Most of the pollution cloaking Hong Kong is generated by coal-fired power plants and smokestacks from China's industrial south.

To gaze across Hong Kong's harbor at the city's glittering skyscrapers and soaring peaks is to take in one of the world's most spectacular urban vistas.
When you can see it.
The "fragrant harbor" from which Hong Kong takes its name is often shrouded in toxic smog.
Hong Kong's air pollution hit a record high on September 14, with the index rising to over 200 for the first time since air quality monitoring was introduced in 1995. Doctors advised asthma sufferers and those with heart disease to stay indoors.
"I don't see any reason why it will improve. The trend is really alarming," said Alexis Lau, acting director of the Center for Coastal and Atmosphere Research and a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Reuters reported.
Experts lay the blame for Hong Kong's worsening air pollution on China, which the World Health Organization says has seven of the world's 10 most polluted cities.
Most of the pollution cloaking Hong Kong is generated by coal-fired power plants and smokestacks from China's industrial south, as well as traffic fumes from the city's own congested streets.

Energy Shortage
China faces a chronic energy shortage and making the switch from coal-fired plants to cleaner fuel is costly and disruptive.
It is the second consecutive summer that factories have faced brownouts or managed power cuts. Residents have been urged to turn off their electricity-guzzling air conditioners despite the sweltering heat.
Double-digit growth in individual car ownership in the neighboring province of Guangdong compounds the problem.
In Hong Kong, the number of days a year when visibility falls below 8 km (5 miles) has risen from around 50 in 1993 to over 160 last year. Nearby Shenzhen and Macau have seen similar increases, according to data provided by Lau.
This week, pollution was worst near Hong Kong's airport, where planes took off and landed in an orange-tinged haze. One day in August, visibility in Hong Kong harbor fell to as low as 550 meters (600 yards) and smog contributed to collisions on the water involving eight vessels.
The problem is set to get worse this winter when prevailing northern winds sweep the sulfur dioxide and other toxins belched out of China's smokestacks toward Hong Kong, said Lau.
But not all of Hong Kong's residents are worried about the deterioration in air quality.
"I think the pollution is more or less the same. I can't say I think about it too much," said Wong Wai Ming, a delivery man who spends four to five hours outside each day.

More Smog
Hong Kong has taken several steps to reduce pollution in the past decade, including conversion of taxis to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Air pollution readings are taken hourly and are a regular feature of weather forecasts.
"For roadside pollution we've seen a significant improvement but regional pollution seems to be deteriorating. There's more smog than before," said Raymond Leung, principal environmental protection officer.
Activists say the city's pro-business leaders are not doing enough. They say the government should do more about idling vehicles and introduce electronic road pricing to reduce congestion.
"I've heard of people saying that they will consider leaving Hong Kong because of the bad pollution," said Edwin Lau, assistant director of Friends of the Earth (HK).
"Tourism is a huge part of our economy and if the pollution deterred tourists it would be a big loss," he added.

Wind turbines in operation in the Jura(suisse eole)

Wind energy is set to make a comeback in Switzerland, with the unveiling of a major project designed to increase capacity by ten times the current amount.
The authorities are seeking to win over environmental organizations, which have in the past criticized wind turbines as a blot on the landscape.
In 2003 the Swiss threw out two popular initiatives which had sought to abandon nuclear power in favor of alternative sources of energy.
But rising oil prices have since led the government to reassess the importance of renewable energy.
According to the Federal Energy Office, by 2010 Switzerland should be producing ten times more electricity from wind energy than it does today, swissinfo.org reported.

Power Needs
But the authorities also point out that such an increase would still only total 0.1 percent of the country–s total electricity needs.
Officials have already pinpointed 28 locations where wind turbines could be set up.
Environmental groups have also been brought on board to help in the process of deciding where the turbines should be located.
Pro Natura, the Swiss branch of non-governmental organization Friends of the Earth, has in the past criticized the construction of wind turbines as a blot on the landscape.
But the green group welcomes the government–s new wind energy campaign and has adopted a more moderate tone, calling for "an in-depth assessment of all new locations".

