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Loading...30,000 Chinese ‘Occupy’ Highway to Protest Polluting Coal Plants
Written by Stephen Lacey, Climate Progress
Tens of thousands of residents in China’s southern Guandong Province gathered in the streets last week, occupying a highway to demonstrate against the development of a new coal plant near Shantou city. The residents say existing coal plants in the area are fouling local air and water, and are making people sick.
Each year, protests spring up to counter the construction of dirty coal plants. But this appears to be the biggest yet. Officials now say they will abandon plans to build a new coal plant in the area. Two people were reportedly killed in clashes with police, but the government is denying those reports.
China’s coal use has exploded over the last few decades. Since 1980, coal consumption in China has grown 500%, and now represents three quarters of consumption in Asia. That has coincided with a five-fold increase of lung cancer since 1970, now the leading cause of death in China. (Of course, an increase in smoking is also a huge contributor.)
Watch the protesters gather in the streets throughout Guandong Province protesting coal plants and local land rights:
This post was originally published by Climate Progress, a division on ThinkProgress.
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Read more: air pollution, china, co2 emissions, coal, coal plants, thinkprogress
Photo from Joost J. Bakker via flickr
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Recent Comments from Causes
In that household, catnip should be declared an illegal substance! That little girl does not need any…
who DOES that.
We must be optimistic!!
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52 comments
+ add your ownwe need to have a movement like that here in the u.s!
Good for them for standing up to the government... If only more people did that.
China has more then coal pollution problems....................
Good that their protests were actually able to get higher govt officials to respond in a more constructive fashion with the power plant temporarily postponed. Sounds like alot of different things going on here. Thanks for the article.
Grazie per l'articolo.
CHINA HAS ONE RULE......IMPRISON THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RIGHT.....
GIVE POWER AND MONEY TO THE PEOPLE WHO DO WRONG OR DONT CARE...
SIMPLE REALLY!
Brave people.
Thanks for the article.
Bravo!!!
Human beings are destroying this earth, and it's time that we move into clean solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, and biogas energy, like Germany is doing. We should get rid of nuclear power with it's waste and safety concerns, as well as natural gas with it's fracking problems, and coal, with it's mercury pollution problems. We need a marshall plan to move into clean wind, solar, and geothermal energy to save the planet.
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