You can't avoid the smog in China. Even in the relatively deindustrialized city of Chengdu, a dull grey smog lingers in the air most of the time. During the five weeks I was there, I wore my sun-glasses just twice and rarely saw an unobstructed sun. I was told that most of the smog was produced in the neighboring city of Chonqing (site of steel mills and coal-burning plants) and that when the wind blew in a north-westerly direction (which is most of the time), the city of Chengdu would suffer.
The increase in private automobile ownership (currently at 20% according to a newspaper source) and the fact that many trucks and buses run on unregulated diesel, worsen the situation.
I've been back in California for four weeks but I still feel a sticky tickle in my lungs and an uncomfortable moistness at the back of my throat.
On the other hand, China's economy continues to roar, sizzle, explode (choose your favorite metaphor). The Gross Domestic Product has grown by more than 10% continuously for the last three years (it was 11.5% this last year). The country is poised to overtake Germany as the world's third largest economy. Most of the world's steel, brick, aluminum, indeed most of the world's consumer products, originate from China these days. It is no exaggeration to say that China has become the workshop of the world.
At what price?
According to a recent report by the World Bank and Chinese Academy of Sciences, up to 300 million people are drinking contaminated water every day in China; one third of its rivers are "highly polluted;" respiratory illness is becoming a serious urban disease. Meanwhile, the extraction and burning of cheap coal continues to be at the center of China's energy consumption.
I'd like to think that the future looks brighter as controls and regulations are enforced by a deeply concerned government:
But I'm not confident.
However, I think it's important to stress that the problem does not belong to China alone. If we are asking the country to be the world's workshop (in other words, to produce goods cheaply, sacrificing ethical environmental and labor practices, in order that we can enjoy fantastic bargains at our local stores) then we should be more mindful of the damage that results a continent away.
Perhaps that's why I still can't quite shake the annoying tickle that sticks to the back of my throat.
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