China has deployed 60,000 soldiers to fight the war on pollution. The soldiers have been tasked with planting trees that will cover a space that is roughly the size of Ireland. The country is doing this to combat the serious air pollution in the city.
China had to lay-off over 300,000 soldiers in 2015, sending them into civillian jobs or retiring them was the best solution. In 2018, the army thought of a better way to put the remaining soldiers to use.
They have reassigned 60,000 soldiers to work on a massive project that will help with the bad air pollution in the country. The majority of these soldiers will be sent to the Hebei province, which is the area surrounding Beijing.
Beijing has a notorious problem with bad air quality, and has a constant smog that settles into the city. China’s plan is to cover at least 32,400 square miles of the country in tree growth. That is roughly the size of Ireland.
The goal is to growth the current tree coverage from 21% to 23% by 2020 and up to 26% by 2035. China’s head of State Forestry Administration, Zhang Jianlong, told the Independent that they believe the coverage could increase to 26 percent by 2035.
“Companies, organizations and talent that specialize in greening work are all welcome to join in the country’s massive greening campaign,”
“Cooperation between government and social capital will be put on the priority list.”
The country is also looking to move away from burning coal to produce electricity. It is incredibly exciting to see such a powerhouse country taking bold steps to make a change that will benefit the environment.
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