissions lately? In Beicology we turn our focus toward environmental news in the capital.
Bird watchers have reason to rejoice as several rare migratory birds have been spotted in and around the capital these past few weeks. Even if you can’t find joy in a pair of skyward-pointed binoculars and a paperback field guide, you can still appreciate the birds’ return as an indication of a better Beijing – specifically its forests and waters.
Swans enjoy the springtime in a north Beijing reservoir following a long migration
Gao Wu, a bird expert at Capital Normal University, told Beijing Daily that the birds are a sign that efforts to clean and protect Beijing's major water reservoirs and to expand its forests are working. "The ability to secure food, drink, and safety are the basic conditions for birds to choose a region to supply and rest during the migration process. If these conditions are not met, they will not come," said Gao.
As they say, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander – which in this case is Beijing’s ecological environment – and that is positive news for a city plagued by decades of water pollution and sprawling land use.
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Just because you’re owned by the state doesn’t mean you can get away with whatever you want. That is the lesson from a recent public shaming of a major state-owned metal trading corporation, as reported by Caixin Global (caixinglobal.com).
A Ministry of Ecology and Environment official conducts his inspection of a Minmetals company in Hubei Province
As the scathing report on Minmetals emphasizes, the corporation and its subsidiaries repeatedly failed to heed the advice of officials. "Since 2017," the report reads, "Minmetals Group has conducted little research on the outstanding ecological and environmental problems pointed out by the Central Environmental Protection Inspector, and the supervision and management intervention has not been in place."
READ: Convenience Store OurHours Finally Punches Out of Beijing After a Brief Second Life
Images: eBird, Qianlong, mee.gov.cn
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