odds of a blue sky in Beijing
- Thread starter BayView
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all i can do is look at the haze and feel sorry for the long distance runners - imagine doing a marathon in that filth.
makes our feeble efforts of reducing polution rather pitiful when that sort of discharge is going on. i'd hate to live in it. i wonder what their health problems will amount to in 20 years or so.
makes our feeble efforts of reducing polution rather pitiful when that sort of discharge is going on. i'd hate to live in it. i wonder what their health problems will amount to in 20 years or so.
I don't feel sorry for anyone who made a conscious decision to go there. If a long distance runner goes to China to run and gets health problems, then that's just dumb in my opinion.
If you're gonna feel sorry for someone, how about the kids who are born there who don't have a choice in what they breathe.
they were the ones i meant in regards to the health problems ... the people who live there and breathe it every day.
china is going to have a huge health bill to pick up for these millions of people in years to come.
Given that something like a third of the world's smokers live in China (some 350 million in late 2006 according to this article), a bit of pollution is hardly likely to make much difference.
As to costs, the article indicates smoking cost China more than the pre-tax profits of the whole country's tobacco industry in the previous year, some 250 billion yuan. Which just goes to show (if the article is anything like correct), that if the industry had to pay for the damage it caused, it would go broke.
GP
On the abc last week they reported that half a million people a year die there of respiritory problems, l dont think that included the smokers stats.
We once rented to a Korean guy who told us that if they wanted to breathe clean air and see the sky they used to hike up into the mountains once or twice a year. He couldnt believe how we just walk out the door into beautiful air and skies each day here in Aus.
cheers
yadreamin
Mate, this is THE BEST country on the planet!!
There was special edition of National Geographic not long ago that covered all aspects of China and it said that China has the highest rate of respiratory illnesses and death in the world.
IMO that's a pretty good reason for Australia to reduce our own pollution - a healthier atmosphere with fresh air to breath.
Just make sure we don't get a billion bloody humans wandering around the joint.
We've got PLENTY here right now.
Even the USA, with only 300 odd million - is way to overcrowded for mine.
Close the gates now, please.
On that note, I highly recommend visiting the West-coast Tasmania, if for nothing else but the air there.
Yep; awesome part of the world - but too cold for me.
I'm even struggling with the weather in Melb!
Living in California has ruined me I'm afraid. Roll on summer.
you will have better luck catching a leprechaun, or finding that pot of gold at the base of rainbow, than you will of seeing clear blue skies in Beijing.
When i was in shanghai last year, staying on the 74th floor of my hotel... the visibility first thing in the morning was below 500m... more like 300m. Even the skyscrapers on the other side of the river couldnt be seen!
It just makes me even happier to live here.
When i was in shanghai last year, staying on the 74th floor of my hotel... the visibility first thing in the morning was below 500m... more like 300m. Even the skyscrapers on the other side of the river couldnt be seen!
It just makes me even happier to live here.
I was in Beijing in Autumn of 2007, Late March early April and saw blue sky for several days. This was mainly due to the wind blowing all the smog away. The wind was cold on the day we arrived in Tianimen Square, it then dropped off to leave several days in the 16-20C tempearatures and clear skys.
OK, here is my take on this. I've been living in China (Shanghai) for the last 9 months and I do not think the polution is THAT bad. Sure it does have it's moments, but I am a firm believer in that most of the haze we see is due to tropical heat and humidity in summer, the winter is generally pretty clear, when it's not raining. I have not been that badly affected by the air.........water however is another matter. Myself and many of my friends broke out in a skin rash when we first moved here, it has come back from time to time. At first I thought it was new washing powder, but it appears to be the water I wash in, somedays I have to let the tap run for 5 or so minutes until it runs clear, and the water smells muddy.
I've also worked fairly extensively in Beijing, and whilst it is poluted, I also think a lot of it is due to tropical haze and humidity in summer. Singapore has similar sky's to Beijing and Shanghai, as does Bangkok and KL.
I've seen absolutely dreadful pollution in Manila and Hong Kong around 1999/2000, yes we had no clouds and a lovely BROWN sky and I did feel quite ill after an afternoon walking around Manila. Anything in the Pearl River Delta, or near it (Shenzen, New Territories, et al) is going to suffer heavy polution due to the massive industrialisation there.
As for the amount of smoking, well there is shitloads of it, everywhere, even many cab drivers light up, even though they aren't supposed to, even if you tell them STOP!, and even in Mandarin, they just pretend to not understand you (I must learn the Shanghainese for stop smoking please).
Also, a smoke free restaurant is unheard of
Dont' get me started on the spitting.....
I've also worked fairly extensively in Beijing, and whilst it is poluted, I also think a lot of it is due to tropical haze and humidity in summer. Singapore has similar sky's to Beijing and Shanghai, as does Bangkok and KL.
I've seen absolutely dreadful pollution in Manila and Hong Kong around 1999/2000, yes we had no clouds and a lovely BROWN sky and I did feel quite ill after an afternoon walking around Manila. Anything in the Pearl River Delta, or near it (Shenzen, New Territories, et al) is going to suffer heavy polution due to the massive industrialisation there.
As for the amount of smoking, well there is shitloads of it, everywhere, even many cab drivers light up, even though they aren't supposed to, even if you tell them STOP!, and even in Mandarin, they just pretend to not understand you (I must learn the Shanghainese for stop smoking please).
Also, a smoke free restaurant is unheard of
Dont' get me started on the spitting.....
I get dermatitis on my hands every time I go to Asia..... washing powder, hotel shampoos, dishwashing liquid, soaps.... it all seems to be much stronger and more toxic than what we have here. I have to smother my hands in sorbolene cream to protect them.
But no reaction just to the water.....
Pen
