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The latest statistics from 2016 show that, according to the source analysis of PM2.5 in China’s 9 major cities, motor vehicles were responsible for 20% of the country’s nitrogen oxide emissions. As is well known, China is a country with high energy consumption, and due to its abundant coal resources, coal plays a dominant role in the country’s energy structure. China’s energy structure relies heavily on coal, with 60% of its energy needs met by coal. On December 18th, extremely severe foggy weather began to occur in central and eastern China, with air quality indices in many areas reaching critical levels. Is there still any way for us to remedy this situation? In 2014, the **Implementation Plan for the Comprehensive Energy-Saving and Environmental Protection Improvement Project for Coal-Fired Boilers**, issued jointly by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, stated that by the end of 2012, there were 467,000 coal-fired industrial boilers in use. Most industrial boilers that use coal have a small capacity; the average capacity per boiler is only 3.8 tons per hour, with 66.5% of them having a capacity of less than 2 tons per hour. Small boilers, outdated technology, low energy efficiency and high emissions, without any environmental protection equipment for desulfurization, denitrification, or dust removal. At the same time, the fuel quality is poor; the coal used is mainly raw coal that has not been processed, with a complex composition, unstable calorific value, high ash and sulfur content. Moreover, illegal discharges occur, exacerbating environmental pollution. “Controlling illegal discharges has always been difficult. In the past, there were environmental protection devices that were only turned on when environmental officers came to supervise. Online monitoring has now been implemented, and a new method has emerged: placing probes on the bypass chimney. After some bypass chimneys were shut down, sample falsification began; for example, fresh air was introduced during air monitoring, and a pipe filled with clean water was placed at the sampling points for wastewater to dilute the sampled area. Furthermore, with current online monitoring, it is often carried out by third parties, which creates room for falsifying the uploaded data. ”An environmental activist at the grassroots level said. Faced with increasingly severe foggy weather, more and more problems are coming to light; we must focus firmly on improving environmental protection, as this is related to the well-being of the people as well as the future of the nation. The article news comes from Molfind Network (www.molfind.cn)