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People are not ignorant. Chinese today travel around the world. China has 600 million interenet users and penetration rate is is about 45%. Almost all urban population (about half of its total) have access to computer and the internet. The young generation is cities use smart phones, ipads just like Americans do.
I agree that the Chinese people are well aware of the environmental/pollution problems in their country. I taught an English writing class at a Chinese university where several of my former students wrote final essays about the pollution and environmental problems of their country.
Wow, people still drive when it costs $9000 for a plate on top of your car price??? Hopefully Chinese cities don't sprawl forever like LA though.
Only the wealthy are buying cars, which begs the question, just how many wealthy people are clogging up the streets and roads enough to actually cause severe pollution? I think it goes way beyond exhaust fumes from motor vehicles.
I agree that the Chinese people are well aware of the environmental/pollution problems in their country. I taught an English writing class at a Chinese university where several of my former students wrote final essays about the pollution and environmental problems of their country.
It is so bad that you can no longer see the sun rise or set because the sun has been blocked out, lol. They do have very large video screens set up in Beijin which playback sunsets rising and falling for anyone interested in the illusion.
Only the wealthy are buying cars, which begs the question, just how many wealthy people are clogging up the streets and roads enough to actually cause severe pollution? I think it goes way beyond exhaust fumes from motor vehicles.
In the winter months they are also burning more coal for heating.
Only the wealthy are buying cars, which begs the question, just how many wealthy people are clogging up the streets and roads enough to actually cause severe pollution? I think it goes way beyond exhaust fumes from motor vehicles.
Then there must be a LOT of wealthy people there, because the streets are JAMMED with private cars in all of the Chinese cities. My wife is from there, her family still lives back there, and they all have cars, and all of their friends they work or hang out with have cars. I know it's still more of a luxury item to them than it is to those of us here in the developed world, but more and more "Regular" people over there are now getting cars as average pay rates go up.
It's very common to hear news in Seoul about the air pollution blowing in from China - (or at least that is what they are saying it comes from).
Yeah, it truly is rolling in from China. I have spent time in Beijing and Guangzhou, and it is just NASTY- on some sunny days you don't see the sun, but the sky glows bright orange- it is the creepiest thing. Some women wear masks to cover their mouth and nose just walking down the sidewalks. And when I was in Beijing we were at the airport, we had trouble with our flight and had to stay overnight in the terminal. We were down near the main entrance to the building- every time the automatic sliding doors opened, a very strong odor would blow in that made our eyes water, it was terrible. It was really foggy outside, but then I realized that it wasn't just fog- it was the worst smog I had ever seen.
Many Chinese cities are expanding at unbelievably fast rates. New skyscrapers are popping up on a daily basis all over the country and the construction being done in many areas contributes to that amount of pollution. If you go to any major Chinese city you will see cranes in literally every direction as far as the eye can see. Before I had left Chengdu, in a matter of months they had just completed construction on a highway built on top of the first that goes around the entire city. Hundreds of vehicles running on diesel 24/7 are used to make things like that happen. You could witness the pollutants entering the atmosphere on a daily basis.
The government tackling pollution issues head on would mean slowing the process of development in Chinese cities. Breakneck development does come at a cost, and taking serious efforts to control or limit carbon emissions now would mean slowing the pace of growth.
Then there must be a LOT of wealthy people there, because the streets are JAMMED with private cars in all of the Chinese cities. My wife is from there, her family still lives back there, and they all have cars, and all of their friends they work or hang out with have cars. I know it's still more of a luxury item to them than it is to those of us here in the developed world, but more and more "Regular" people over there are now getting cars as average pay rates go up.
Car ownership is 83 per 1000 people in China. In the US it's 797 per 1000. That's 124,500,000 personal cars in China (240 million if you include motorcycles and other vehicles) and 247,070,000 for the US. I'd have to do more research, but I'm assuming that number in China represents a significant portion of people living in large cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc., whereas in the US, it might be more evenly spread across the country.
I'm from Sichuan and when I was young, it was foggy almost ever day in winter too. And my hometown was not an industrial place.
People in other countries can hardly imagine how gloomy some parts of China can be. For example, Chengdu has significantly fewer sunshine hours per year than London.
Climate and pollution still need to be separate, though the media (both domestic and international) may want to confuse people.
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