Greenpeace concerned over Everest road

Environmental activist group Greanpeace says Beijing's plan to pave a stretch of gravel road leading up to a base camp on Mount Everest is a cause for concern. In a statement reported by the Wall Street Journal , the group said it is "monitoring the situation to understand how the local environment may be affected and whether the road project has followed necessary environmental-impact-assessment" guidelines. Beijing's plan to pave a 101-kilometer stretch of road in Tibet from the foot of Mount Everest to a climbers' camp at 17,160 feet (5,200 meters) above sea level ahead of the Olympic torch relay to the top of the mountaing has created controversy and raised questions about China's handling of the 2008 Olympic Games. Reactions to the road has raised concerns about China's treatment of Tibet, which Beijing has controlled since the 1950s. Four activists were detained in April for protesting the planned route of the Olympic torch through Tibet.