Pollution is “nature’s red-light warning against the model of inefficient and blind development,” said China’s Premier Li Keqiang as he announced new steps to battle the choking smog that regularly enshrouds Beijing and the northeast of the country.

Li’s comments came at the start of the annual National People’s Congress of the Communist party in Beijing.  Among the steps will be removing high-emission cars from the road and closing coal-fired furnaces to reduce emissions of PM10 and PM2.5, the small particulates that pose the greatest risk to human health, and impose a ceiling on energy consumption.

“It is a prolonged battle,” Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian told reporters after Li spoke.  “We need to be patient.”

Chinese scientists have recently compared the country’s air pollution epidemic to a nuclear winter, potentially slowing plant photosynthesis and impacting food production.

This all comes as a new report says pollution is forcing a new movement of people – environmental refugees.  New Tang Dynasty news many are moving within China to escape the smog.  But people who made their fortunes have greater options.

“The wealthy class choose America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or small European countries as destinations,” said the report.  “Those remaining in China move to less populated, small and medium sized cities.  This includes Dali in Yunnan, Sanya in Hainan, Weihai in Shandong, and Zhuhai in Guangdong.”