Beijing's bid to move polluting firms adds pressure on nearby regions
China's capital has ordered more than 50 companies to shut down this year in an effort to cut pollution but pushing factories out could raise objections in surrounding areas reluctant to host Beijing's polluters. Smog-shrouded Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei have become a front in a "war against pollution" declared by Premier Li Keqiang last month. But experts say efforts to cut coal consumption and industrial output in big cities like Beijing is likely to put pressure on other regions to endure more pollution to keep the economy growing, with overall coal consumption expected to rise by a quarter from 2011 to 2015. "Moving Beijing's plants to Hebei isn't the best way…
Editor's Note
The image of a fun-loving boat full of passengers in Hawaii may provide the slightest bit of wintertime relief for those of us snowbound in the Northeast U.S., but it also could be be seen as a harbinger for good times to come in the passenger vessel sector of the marine market. The spectre of a robust passenger vessel market — particularly for fast craft — has loomed on the yearly planning agenda of nearly every marine related company for many years. The anticipated “boom”, as we like to call them, has yet to fully materialize, but the prospect of increased ferry utilization and activity in North America continues to grow. Giving credence to this possibility are developments in the Gulf of Mexico region…
