Coal has been a curse to China - and the whole planet - for much of the 20th Century, and remains so to this day. In this historic image from 1982 Bei
Coal has been a curse to China - and the whole planet - for much of the 20th Century, and remains so to this day. In this historic image from 1982 Beijing, we see a boy selling the most polluting form of this nasty stuff ever invented. These cylindrical coal briquettes - called "feng wo mi" (beehive coal) - were formed from compressed coal dust, clay and biomass. They were great for asphyxiating households due to carbon monoxide, produced heroic quantities of conventional dust and particulate pollution - contributing to massive smogs - and also, of course, emitted disproportionate amounts of CO2 leading to greenhouse gas global warming. Versatile!
Size: 4894px × 3538px
Photo credit: © Jon Bower / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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