Beijing cuts cars by half as Olympics near

Beijing started its drastic traffic control plan Sunday in a last-minute push to clear the capital's pollution-choked skies in time for the August Olympics.

Under the two-month plan, half of Beijing's 3.3 million cars will be removed from city streets on alternate days, depending on whether the license plate ends in an odd or even number.

Skies were relatively clear Sunday and traffic was light. But the real test will come when the work week begins.

In a highly stage-managed Olympics aimed at showing off the rising power of the 21st century, no challenge is greater than producing crystalline air for 10,500 of the world's greatest athletes.

"Pea-soup air at the opening ceremony would be their worst nightmare," said Victor Cha, director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University.

Striking venues and $40 billion spent to improve infrastructure cannot mask Beijing's dirty air.