With the Beijing Olympics now over, are the Beijing citizens heading towards a greener lifestyle or will they revert back to what the situation was before the Olympic Games? Let us take a closer look.

Air Quality

According to sources from Chinadaily, constructions are resuming, factories are restarting operations and also, all cars are allowed to be on the road again. Thus with all these activities, we can see that the air quality in Beijing is going to return to their pre-Olympic standards.

Many of the citizens have been involved in a debate both online and offline on whether the government should continue to implement the odd and even car number plate rule. The government however, has not issued any formal announcement regarding the matter but they are encouraging the people to discuss the options in improving air quality.

Lifestyle

Many residents in Beijing are changing their habits to embrace a greener lifestyle. In the public’s mind, there is a growing awareness of energy saving and environmental protection.

New laws and regulations are helping to guide the public toward greener practices.

As of June 1st, free plastic shopping bags have been banned all over the country. Consumers have turned to woven baskets, or the more fashionable “eco-friendly cloth bags”. Those who do pay for plastic bags are trying to buy as few as possible, reversing an old mindset prevalent before the ban.

A similar initiative requiring offices, hotels, malls and other large buildings to set air conditioners no lower than 26 °C in the summer is expected to become law.

Visitors can see solar-powered streetlights at scenic spots in the city’s suburbs. Some traffic lights in the city are also solar-powered.

The problem of maintaining the air quality in Beijing is not one that can be solved immediately and the fact that there is a growing awarness amongst the people regarding going green means that the problem will be solved in time to come.

Source - ChinaDaily