pollution in China

Well, in case anyone was interested their male/female ratio will soon normalize because half their young males today will die of smoking-related diseases in as soon as 20 years. So much for female infanticide.
 
In the face of all this evidence it is embarrassing to admit that I worked 20 years as a respiratory therapist. I used to be annoyed with R.T. burnouts who would see someone smoking and say, "Hey look, job security". It's still annoying but now it's also frightening. People have told me that smoking is on the decline. In Oregon and California it is much more difficult than before because there aren't a lot of places you can smoke legally any more, for instance restaurants and grocery stores. But in the 1970's when I was in Thailand there wasn't a lot of smoking. (Ok there were and probably still are a fair number of people who chew betal nut(sp)). But in South Korea in the 21st century I have seen plenty of young people smoking.
It's depressing.
In Oregon there is a lot of pollution of all kinds. Vehicle emissions, tons of grass, tree, and flower pollens, and lots of mold. I see more people sick from breathing problems every day.
And now I work at counseling people who want to quit smoking or who need oxygen at home. Some of them are on ventilators.
barbie
 
Well, I've quit trying to tell people off for smoking in front of hospitals where there's a large "NO SMOKING" sign because they have gotten aggressive and I have had to call security, who really don't care because they themselves smoke. The worst thing is, inpatients get aggressive because they are not allowed to smoke, and we have to send staff or security to bring them outside of the hospital. Either way we are at least one staff member down, usually at night when there is skeletal staffing anyways. What makes smokers have special rights? There's no way I'm putting myself at risk on the job ever again. I just get annoyed because I can't stand passive smoking from their second-hand smoke, but there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. If noone reports it formally then the hospital administration does not think there is a problem, but it literally takes 30 min to put in the report on the internet. I'd rather start seeing patients in the ER.

I don't like how people smoke and accept smoking in Japan, but I am rather impressed that they mostly stick to smoking areas, outdoors and actually move their burning cigarette aside when you walk past them, a behavior I have not seen elsewhere, be it Australia, China, Hongkong or Singapore. And I live in relatively smoke-free Australia. To be honest, I am especially disgusted at young women smoking who behave like it's their birthright because for some reason it adds to gender equality. It's not anyone's right to cause harm to other people through second-hand smoke. Even if one day other primates are elevated to our sentient level and have rights, it is still not acceptable to blow smoke into other people's faces. I don't care how women were oppressed in the past. It has nothing to do with smoking and it does not empower anyone.

Sorry I've gotten so off-topic. I only just realized this was on the public forum.
 
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Yeah, not only that, but their drinking water has got to be subpar. I couldn't even use tap water to brush my teeth with in Shanghai - it had to be boiled to even be used for toilet purposes. I never drank the tap water there, it had to be purified bottled water. I just wonder how the people manage, but they seem happy and totally ignorant of what's happening to the environment. As long as they make money.
 
barbie biggs said:
In Oregon there is a lot of pollution of all kinds. Vehicle emissions, tons of grass, tree, and flower pollens, and lots of mold. I see more people sick from breathing problems every day.
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Is pollen considered a pollution factor? Why?

I am surprised to hear this... having grown up in an area known for cherry and apple orchards; no one thought of 'pollen pollution' walking the fairy-tale pink hills in bloom. There must have been tangible quantities of pollen round everywhere all the time from one source or another from March to late August. The whole area works on fairly traditional agriculture, so if it wasn't the orchards, then you've got vineyards, linen, soy, sunflower etc. and hay fields in bloom repeatedly and what not. Cattail ('Bbroadleaf', I think) makes ounces of pollen per flowering head! (we'd bottle it and watch the jars explode when the pollen eventually sprouted - naughty kids!; Those must be real allergy bombs if anything is, only none of us had any reaction ever )

Can't remember anyone complaining of allergies 'round there, really - could be that continuous exposure made a difference, or something else. Still, from what you are saying, it sounds like that early exposure could have been as bad as that to smog and smoking... which sounds a tad scary, since I've certainly got oodles of it.
 
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Raisondetre said:
but they seem happy and totally ignorant of what's happening to the environment. As long as they make money.
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That's a bit unfair - we in the West have been polluting the planet for 200 years and more. Not just to make money, either.
We drive gas guzzling cars, take 'plane trips at the drop of a hat, ruin miles and miles of landscapes with landfills of plastic waste because it's cheaper than recycling or using biodegradable materials.
And so the Chinese are now manufacturing the goods that the West wants to buy. Who can blame them for wanting the lifestyle that we have enjoyed for so long ?
And believe me, if manufacturers could get it made cheaper in the West, they would do so, and we'd once again be polluting even more than we do now.
 
