Gross downplaying

Naturally Zhang got some kudos by taking up the defense of something so near and dear to the hearts of many officials and residents. In response, one evening paper in Shanghai suggested with insouciance that motorists can now sit back behind the wheel with a sigh of relief.

Fortunately there are still experts who have not given up their dedication to science and sense of social responsibility.

Following Zhang’s allegations, Professor Zhuang Guoshun, an expert in atmospheric sciences from Fudan University, made an emergency phone call to the Wenhui Daily (January 2).

He accused Zhang of grossly underestimating the contribution of car exhaust to formation of PM2.5 particles.

“When I returned to Beijing from the US over 10 years ago, I had tried to draw attention to the problem of car exhaust, [in vain]. Given the gravity of the haze today, we can no longer afford to be distracted from haze management,” Zhuang said.

Statistics from the Beijing Environmental Bureau showed that vehicle exhaust contributes to around 23 percent of the haze in Beijing (January 3, Wenhui Daily). The figure was determined after weighing several calculations.