With smog in Beijing so bad it's forced pilots to land blind and officials to shut down the airport, China has unveiled a new plan to test drones that spray smog-clearing chemicals around airports. How will it work?

Trials for these new parafoil dronesessentially a drones with parachuteswill begin later this month at airports around China, according to the South China Morning Post. A drone like this can carry some 1,500 pounds of smog-clearing chemicals to clear a 3 mile radius around the airports. And it's easy enough to control and land, which is important given all the air traffic.

Parafoil soft-wing drones have some considerable advantages over planes or fixed-wing drones. For one, they're heck of a lot cheaper, with operating costs at just 1/10 of those for fixed-wing drones. They can also carry three times as much weight, which means more smog-busting chemicals per drone.

The new drone plan doesn't specify what chemicals will be used, but in the past, China has sprayed silver iodide to seed clouds during drought, and they've proposed the same for smog. In theory, falling rain or snow would bring the pollution down to earth. There's another, more nascent proposal to freeze pollutants solid in the air with liquid nitrogen.

The obvious problem with both, however, is that the toxic pollutants in the air simply end up on the ground, where they are still toxic pollutants. China does seem to be getting serious about combatting pollution, but these smog-clearing strategies fight the symptom rather than the root cause of pollution. But sometimes you just have to do what you can. [South China Morning Post]

Top image: Smog in Beijing in February 2014. AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

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China Is Deploying Smog-Busting Drones So Its Airports Can Stay Open

Land Clearing mulcher
Land Clearing mulcher.

By: martins Neretnieks

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Land Clearing mulcher - Video

Haze Shrouds Riau Province While Police Arrest Arsonist Suspects
Choking haze blankets Riau province as police say they have arrested 26 people suspected of starting the land clearing fires. Full Story: Thick haze continue...

By: NTDTV

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Haze Shrouds Riau Province While Police Arrest Arsonist Suspects - Video

Published on Mar 01, 2014 10:15 PM

A resident sprays water on a peatland fire in Pekanbaru district in Riau province on Indonesia's Sumatra island on Feb 16, 2014. Singapore has asked Indonesia to share evidence of any involvement by Singapore-linked companies or Singaporeans in illegal land clearing practices, in reply to comments by Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono alleging their role in the ongoing haze over Sumatra.-- PHOTO: AFP

By Zakir Hussain, Indonesia Bureau Chief In Jakarta

SINGAPORE has asked Indonesia to share evidence of any involvement by Singapore-linked companies or Singaporeans in illegal land clearing practices, in reply to comments by Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono alleging their role in the ongoing haze over Sumatra.

"The Government of Singapore takes a serious view of these allegations," a spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in response to media queries on Mr Agung's remarks.

"If there is credible evidence that Singapore-linked companies or Singaporeans were involved, the Government of Singapore intends to take further steps against these errant companies and individuals," the spokesman added.

Ongoing forest and peatland fires in Riau saw the province declare an emergency till March 12 and reactivate a disaster command post.

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Singapore calls for evidence of companies here involved in illegal land clearing

SINGAPORE:Singapore has reiterated its call to the Indonesian government to share evidence relating to any involvement by Singapore-linked companies or Singaporeans in illegal land clearing practices in Indonesia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said this on Saturday in response to media queries on comments by Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono.

Mr Agung had said publicly that since 2013, the Indonesian police have launched 41 investigations against errant companies and individuals that may be involved in illegal land clearing practices in Indonesia.

Mr Agung said some of these cases involved Singapore-linked companies or Singaporeans.

MFA said that the Singapore government takes a serious view of these allegations.

It added that if there is credible evidence that Singapore-linked companies or Singaporeans were involved, the Singapore government intends to take further steps against these errant companies and individuals.

The ministry also urged the Indonesian government to take the necessary legal and enforcement action against errant companies or individuals, regardless of their nationality.

It said the primary responsibility for legal and enforcement action lies with Indonesia, where these companies and individuals were allegedly conducting such illegal activities.

MFA noted that a state of emergency has been declared in Riau province due to the severe haze arising from the ongoing forest and peatland fires there as well as fires elsewhere in Sumatra.

Singapore hopes that the fires will be quickly dealt with to prevent a recurrence of transboundary haze.

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Haze: S'pore urges Indonesia to share evidence on errant firms

SINGAPORE: The Indonesian government is looking into pressing criminal and civil charges against corporations responsible for illegal land clearing.

This is seen as a significant move, and could make companies think twice before they resort to burning as a form of land clearing.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono, who is taking a lead in the government's response to this year's haze, said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants the emergency response team to better enforce the law, in addition to increasing public awareness of the dangers of illegal land clearing.

He said: "We want to create a deterrent effect especially towards corporations, not just ordinary civilians. That includes those who are responsible, the owners which in some companies may be foreign nationals. Some of them own shares in plantation companies operating in our country, whether it be in Sumatra or Kalimantan."

In the 2013 fires, eight companies were allegedly involved in burning land in Riau. . The environment ministry is following up on seven of those cases.

One involves a Malaysian company - PT Adei Plantation & Industry - and its case is being tried at Pelalawan District Court.

The other cases have not yet been handed over to the courts as the Riau High Prosecutor's Office considers the investigation dossiers still incomplete.

Since 2013, there have been 41 cases of individuals suspected of illegally clearing land.

Civil charges have been brought against them for losses incurred and these individuals, if found guilty, could face anywhere between six months and eight years prison time.

Currently, nine provinces are affected by the haze, including five in Sumatra and four provinces in Kalimantan.