Sueki said:
That's a bit unfair - we in the West have been polluting the planet for 200 years and more. Not just to make money, either.
We drive gas guzzling cars, take 'plane trips at the drop of a hat, ruin miles and miles of landscapes with landfills of plastic waste because it's cheaper than recycling or using biodegradable materials.
And so the Chinese are now manufacturing the goods that the West wants to buy. Who can blame them for wanting the lifestyle that we have enjoyed for so long ?
And believe me, if manufacturers could get it made cheaper in the West, they would do so, and we'd once again be polluting even more than we do now.
Click to expand...

I see your point. I'm not making a "blanket" statement per se - you have to be there to actually feel it in your system. They really do take it to the extremes and it's not just the disregard for the environment. The Chinese call themselves a civilization of 5000 years or more. I really expected better of them because of this superiority. They have a saying for almost everything, and moral values by the ton. I'm ethnic Chinese myself and I cannot stand the selfishness of alot of the people, even though it's universally human, and there are great people there who truly care and want to make a change. Wanting a better life after decades of poverty is something that just comes naturally, but because of the lag in development, awareness of the environment is just the furthest thing from their minds. I don't think it's something particular to the Chinese, East or West. We have all contributed to polluting the environment, even from before we were born. To be honest, this actually pains me alot more than it looks.

The thing that gets me, is that the better built schools catering for the rich were fine after the Sichuan earthquake, while tons of the rural schools collapsed right after. I have never seen this happen on a great scale in Western history. There is corruption, but never to this extent.
 
"The thing that gets me, is that the better built schools catering for the rich were fine after the Sichuan earthquake, while tons of the rural schools collapsed right after. I have never seen this happen on a great scale in Western history. There is corruption, but never to this extent."

Hi Raison,
It was ever thus. There have been so many examples of the rich escaping while the poor suffer in our past history.
The great leveller these days is the vote. And education.
Now, rich and poor have the same power at the ballot box, and although the rich can rule, so also can the poor; and they are all dependant on the rest of us to keep them in power.
And corruption exists here, sometimes quite shocking, but eventually, the worm turns and we vote them out. And then the next lot become corrupted, and so it goes on...
 
Raisondetre said:
Well, in case anyone was interested their male/female ratio will soon normalize because half their young males today will die of smoking-related diseases in as soon as 20 years. So much for female infanticide.
Click to expand...

No longer. They have lost a generation twice over if you think about it.

The principle of government ordered abortions was "people cause pollution." Less people, less pollution. Reduce the population to a manageable level and pollution will be a more manageable problem. Easier stop population growth than to be environmentally responsible and still turn a profit.

The hypocrasy of it became so apparent when NOW/Planned Parenthood supported China's mandated one child per couple law. But over here, they supported "choice." Where was the Chinese woman's choice?

They have paid a terrible price.
 
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LOL Voting was only ever an option in Western civilizations. The Chinese government did not come into power through voting or democracy. Even with the capitalization of the economy they still call themselves communist, which is little better than a monarchy. It's still the same story all over again. The more I know about history, the more bitter I become.
 
Slraep said:
Allergies to pollen are a result of our ever challenged immune system, which is slowly but surely being weakened by pollution(which also includes the stuff we eat), malfunctioning.
Click to expand...

I have no theory on this but heard at least one plausible explanation (a US study on allergies, reported by an international newspaper - not sure which right now) that sounds a bit more optimistic: it wouldn't be a matter of 'malfunction' but of 'early training' - something long the lines of "got to have some real dirt around sometimes". Funny that! Either way, I'm quite grateful for those pollen bombs - no allergy to anything so far, fingers crossed.
 
Sueki said:
"The thing that gets me, is that the better built schools catering for the rich were fine after the Sichuan earthquake, while tons of the rural schools collapsed right after. I have never seen this happen on a great scale in Western history. There is corruption, but never to this extent."

There have been so many examples of the rich escaping while the poor suffer in our past history.
...
Click to expand...


New Orleans...

It doesn't even have to be corruption, inequality is quite enough, apparently.

Whether this is a matter of government or politics alone, beats me.
 
Pollution in China's Seas: Now "Serious"
By Peter Bachmann, on Monday, 09 June 2008


"The condition of China's seas and coastline is further deteriorating, with experts warning that the ocean ecology system is seriously damaged and will get worse.

Up to 145,000 sq km of shallow waters along China's coast failed to meet quality standards, and 29,000 sq km were seriously polluted, according to a Dalian Maritime University report. The worst-affected areas include East Liaoning, the Bohai and Hangzhou bays, and the shores of the Yellow, Yangtze and Zhujiang rivers, plus some inshore areas of large coastal cities.

"Over the past 20 years or so, China's marine economy has been developing at a staggeringly rapid pace and marine resources are being widely tapped. As a result, the condition of China's inshore environment is deteriorating, and the ocean ecology has been seriously damaged," state media quoted Professor Luan Weixin, of the Economics and Management College at Dalian Maritime University."

http://www.bizchina-update.com/content/view/940/2/
 
Slraep,
Thanks for posting that link. Very informative. I really appreciate it.
 
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