When it comes to air quality, Beijing tops the list of the worst. Now that the city will be on worldwide display at this summer’s Olympics, images of hazy skies and athletes wearing facemasks to stay healthy will not look well for the city. So today, in an effort to lift the fog, Chinese authorities started a program that uses license plates to prohibit some passenger cars from the city. During alternate days, only even or odd numbered plates will be allowed on the roads of China’s capital city. Beijing is reported to be home to about 3.5 million total vehicles, and this ban should take about one million passenger vehicles off the road.

Beijing is doing its best to keep its citizens happy while it tries to impress the world. So until the ban is lifted in September, no one will have to pay road and vehicle taxes. This is part of a larger comprehensive plan that has included stopping large construction projects, closing high-polluting factories, and even firing large projectiles into the clouds to encourage rain.

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