While the news in the US and EU is grim, and the ripple effects are being felt in China, it is stories like Experts expect falling coal market in China on oversupply  that offer something of a silver lining for some (like myself) that feel China has grown too fast.

Mr Li Xuegang vice director of the Coal Transportation & Sales Society of the city said that besides, the decreased demand for coal from power plants can partly blame for piles of resource congested at the port, remaining 8.3 million tonnes. This was a sign of oversupply.

Keeping in mind the fact that coal stocks for the last 2 years have been short, and that there has been an ongoing struggle with energy capacity, this could perhaps be an opportunity for power plants to bring safety stocks up as prices fall and rail capacity improves.

VBS TV has just posted an amazing series on Lifen’s air pollution problems. Shot on scene over a week, this series will give you a clear representation of what challenges China’s growth has brought with it. Personally, while I have not been to Lifen, I have been to plenty of cities that are facing similar challenges, and it is distressing sometimes to get off a plane and literally be able to taste the products that a city produces.

In my mind, I am still scratching my head as to why Lifen and the other 15 cities on the most polluted list do not have programs in place to ensure that all the entities who play a role are being given assistance in paying for technologies, and are then being monitored to make sure they are using the technologies.

It is a problem that can be solved, and it is one that if left to continue will only get worse.With that being said, and with the finger pointed, I would like to also point out that there are solutions and that things are beginning to change, and western consumers themselves have a role in this as well.

With oil shooting through 150 USD a barrel, the cost of transportation has become a factor for many manufacturing in China - particularly those exporting.

Nothing new about that, and it just as that average Joe in the US is getting used to 4 USD a gallon gas, manufacturers are going to have to either get used to paying 30% more trucking charges, find ways to move their manufacturing closer to their customers, or find ways to save without moving.

In China, saving are really there for the taking.  Just consider the fact that China is reporting out 17-20% of GDP as the costs of logistics whereas the US and EU are  in the 9-11%.

On the equipment side,  trucks in China have a real range of size, capabilities and reliabilities.. but if there is one thing they all share, it is the ability to reduce carbon emissions, improve fuel efficiency, and save money.

Which according to a recent article Solutions for the long haul,that highlights a report by the Rocky Mountain Institute on the US trucks:

According to the study, the average Class 8 tractor trailer — the kind of truck you see most often on the Interstate — gets about 6.5 miles per gallon on the highway when fully loaded. RMI Senior Consultant Michael Ogburn thinks that highway mileage could be increased to 12.3 mpg in the next few years with readily available technology.

Particularly interesting about this report is that they have broken down on page 8 the energy usage of a typical tractor trailer in the US (a study of Chinese trucks is sure to yield a vastly different result do to very different aerodynamic conditions).

Primary factors in the energy usage are:

• engine 56% + idling and aux 8%
• aerodynamics 21%
• tires 13%

to read the full report, you can download the full report report here

With so much going on in China, and only a limited amount of bandwidth, I have created this weekly post to highlight articles that I feel are (1) important, (2) relevant, and (3) interesting.

This week there are 3 articles that I have chosen to highlight as each are quite interesting, they are all relevant, and there are issues within each that I think you the reader should be aware of.

If you have an article that you feel needs to be mentioned, please do so in the comments section.

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If you were to just read the popular press, it would be easy to laugh at the term “green Olympics”.  Journalists carrying hand meters taking air measurements, cyclists wearing face masks, and even air quality widgets all provide a bit of comedy to what is the serious conditions that their hyper development has created.

The problems though are much more complex that smog, will continue to be serious issues for the 1.3 billion residents of China, and while the government is taking “draconian measures”to reduce the air pollution, there are a lot of other issues to solve and programs/ technologies that are being put in place as part of this Olympics that will improve the quality of life for 20% of humanity.

Earth to Tech’s article 10 Cleantech Companies Greening the Olympics has stepped out of the smog box to look at 10 firms whose products are part of the larger “green Olympics”.

Ranging from LED lighting, clean water, energy management, and mass transit, the products and technologies highlighted will surely see a huge boost as they leverage the benefits of their programs to Beijing’s residents ongoing.