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And it's not just Beijing, all of the big cities over there are that way. I've been to Guangzhou a few times, and I've seen the sky glow orange due to the sun trying to break through the thick pollution.
The comment made by the Chinese official that the pollution is not a deal breaker, that the job scope and availability there is better than Europe or North America is kind of laughable. My wife is from China, and even in our economic downturn here in the US she had more opportunities available to her than she would have had back in China. Her sister who still lives back there is college educated, brilliant with perfect grades but yet the only job she could possibly get was some kind of office admin/paper pusher job that she was able to get because her parents knew somebody who had connections. And that is where she plans to stay because she doesn't have other real options unless someone else with connections has something else better to offer. Talking to her about it is interesting, they don't look at their job situations as we do where they can always be on the hunt for jobs they would like better- though it's a booming economy the place is seemingly over populated, so the competition for jobs (especially good ones) is FIERCE. And so for that reason, many there still see the US as a better option not only for the much cleaner air/environment and better living conditions, but even for better job prospects.
Beijing is certainly polluted. However, North China is always dusty due to the climate too, not just pollution.
It was described as a windy, dusty city in ancient China as well.
All bigger cities in China are pretty bad, but relatively speaking Kunming is ok.
China is an ecological basket case. There is not one area of the country with clean air, water or soil. The government lacks the will to do anything about it because the leaders are in cahoots with the powerful interests doing the damage and they are all making a fortune by raping the country. And of course, their kids are all overseas or can easily go. It's the common people who will pay the price.
Beijing is certainly polluted. However, North China is always dusty due to the climate too, not just pollution.
It was described as a windy, dusty city in ancient China as well.
All bigger cities in China are pretty bad, but relatively speaking Kunming is ok.
That's true, but it seems to have gotten markedly worse and the pollution adds toxins that were not present before. The dustiness has also worsened directly due to man-made environmental issues because of increased desertification of the surrounding areas due to far greater water usage.
And yea, Beijing is terrible. China really is trading in for the short run. American manufacturing contracted partially due to the much more stringent environmental standards that were put forward since the mid-20th century and made the cost of doing business in the US substantially higher. The massive trade-off to this was a stay on environmental destruction and pollution within cities. When the actual costs to bring these environmental issues under control have to be accounted for, it will be interesting to see what the net benefit end up as.
Isn't it ironic they are having all these problems yet some Chinese view other ethnicities as being dirty and trashy?
Don't lump the population in with a government that is not concerned with the issue.
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