A few weeks ago, we wondered if any of the environmental upgrades China's made for the Olympics would stick after the games. We were skeptical, as were a few folks who read our post.

On Sunday, Reuters reported that at least one Chinese environmental official favors keeping some of the air pollution controls. Fan Yuansheng, director general of the department of pollution control at the Chinese environmental ministry told Reuters that formal monitoring for ozone and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) could happen next year.

Then on Monday, ClimateWire (subscription required) discussed a report by the non-profit Climate Group, which said China might not be in as bad a pollution predicament as we might think. The group's report found that China's investing more money in alternative energy and low-carbon technologies per capita than the US -- some $12 billion last year -- and that China's per capita carbon footprint is smaller than the U.S. average.

"The reality is that China's government is beginning to unleash a low-carbon dragon," Climate Group CEO Steve Howard told ClimateWire.