In an effort to clear Beijing’s thick smog before the 50th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China next month, the city plans to shut down furnaces, outlaw bonfires, and ban the use of trucks and tractors for 10 days. Meanwhile, in Nepal, officials are instituting an immediate ban on the import of two-stroke motorcycles in an attempt to improve air quality. Officials recently ordered three-wheeled auto rickshaws off the streets of Kathmandu to eliminate the pollution caused by their diesel exhaust fumes.
