In response to the high levels of pollution in Beijing, China, the International Olympic Committee is beginning to worry about the health of Olympic fans and athletes alike. To determine whether or not to completely ban private cars in the city as way to decrease the pollution, the committee will do a two-week, car-free trial run in August. If the two weeks sans cars significantly reduces pollution in the city, private car traffic will be completely banned in Beijing during the Olympics of 2008.
With almost 15-million people living in Beijing and the surrounding municipality, this seems completely crazy. How can a city continue to operate when all private cars are banned? Sure, Beijing has some decent mass transit, and many, many people travel by bike, but still. If the trial run shows a significant decrease in pollution, that means there are still a ton of people relying on private cars to get around.
Thanks to our sister site, Autoblog Green, for the tip!