> China's Olympic Dreams found Latest Enemy : Green Algae -- To Save Olympic Sailing Races, China
> Fights Algae / NYTimes
>
> The New York Times
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/world/asia/01algae.html
>
> July 1, 2008
>
> To Save Olympic Sailing Races, China Fights Algae
>
> http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/07/01/world/01algae.600.jpg
> A barge at Qingdao, site of the Olympic sailing regatta in August, was surrounded by algae last
> week. The Chinese have begun a huge cleanup effort.
>
> http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/07/01/world/01algae2.large.jpg
> Reuters / Two soldiers from the People��s Liberation Army clearing flora on Monday along the
> coastline in Qingdao.
>
> http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/30/world/30algae-2-650.jpg
> Agence France-Presse �� Getty Images
> Volunteers helped to clean up a huge algae bloom in Qingdao on Monday
>
> By JIM YARDLEY
>
> BEIJING �� With less than six weeks before it plays host to the Olympic sailing regatta, the city of
> Qingdao, China, has mobilized thousands of people and an armada of small boats to clean up an algal
> bloom choking the coastline and threatening to impede the competition.
>
> Local officials have begun an intense effort to clean up the algae by mid-July. News reports
> estimate as many as 20,000 people have either volunteered or been ordered to participate in the
> operation, while 1,000 boats are scooping algae out of the Yellow Sea. The country��s official news
> agency, Xinhua, reported that algae currently cover a third of the coastal waters designated for the
> Olympic competition.
>
> Water quality has been a concern for the Olympic sailing events. Many coastal Chinese cities dump
> untreated sewage into the sea, and rivers and tributaries emptying into coastal waters are often
> contaminated with high levels of nitrates from agricultural and industrial runoff. These nitrates
> contribute to the red tides of algae that often bloom along sections of China��s coastline.
>
> But officials in Qingdao said in recent days that pollution and poor water quality did not have a
> ��substantial link�� to the current outbreak, according to Xinhua. Instead, scientists blamed the
> increased rainfall and warmer waters in the Yellow Sea for the bloom. Algae blooms now affect more
> than 5,000 square miles of seawater, Xinhua reported.
>
> ��We will make all our efforts to finish this job,�� said a propaganda official in Qingdao, who asked
> not to be named because of the political delicacy of the issue. ��Now, forces from the entire
> province have become involved.�� He said ships and boats have been dispatched from two other coastal
> cities, Rizhao and Yantai, to help haul away the algae.
>
> Yuan Zhiping, an official with the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee, said Sunday that the
> government would try to block algae from floating into the Olympic sailing area by installing in the
> sea a fenced perimeter more than 30 miles long.
>
> ��I believe we will make sure the Olympics sailing area is clean by July 15 through our efforts, and
> make sure the Olympics sailing goes smoothly,�� Mr. Yuan said, according to the Shandong News Web site.
>
> Photographs in the Chinese news media showed rickety wooden boats overflowing with green mounds of
> algae collected from the sea. One photo showed a young boy crouched on a beach beside piles of the
> leafy glop as a dump truck carried off a large load of it. State news outlets reported that 100,000
> tons of algae had already been taken out of the water. Much of it was being transported to farms as
> feed for pigs and other animals, according to news reports.
>
> Residents of Qingdao and its environs, where about seven million people live, have been anticipating
> the city��s Olympic moment for years. One local newspaper reported that 11,000 college students had
> volunteered for cleanup duty over the weekend. Several companies had organized teams of employees to
> help.
>
> The massive outbreak comes with some sailing teams already in Qingdao preparing for the Olympics.
> Photographs in the Australian news media showed an Australian team seemingly stuck in a carpet of
> algae during a training run.
>
> In British news media, a British windsurfer who has been training in Qingdao, Bryony Shaw, said the
> algae would be an issue if the waters were not cleaned up. ��There��s no way you can sail through it,��
> she said. ��If it��s still here in August, it could be a real problem.��
>
> Qingdao��s situation is another challenge for Beijing��s Olympic organizers, who have committed to
> delivering a clean and healthy environment for the Olympics.
>
> Air quality remains a serious concern in Beijing. On Tuesday, the city will begin removing 300,000
> high-polluting vehicles, mostly trucks, from local roads. Later in July, the city will institute
> temporary restrictions to remove half of all motor vehicles from the streets.
>
> But air quality remains such a large problem that officials are also preparing contingency plans
> that could force factories across much of northern China to close temporarily if conditions warrant.
>
> Huang Yuanxi contributed research.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/world/asia/01algae.html