From The Workbench - Alternative + Renewable Energy Blog Valuable information for do-it-yourselfers interested in the latest in alternative + renewable energy

Talk about news that makes it not seem quite so bad that Winter has already decided to settle in around my neighborhood, reading about this makes me a heck of a lot warmer.  I just read that new traffic laws passed in Beijing, China will effectively take an estimated 800,000 cars off the roads.  That is almost 1 million cars!

According to reports, the new laws came into effect yesterday and instantly those 800,000 cars were off the road.  I do not think the ramifications of numbers that large have truly been felt yet.  The new laws, according to the article, “force 70% of government vehicles, as well as all private and corporate cars, to take turns off the roads on one out of five weekdays….The law works by banning cars with number plates ending one or six from the city’s roads on Mondays, and those with plates ending with two or seven on Tuesdays, three or eight on Wednesdays, four or nine Thursdays and five or zero Fridays. The ban does not apply on weekends.”

This new legislation comes right after a trial two-month ban on vehicles they previously attempted.  What is interesting to note is that the first experiment effectively lead to a “120,000 tonne reduction in vehicle pollution.”  Once the ban was lifted, unfortunately, the pollution went back up to normal.  Here is hoping that this new ban and new laws will do even more to reduce pollution…permanently.