1,000 Rogue Cement Plants Defy China

More than 1,000 cement plants in China are operating despite year-long orders to shut down, according to the South China Morning Post.

Cement making is among the most highly polluting industries. It produces mercury, from burning coal and processing limestone. It produces smog and acid rain-forming gases. And it produces abundant carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas fueling global warming.

Authorities ordered 1,066 plants to shut down last year, and now have ordered power plants to cease supplying them with electricity.

The difficulty dealing with the highly polluting industry, even in a command-and-control economy, underscores the challenge the world faces as it readies to negotiate an international agreement on climate change that would require developing and developed countries alike to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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