Broad Support?
Though the electorate threw out the idea of dumping nuclear power in a nationwide vote last year, previous surveys have shown that wind energy enjoys broad support.
A poll conducted in 2002 by the Vevey-based research institute, Mediactif, found that 89 per cent of those surveyed were in favor of wind as an alternative form of power.
When asked to explain the term "renewable energy", 57 per cent referred to wind power. Other alternatives mentioned by survey respondents included solar and geothermal energy, and hydroelectric power.
Three-quarters of those polled said they would not mind if wind turbines were put up in their neighborhood.
Recent surveys in two locations which already have wind turbines found the majority of local residents had no objections to living close to the power sources.

Concerns
Nevertheless, the government is concerned that people living in areas which may be earmarked for turbines could attempt to block or delay construction work.
The authorities say they will therefore conduct research into the suitability of each location before deciding whether to go ahead with the plans.
Criteria to be taken into account include distance from places of residence and the impact on the natural environment.
The bulk of Switzerland–s wind energy is currently generated at the Mont Crosin power plant in the Jura.
Two new wind turbines are to be installed at the site and energy production is to be increased by 80 per cent-- enough to provide electricity for 2,700 homes.
The authorities plan to extend the wind energy facilities at the site even further in future as part of efforts to supply five per cent of all electricity requirements in the region between Nyon in canton Vaud and DelŽmont in canton Jura.
"And all of this energy will be 100 per cent pollutant-free," assures the Federal Energy Office.

Brazil's Mines and Energy Minister Dilma Rousseff and executives of China's state-owned Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) whereby Sinopec will evaluate whether to participate in the Gasene gas pipeline project in Brazil.
Gasene will be a 1,225 km natural gas pipeline linking Cabiuna's gas processing plant in Rio de Janeiro state and customers at Catu in Bahia state. Construction on the $1.3 billion pipeline is scheduled to begin in July 2005 and to be completed in January 2007, a ministry spokesperson told OGJ.
The Export-Import Bank of China, a state-owned bank tasked with supporting China's exports, is expected to extend a financing line to the Brazil National Economic Development and Social Bank, which also will provide partial financing, ogj.pennnet.com reported.
The MOU followed an official visit by Brazil's President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva to China in May, leading a large business contingent. Among other accords, Brazil's state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) and Sinopec inked a strategic cooperation agreement centered around partnerships in oil exploration, production, refining, oil products sales, petrochemicals, pipeline engineering services, and technical cooperation, (OGJ Online, May 27, 2004).
Four gas pipelines currently link Cabiunas to gas markets in Rio de Janeiro state: 85 km to Campos, 95 km to Arraial do Cabo, and two pipelines extending 178 km and 184 km to Petrobras's Duque de Caxias (Reduc) refinery.
Petrobras said Sinopec also is eyeing Petrobras's giant natural gas reserves in the Santos basin off the industrial state of Sao Paulo. Petrobras Gas and Energy Director Ildo Sauer said the Santos basin discovery, which represents a "revolution" for the Brazilian gas market, could produce 55 million cu m/day (MMcmd) of gas for a 20-year period, surpassing Petrobras's current 46.2 MMcmd total gas production (OGJ Online, Sept. 8, 2003).
One way Sinopec could get in on the action in Santos, Petrobras said, would be to participate in a planned plant to liquefy Santos basin gas to supply local markets and to export to the US. That concept currently is at a very early stage.

Oil Exports
Separately, Petrobras expects its oil exports to China to increase significantly this year, making it the third-leading destination for Brazilian crude shipments behind the US and Argentina.
Petrobras hopes to boost crude shipments to China to 50,000 b/d, about 20% of the 250,000 b/d it exports, said a Petrobras official. At that pace, exports to China would reach about 18 million bbl this year, say local analysts.
The Brazilian company started exporting heavy crude to China in 2000, when it shipped 3 million bbl. The volume trailed off to 800,000 bbl last year, but soared again in early 2004 to 4 million bbl of heavy crude as Brazil and China advance plans to increase bilateral trade and cooperation.
Contracts now valued at $120 million have the potential to reach $450-500 million by yearend. China currently imports about 2 million b/d of oil.
The bulk of Brazil's oil output is heavy crude, part of which the county exports and part of which is blended with imported light oil for processing at local refineries.

