Environmental Issues

Environmental Issues

As we flew into Hong Kong it appeared to be very hazy, even though the sun was out and there were few clouds in the sky. Across the harbor we could barely see the buildings on other islands. At first I thought it was just foggy, but the air was dry???  

Of course, it was smog - one of the scourges of China's rapid industrialization. They still rely heavily on coal for manufacturing, but also coal (soft coal, which is the dirtiest) is used for cooking and heat in many homes. This had been a major problem for Western countries years ago as they industrialized. Now it's China's turn.

In small, less touristy, towns trash is a big problem

Communal dumpsters collect the local garbage, but then what?

Dust and Dirt

Although Kunming does not have much heavy industry, we noticed a brownish layer over the city as we flew in. As we drove through the north section of the city where the power plants were, as well as a lot of road construction and building, the air was so thick you could taste it. We saw tanker trucks spraying down the vegetation at the side of the road watering, but also washing the leaves which were brown, covered with a thick dust layer. It was pretty gross to see women pushing their baby carriages along the streets through this.

Disguised cell tower

Don't Drink the Water

It is commonly known that you don't drink the water in China. The locals drink lots of tea, which of course, has boiled water. In public buildings there are hot water dispensers where you bring your own tea and container - and just add hot water. Bottled water is prevalent everywhere, which has its own issues because  - what do you do with all those plastic water bottles? Apparently there a lot of recycling plants. but think of the resources and energy that goes into manufacturing the bottle and then recycling them!

A cow walks by a communal garbage can in the city of LiJiang

Garbage, Garbage, Garbage...

For the most part the cities have been quite clean and trash free.  We often see people, mostly women, sweeping, or even washing the streets. David told us that cities usually have landfills to handle trash. In addition, he said that recycling takes place, and there is a deposit system for bottles and cans. However, as we rode through rural areas we saw piles of trash both in the villages and on the side of remote roads. He explained that the smaller towns and villages have no system for disposing of garbage so they just take it to a remote place and dump it, often at the side of the road. Since every village and town is kind of its own entity, the people don't consider the next community too much. I would imagine also that since every possible space that could be cultivated or grazed is taken it could be difficult to negotiate establishing a waste system.

More and more people have cars

Modern roads and highways are ready for the onslaught of more and more cars

More and More Vehicles

As many countries around the world become more prosperous, inevitably, more and more people want cars. We see this in Costa Rica, also. Traffic jams, pollution and parking become big problems. China has gone from bicycling, to scooters, motorcycles, trikes and cars in a few decades. 

Solutions and Challenges…

They are attempting to deal with this by establishing cheap, efficient public transportation, and public buses and trams are often electric. Most of the very popular scooters in cities especially, are electric. Almost every home, whether it is a rural adobe brick cottage, or urban high rise, has a solar hot water heater on the roof. There are also quite a lot of solar panels on roofs, and huge wind turbines can be seen on the crests of many hills in the countryside. Many of the beautiful hotels we stayed in were not heated, and, although we were chilly, I guess they  try to conserve energy on heat! However, the big issue is how much the Chinese still use coal and other fossil fuels for industry and power. Many challenges for the future. As I write this blog the Climate Change talks in Paris have just finished. Let’s hope all the goodwill and promises are kept and built upon… and beyond that hope for world peace!