LIVING IN CHINA; POLLUTION Theres absolutely no doubt that population and pollution are Chinas most serious problems and, of course, the two are closely intertwined. In its race to become the worlds most powerful economy, China has sacrificed its soul, its land, and its people. And as far as I can see, theyll continue to do so. The air here is nothing short of poisonous and although they have some meager regulations concerning this problem, they arent enforced. When government officials plan to visit a series of plants to ensure that their pollution levels are “acceptable” (whatever that is), theyre careful to send out notices to said factories a few weeks in advance. When they arrive, theyre treated to lavish dinners and their palms are all handsomely greased. Much of the time, when I get up and go outside on our small balcony, I can literally SMELL the pollution. Ah, the sweet odor of sulfur in the mornin! I should be able to lok into the distance and see the tall downtown buildings and the beautiful mountains further behind them, but no such ruck. Ill admit, sometimes its due to fog. But more often than not, its pollution. I can look over to the east and see factories belching huge clouds of smoke into the air. And it goes on almost 24 hrs. a day. My wife tells me that the area in which our new house is being built is pretty much free of the air pollution. I dont see how thats possible, but Ill find out in about another year. The area in which we now live is one of the worst for air pollution... The larger cities are downright dangerous. Ive spoken to former residents of Beijing (about 22 million people) and Shanghai (about 24-25 million) who told me that the pollution would get so bad that they couldnt see the buildings across the street!!! Schools will raise a red flag on the playgrounds when the air quality reaches the hazardous level (which is, I think 300...but Beijing and Shanghai often get up as high as 600! The acceptable level is 0-50.). The kiddies wont be allowed to go outside to play. I asked, “Isnt the air theyre breathing inside the building just as bad as the air outside?” That raised some eyebrows. I guess they hadnt thought about this... I recall that not long ago, the pollution in Shanghai was so bad that they had to shut down the airport!!! Guess I should be happy to live in this tiny city of only 4 million. It could be worse! Many people wear what look like surgical masks (hell, for all I know, they may very well BE surgical masks) when theyre on the street. This is especially true of people riding bicycles or electric scooters. The traffic is incredibly heavy and the vehicles belch fumes into the air. Catalytic converters are not required, nor are they installed on, Chinese-made vehicles. They say they do install them on vehicles that are being exported to countries that require them. So what with the factories and the massive volume of continuous traffic, you can just imagine what the air is like. The water is also terribly polluted. Water must be boiled before you drink it (unless you buy bottled water, which is okay) but I doubt if that helps much with many of the chemicals that are routinely poured into the waterways. They tell me that the river that runs through this city (the Liujang River) is one of the cleanest in China. Good. Lord. Id hate to see what they regard as a really polluted river! I imagine you could walk across it. But people go swimming this river, which is terribly dangerous because of the current and every year, they lose a few kids to it. I would reason that fish caught in this or any other river (theyre ALL polluted) wouldnt necessarily be fit for eating but it doesnt seem to dissuade anyone from enjoying fish. Even fish farms place the fish in very polluted water... After purchasing fruits and veggies at the open market, its essential to wash them. And then wash them some more. And then some more... My wife tells me that some kind of particularly nasty DDT is sprayed on them, so we have to make sure that everything is washed very thoroughly. This is also true of rice. Before cooking rice, its necessary to wash it very thoroughly... up to five times! When I first arrived here, I had a sore throat for nearly two months. Back home, I NEVER, EVER get sore throats but I couldnt shake this one. Im quite sure that it was due to the pollution. My eyes are perpetually reddened as I apparently have a mild allergy to something in the air... But its a bit windy today and it rained last night. Its knocked down a lot of the crud in the air. Now I can see the mountains...kind of. :-)
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 21:40:54 +0000
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