Chinese environmentalist group launches app to shame polluters

A Chinese environmental group has launched a smartphone app that tracks and shames polluting factories, highlighting how the government is welcoming public monitoring of companies that pollute. The app uses real-time data published by local environmental authorities and enables the public to check hourly pollution data and see which industrial plants are producing excessive emissions. The plants are on a list of about 15,000 drawn up by the Ministry of Environment that are required to monitor their air emissions and wastewater discharges. Since the beginning of the year, the government has required that the emissions data be made public. The app is produced by the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, which said it showed as many as 370 large industrial companies producing excessive emissions on Monday. AP