China Looks To The Sea For Water

空气污染会产生各种健康问题和环境损害。中国的研究人员现在暗示说，空气污染会减少对补充农业用水和饮用水至关重要的小雨。《地球物理学研究杂志》(Journal of Geophysical Research)上新近发表的一份研究报告说，中国东北地区几十年来的工业污染已经导致降雨量下降。美联社(Associated Press)和《中国日报》(China Daily)都报导了这一研究结果。由于缺水，中国的城市正被迫创造性地寻找新水源。酿酒之都青岛用海水来冲厕所。这座城市正在开展一个试验性项目，用海水来冲洗抽水马桶，以便将淡水节省下来供人饮用。整个中国三分之一的家庭用水都被当冲厕水用掉了。青岛并不是第一个向大海要冲厕水的亚洲城市。在香港，80%的人口依靠海水来冲厕。据《中国日报》说，中国各地已经有大约20个海水淡化工厂在运营，以帮助缓解中国城市的缺水问题。中国600多个大中城市中有约400个存在用水短缺。与美国加州一样，节水正在成为中国各地面临的一个越来越迫切问题，因为有更多证据显示，中国糟糕的空气质量与肆虐中国东北地区的干旱有关联。《地球物理学研究杂志》上这篇研究报告收集了华东地区171个气象站在1956至2005年期间记录的降雨量和蒸发量数据。在这段时间内，每个气象站记录的小雨量都有下降，而华南地区的气象站监测记录却显示，当地总的降雨量是增加的。美联社的报导说：研究人员称，这项研究还有助于人们进一步了解空气中的悬浮颗粒是如何影响雨云形成的。悬浮颗粒是空气中由自然因素和燃烧化石燃料等人类活动导致的小颗粒。虽然空气中悬浮颗粒的增加有助于云层中的水蒸气凝结成水滴，但上述研究发现，与清洁天空中云层内的水滴相比，空气污染严重地区云层中的水滴在体积方面最多会小50%。这些水滴经常因体积太小而不足以落到地面。在中国，由于水资源分布不均匀，全国的大部分雨水都下在了多雨的南方，而干旱的北方则变得更加干旱。这种天气模式使中国政府在生产力方面损失严重。这一天气状况最近几个月又有恶化。国有媒体新华社周日报导，中国政府已采取紧急措施向受缺水影响的约150万人运送饮用水。国家防汛抗旱总指挥部办公室的一份声明说，政府还在对313万公顷农田进行灌溉。这已不是中国今年第一次被迫采取极端措施来解决缺水问题。今年2月，中国在东北三省实施了人工增雨作业，以获得一些急需的降雨。Jonathan Shieber相关阅读产品可以出口转内销，污染呢？ 2009-05-29国际能源署呼吁中国为碳排放标价 2009-04-21中国否决1,040亿人民币高污染项目 2009-03-11北京考虑制定空气污染控制措施 2008-09-24


Air pollution creates all sorts of ill-health effects and environmental damage. Now researchers in China are suggesting it lessens the kind of light rainfall vital for farms and drinking water.A new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research and reported by the Associated Press and China Daily finds that decades of industrial pollution in northeast China has led to less rainfall.With less water, Chinese cities are forced to get creative. Brewery capital Qingdao is using seawater to flush its toilets. A pilot project is underway to use Pacific waters in the city's commodes, saving potable water for a thirsty population. Across the country, one-third of household water consumption goes down the drain every time a toilet goes flush.Qingdao wouldn't be the first Asian city to look to the sea to clean its pipes. In Hong Kong, 80% of the city's population relies on seawater to take care of their flushing needs.Already, China has some 20 desalination plants operating around the country to help alleviate water shortages in 400 of the country's more than major 600 cities, according to China Daily.As in California, the need for water conservation is emerging as a more and more acute issue across the country as more evidence emerges linking China's less-than-stellar air quality to the drought that has bedeviled the country's northeastern region.The study reported in the Journal of Geophysical Research gathered data on rainfall and atmospheric vapor collected from 171 weather stations in eastern China from 1956 to 2005. During that time, light rain declined at every station, while stations monitoring the southern parts of the country saw an overall increase in precipitation.As the Associated Press reports:The study could also help further the understanding of how aerosols -tiny air particles caused naturally and by human activities such as burning fossil fuels - affect the formation of rain clouds, researchers said.The number of water droplets in clouds is higher when there is a greater number of aerosols, but the study found that the water drops in polluted areas are up to 50% smaller than in clean skies. These smaller drops are often not large enough to fall.In China, an unequal distribution of water resources means that a soggy south gets most of the rain while the North is dry and getting dryer. These weather patterns cost the government millions in lost productivity.Recent months have seen these weather conditions worsen. China's authorities have already taken emergency measures to get drinking water to the approximately 1.5 million people affected by water scarcity, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday.Government efforts are also underway to irrigate 3.13 million hectares of crops, according to a statement from the government's Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief.It's not the first time this year the country has had to take extreme measures to address water shortages. In February, the country tried cloud seeding to get some much-needed rainfall for Northern provinces.Jonathan Shieber