Goal: Ask China to regulate smog, improve air quality and to publish facts and figures about air pollution in its cities.

Pollution in Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing, has reached dangerously high levels. The entire city is covered under a thick layer of smog that has put the health of the city’s inhabitants at risk. The smog situation is caused by China’s lax environmental regulation and air quality control. Sign the petition to ask China to implement regulations on smog to improve air quality and allow the publication of facts and figures regarding air pollution in its cities.

The media have dubbed it the “airpocalypse”. For five consecutive days the pollution has been deemed hazardous to human health. More than 100 million people are affected in 30 cities, ranging from Beijing to Guiyang. Factories are being asked to close and people told to stay indoors. The smog is 25 times what is legally considered safe in the United States. The situation has sparked anger among citizens and government officials. Even state-owned newspapers such as the People’s Daily have demanded the government take action. The Global Times has demanded the government stop covering up the facts about pollution.

Since 2008 there have been 500,000 pollution-related deaths, primarily caused by respiratory illness. The pollution is driven by China’s coal power plants which contribute to 80% of China’s carbon dioxide emissions. Only 1% of the Chinese population lives in cities where the air is considered breathable by European Union standards. Sign the petition to ask the Chinese government to implement regulations to reduce smog, improve air quality and publish facts about air pollution.

PETITION LETTER

Dear President Hu Jintao,

I am writing as a concerned environmental rights activist regarding smog and air quality in Chinese cities. The air quality in Beijing has gotten so bad that residents and media have dubbed it the “airpocalypse”. The pollution is affecting 100 million people in 30 cities. These citizens are at high risk of respiratory diseases and other illnesses.

The pollution is costly in human lives and to the Chinese economy. Since 2008, 500,000 people have died from pollution related illnesses. In 2005 pollution cost the Chinese economy $112 billion in health costs and lost productivity. The situation has only become worse. One of the primary drivers of the pollution is coal power plants which contribute 80% of carbon dioxide emissions. The Global Times has been quoted as saying that the government should stop the “previous method of covering up the problems and instead publish the facts”. I urge you to allow newspapers to honestly report on the problems of pollution and ecological destruction in China. As the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party said, “How can we get out of this suffocating siege of pollution? Let us clearly view managing environmental pollution with a sense of urgency.” I urge you to heed their advice and implement regulations to control smog and improve air quality.

I hope you take my thoughts into consideration.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

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About 40 years ago, I had heard that China was one of the places where the people took good care of the land. I hope that China will take care the land and all that lives again — by restoring the air, water, and land to a new beautiful China that I was told about.
Signed.