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China Takes First Green Steps To Remake Electronics Industry
Beijing (AFP) March 02, 2007 Chinese manufacturers of electronic products will for the first time have to tell their customers whether their products contain environmentally harmful substances, state media reported on Friday. Ten categories of electronic products, including home appliances and mobile phones, will be required to carry green or orange tags, indicating whether they are environmentally friendly or not, Xinhua news agency reported. Under the new rules issued by industrial regulators effective from Thursday, domestic manufacturers are also required to specify the names and content of any poisonous or harmful materials used in the products, it said. Products containing hazardous substances, including lead, mercury and cadmium will have to be tagged orange, and manufacturers will be required to gradually replace or reduce the content of these substances. Products that do not meet national or industrial standards will eventually be banned from sale on the domestic market, however no timetable has been set for this, Xinhua said, citing a government official. Xinhua also noted that the standards on allowing the use of hazardous substances still fell short of those in the European Union. Nevertheless, the moves were characterised as an important first step for China's electrical industry in becoming more environmentally friendly, and it would have an impact on industry. A senior official with Galanz, one of China's top home appliances manufacturers, estimated production costs would likely rise 20 percent to meet the new requirements, Xinhua said. China has more than one billion home appliances, 30 million of which are scrapped each year, representing a major threat to the country's environment, according to Xinhua.
earlier related report In 2006, China's total energy consumption stood at 2.46 billion tonnes of coal equivalent, up 9.3 percent on the previous year, the China Daily quoted the National Bureau of Statistics as saying. With GDP growing by 10.7 percent in 2006, energy consumption per unit of GDP fell by just 1.23 percent, well short of the four-percent target. Two key pollution indicators also rose by more than one percent, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) reported earlier this month. Air and water pollutants were to be reduced by two percent in 2006 as part of the government's five-year plan to curb pollution emissions by 10 percent between 2006-2010. But sulphur dioxide emissions increased by nearly 463,000 tonnes, or 1.8 percent, compared to 2005, the environmental watchdog said. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), an index measuring water pollution, was up 173,000 tonnes, or 1.2 percent from the previous year.
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Software Patch Makes Car More Fuel-Efficient
Eindhoven, Netherlands (SPX) Mar 05, 2007A car wastes energy almost continuously. Whether it is running in first, second, or a higher gear, there is only one position of the accelerator that guarantees optimal performance. Accelerating a little less or a little bit more can cause considerable loss of energy. John Kessels has designed a way to save energy by enabling the car to achieve optimal engine performance more frequently. |
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