How do you get online readers to click on a story about a long, official report about climate change?
One answer, grabbed by editors of Chinese news sites Tuesday, was to play up a single line about a link between air pollution and fertility rates.
The subsequent headline — “Climate Change Green Paper: Smog Can Influence Reproductive Ability” — was a bit of a head-scratcher.
The subsequent headline — “Climate Change Green Paper: Smog Can Influence Reproductive Ability” — was a bit of a head-scratcher.
It referred to a report issued Monday by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the China Meteorological Administration on climate change, a subject related to but different from the physical impacts of air pollution.
The widely republished story, from the Xi’an-based China Business Review, gave the subject of reproductive health little more than a passing mention.
Instead, it focused on the rising numbers of smoggy days in China.
Instead, it focused on the rising numbers of smoggy days in China.
Last week the meteorological administration said that the past 10 months had seen the highest number of smoggy days since 1961 in much of China, including the northeast, east and parts of the country’s southern region.
Last month heavy pollution shut down schools and the airport in the northeastern city of Harbin.
Earlier this fall the central government released an action plan to control toxic emissions, a sign of a new willingness to publicly confront the poor air quality.
Now it seems that a sure way to grab the attention of Chinese news consumers is to discuss the threat to human health.
Now it seems that a sure way to grab the attention of Chinese news consumers is to discuss the threat to human health.
The initial announcement on Monday of the publication of the government paper, which has been released annually since 2009, didn’t hit such a frightening note.
It focused on how to incorporate low-carbon development amid China’s increasing urbanization.
But by Tuesday, editors of many Chinese media outlets had posted headlines that emphasized the reproductive health discussion buried in the report.
But by Tuesday, editors of many Chinese media outlets had posted headlines that emphasized the reproductive health discussion buried in the report.
The story took off online.
One version of the story on the Sina news portal had more than 10,000 comments.
“This is really shocking,” wrote Xu Shaolin, a freelance writer, on his widely followed Sina Weibo account. “People who want to have children should pay attention. In the future we won’t have to worry about family planning, smog will solve the problem.”
The government report, however, focused on environmentally friendly construction and low-carbon development pilot projects now underway around China.
“This is really shocking,” wrote Xu Shaolin, a freelance writer, on his widely followed Sina Weibo account. “People who want to have children should pay attention. In the future we won’t have to worry about family planning, smog will solve the problem.”
The government report, however, focused on environmentally friendly construction and low-carbon development pilot projects now underway around China.
It also examined recent natural disasters, like Hurricane Sandy and deadly floods in Beijing last year, that are expected to become a greater threat as global temperatures rise.
The discussion of health effects, which cited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter, was offered as a bit of context, a couple of sentences in a report that was hundreds of pages long.
The discussion of health effects, which cited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter, was offered as a bit of context, a couple of sentences in a report that was hundreds of pages long.
It said that inhaling fine airborne pollutants causes health effects that cannot be ignored, including increased mortality rates.
Inhaled pollutants, it said, “also change the lung’s functions and structure, affect reproductive ability and change the body’s immune system structure, among other effects.”
The extensive 2009 EPA report said that a review of studies “was suggestive of a causal relationship” between long-term exposure to fine particles known as PM2.5, because they have a diameter of 2.5 microns or less, and “reproductive and developmental outcomes.”
The extensive 2009 EPA report said that a review of studies “was suggestive of a causal relationship” between long-term exposure to fine particles known as PM2.5, because they have a diameter of 2.5 microns or less, and “reproductive and developmental outcomes.”
One large international study has found that women who have been exposed to air pollution during their pregnancy are more likely to have a low birth-weight baby.
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