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Indonesia mulls criminal & civil charges against firms over illegal burning

Artist's rendering of the East Sooke Fire Hall

image credit: Submitted

If youve driven along East Sooke Road recently you might have seen some land clearing and a sign reading: Site of the new East Sooke Fire Hall. A new fire hall is getting underway, and targeted operational date is in early 2015. The new re hall will be located on East Sooke Road, east of Raglan Place.

This fire hall has been long in the making. There have been ongoing efforts from successive fire commissioners to replace the existing fire hall, but the necessary conditions came together in 2013 to make the dream a reality. Some of these conditions included the sale of land, which Brian White of the East Sooke Fire Commission said came at a very satisfactory price. An anonymous $40,000 donation moved things along nicely as well. White said many in the community also stepped up, reflecting a real community effort. Former Juan de Fuca area director Brian Henson contributed land clearing and Ramsay Milne helped with the burning of the brush and shrub. The CRD has also provided significant support.

According to White, the impetus behind this fast action came last spring, when an inspector from the Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS) came to the East Sooke Fire Hall and asked why they still operate from a fire hall that was inadequate way back in1994.

A CRD document dated February 2013 (Proposed East Sooke Fire Hall) addresses the need for a new fire hall, as the existing one was significantly below standards. It was deemed antiquated and undersized, and did not meet current building code requirements. Its proximity to a community park also posed safety concerns for children playing in the area. Further, it lacked drill and training areas, it could not serve as a post-disaster facility, and expansion or reconfiguring the existing structure was not possible.

After a successful referendum last summer, at which time East Sooke residents voted 339 to 138 in favour of the new fire hall, the focus has been on the planning and design of the hall. A detailed Request for Proposals had nine firms respond.

David Nairne and Associates were the winning architects, and the decision was made to proceed with an all steel fireproof interior and exterior, because of the enhanced survivability of the building after a major earthquake or forest interface fire. Construction is slated to start in late June. The target date for a fully operational East Sooke fire hall is early 2015.

Dr. George May, the Chair of the East Sooke Fire Commission, said, the fire hall design achieves the tests of affordability, long life, and capacity to survive a major fire and earthquake. We expect this design to meet the needs of East Sooke for a long time to come.

Besides the obvious benefits of providing a go-to place in case of tsunami or forest fire, said Brian White, the new fire hall will include a built-in water tank loading station for residents of East Sooke. The existing waterline will also be extended, to just before Anderson Cove.

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East Sooke's fire hall speeding along

GEORGE TOWN - An environmental-interest group has raised concerns over the high number of bald patches seen on Penang Hill.

Citizen Awareness Chant Group (Chant) said parts of the hill seemed to have been stripped bare with swathes of earth exposed.

There is fear that rampant land-clearing could have taken place for agricultural purposes.

Chant legal adviser Yan Lee said clearing activities had marred the beauty of the hill and such acts could have been done illegally.

"It is shocking to see that most parts of the hill were rather botak (bald).

"We are concerned if those cutting the hills could have obtained permission from the local authorities."

Yan said the state government should send enforcement officers to the hill to ensure compliance of laws related to hillside development. Checks by the New Straits Times showed the bald patches had mushroomed on both sides of the Penang Hill railway line.

There were more than 20 patches all over the hill range, with irregular cuts, terraces and structures built haphazardly on the hill.

Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP) president Datuk Patahiyah Ismail did not respond to queries about the matter at press time.

The Chant group has been critical of the flourishing hillside development, the most recent being the Bukit Relau hilltop clearing last year.

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Group raises concern over 'balding' Penang Hill

Clearing Land in Florida 1950
A Tribute to Joyce, my bride of 65 years The 8mm Kodachrome movie was shot by my father on a visit from Wisconsin in January, 1950. How can you not love a wo...

By: Richard Horner

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Clearing Land in Florida 1950 - Video

Nairobi New satellite imagery shows extensive clearance of land used by indigenous groups to make way for state-run sugar plantations in Ethiopia's Lower Omo Valley, Human Rights Watch and International Rivers said today.

Virtually all of the traditional lands of the 7,000-member Bodi indigenous group have been cleared in the last 15 months, without adequate consultation or compensation. Human Rights Watch has also documented the forced resettlement of some indigenous people in the area.

The land clearing is part of a broader Ethiopian government development scheme in the Omo Valley, a United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, including dam construction, sugar plantations, and commercial agriculture.

The project will consume the vast majority of the water in the Omo River basin, potentially devastating the livelihoods of the 500,000 indigenous people in Ethiopia and neighboring Kenya who directly or indirectly rely on the Omo's waters for their livelihoods.

"Ethiopia can develop its land and resources but it shouldn't run roughshod over the rights of its indigenous communities," said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

"The people who rely on the land for their livelihoods have the right to compensation and the right to reject plans that will completely transform their lives."

A prerequisite to the government's development plans for the Lower Omo Valley is the relocation of 150,000 indigenous people who live in the vicinity of the sugar plantations into permanent sedentary villages under the government's deeply unpopular "villagization" program.

Under this program, people are to be moved into sedentary villages and provided with schools, clinics, and other infrastructure. As has been seen in other parts of Ethiopia, these movements are not all voluntary.

Satellite images analyzed by Human Rights Watch show devastating changes to the Lower Omo Valley between November 2010 and January 2013, with large areas originally used for grazing cleared of all vegetation and new roads and irrigation canals crisscrossing the valley.

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Ethiopia: Land, Water Grabs Devastate Communities