Indian automobile makers plan to introduce 1,000 hydrogen-powered cars by 2010 and will spend at least $160 million to develop the new technology, government and industry officials said on Wednesday.
India, which imports 70 percent of its crude requirement, plans to introduce a blend of Hydrogen and compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles in New Delhi next year.
The government is encouraging the use of renewable energy as India's crude oil import bill is soaring in step with global prices and domestic output has declined in recent years.
Initially, hydrogen will be blended to the extent of 10 percent in vehicles already running on CNG and by 2007, the ratio would be raised to 30 percent, Dilip Chenoy, director general of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, told Reuters.
"By 2010, we hope to have 1,000 vehicles running purely on hydrogen," he said after a meeting of the National Hydrogen Energy Board, a panel of top government officials and heads of leading automobile manufacturers.
He said manufacturers would spend at least 5.0 billion rupees for this over the next five years.
Besides, the government would provide 2.5 billion rupees to fund hydrogen projects said S.K. Chopra, an official in the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources.
"Instead of waiting for the West to tell us what to do, we are working in a team-India spirit to emerge as world leaders in this technology," he said.
Automobile manufacturers said they were encouraged by the partnership with the government to develop new energy sources.
"I think we are moving towards the realisation that hydrogen is going to be an important fuel," said Ratan Tata, chairman of giant Tata group, which has diverse business interests including automobiles.
Chopra said the board would assess the use of heat generated in nuclear reactors to make hydrogen from water but said there was no estimate available for the cost of gas thus produced.
Industry leaders and the government have taken several initiatives in recent months to develop renewable energy sources.
In August, India's largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp, and leading automobile maker Mahindra & Mahindra signed an agreement aiming to build a hydrogen-powered engine.

Researchers at Ohio State University have developed a sensor that can detect emissions from cars, power plants, and other combustion processes.
Prabir Dutta, professor and chair of chemistry at Ohio State, said the newly-patented sensor represents a step forward in sensor development because it can detect the total amount of NOx from the complex mixtures that make up combustion exhaust in small amounts and in a rapid fashion, e4engineering.com reported.
Specifically, Dutta and former graduate student Nicholas Szabo designed the sensor with a zeolite filter inside to remove carbon monoxide from the airstream. The NOx passes through the filter to an electrode that then registers a signal that is proportional to the concentration of NOx.
The sensor can survive temperatures greater than 1,000 degrees F--a prerequisite for working near an engine or furnace. In laboratory tests, the sensor accurately detected the presence of NOx in concentrations above 100 parts per million--sensitivity adequate for car and power plant exhaust.
But the researchers goal is to develop a sensor that will detect concentrations well below 100 parts per million, which Dutta said will be needed for more environmentally friendly engines in the future. A more sensitive detector would also be needed for turbine engines for aircraft and power applications, he said.
The sensor currently measures half a centimeter (about a quarter of an inch) across, but eventually the scientists want to shrink it thousands of times smaller.
Several commercial companies are trying out the sensor for various applications.
Meanwhile, Henk Verweij, professor of materials science and engineering at Ohio State, is studying the sensor packaging to make it easier to manufacture. And Giorgio Rizzoni, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the university's Center for Automotive Research and Intelligent Transportation, leads a team that is testing its performance at monitoring car engines.
Future plans include miniaturizing the sensors and building them into an array to monitor the combustion process in the boiler of power plants. With the right software, data from sensors at different locations in the boiler can be used to balance individual burners to better control emissions and improve efficiency. The software algorithms are being developed at the university's Center for Industrial Sensors and Measurements (CISM), where Dutta is co-director.
Carl Palmer, engineering leader at GE Reuter Stokes of Twinsburg, OH, and his colleagues will test the sensor array. Other collaborators include Sheikh Akbar, professor of materials science and engineering and founding director of CISM, and Bruce Patton, professor of physics.
"This is a truly multidisciplinary project," Dutta said. "This is something a chemist can't do alone."
The State of Ohio, CISM, NASA Glenn Research Center, and the Department of Energy all funded the work.