It is said that one picture is worth 1000 words. Since I'm spending the summer in China learning Chinese on a DoS Critical Language Scholarship, I thought I'd see if one picture is also worth 中国万字符... that would be 1000 Chinese characters! Stay tuned and learn with me, as I post 每天一张照片.
Oh yes, I meant to say mei (every) tian (day) yi zhang (one) zhaopian (picture).
I always felt relieved that even though Hong Kong was smoggy it wasn't this bad (and that I don't have sensitive allergies -- my mom and brother still died when they came to visit).
It still worries you though, knowing that you are inhaling all that polluted air. Yet, on average the local populous - breathing this day after day - has a lifespan not so different from ours (and the difference that does exist is not solely attributable to air pollution). It's heartening, I guess. I still worry that one day my children will imbibe toxic breast milk, but it can't be all that bad.
I imagine less of the smog is caused by the traffic (though such immense jams, letting cars idle with presumably fewer emissions laws, surely play some role) and more is caused by factories that are out of sight, aggravated even by smoke from neighboring provinces that support the city wafting over.
I never thought I had sensitive allergies but I recently caught the cold that everyone in the program has right now, and I feel strongly that the smog is making it worse. I don't have any proof though.
Interesting theories about where the smog is coming from. As far as Beijing is concerned, I know locals attribute the smog to all the cars (more that 1,000 brand new cars take to the streets of Beijing every day) since the government moved all the factories to the outskirts of the city. But air currents may very well transport some of that factory pollution back into the city. Beijing is surrounded by mountains and therefore sort of in a bowl - optimal conditions for retaining smog!
I always felt relieved that even though Hong Kong was smoggy it wasn't this bad (and that I don't have sensitive allergies -- my mom and brother still died when they came to visit).
ReplyDeleteIt still worries you though, knowing that you are inhaling all that polluted air. Yet, on average the local populous - breathing this day after day - has a lifespan not so different from ours (and the difference that does exist is not solely attributable to air pollution). It's heartening, I guess. I still worry that one day my children will imbibe toxic breast milk, but it can't be all that bad.
I imagine less of the smog is caused by the traffic (though such immense jams, letting cars idle with presumably fewer emissions laws, surely play some role) and more is caused by factories that are out of sight, aggravated even by smoke from neighboring provinces that support the city wafting over.
I never thought I had sensitive allergies but I recently caught the cold that everyone in the program has right now, and I feel strongly that the smog is making it worse. I don't have any proof though.
ReplyDeleteInteresting theories about where the smog is coming from. As far as Beijing is concerned, I know locals attribute the smog to all the cars (more that 1,000 brand new cars take to the streets of Beijing every day) since the government moved all the factories to the outskirts of the city. But air currents may very well transport some of that factory pollution back into the city. Beijing is surrounded by mountains and therefore sort of in a bowl - optimal conditions for retaining smog!