yellow dust - masks a must!
April 1st 2007 17:43
to continue on this series of doom and gloom entries of late, i thought i would enlighten the anthroblogogy readers to my environmental situation at the moment.
i awoke this morning to read this newspaper article from the korea herald. this is also all over the television due to the yellow dust storms are the worst they have ever been. and if you walk outside, it is easy to see why.
this is a result of china's massive push on industrialisation, and the lack of winter type weather on their northern deserts. so as a result, china, korea, and japan have to put up with toxic sand blowing across their respective countries for 3 months every year. this dust is particularly bad for the elderly, the young and paople with respiratory and heart conditions. we are advised to stay indoors, with some schools opting for a day off classes during the worst of it. we are also told to wash our hands and feet(?) more regularly, although some of the guys around here should probably do that anyway.
unfortunately each year gets worse and worse. so much so that masks are now a neccesity. i remember the first time that i saw on the news that people have to actually wear face masks because the air pollution was too inadequate to breathe normally. now it seems quite normal to be doning your favourite face mask and not so much like a scene from a david lynch film set in the future on some isolated sun planet.
at first when we arrived in seoul, it was only the elderly and young children that were wearing the masks, but now they are being worn by virtually everyone. if you see someone not wearing one, you instinctively want to tell the person to 'put one on as we are having a highly toxic day today'. it still makes me shiver to even contemplate that, let alone write a joke about it.
however, i think you do have to keep high spirits about the whole situation. this is what most of the people here do, as this is really a situation that is out of control of most people. unfortunately the majority of the population has to suffer because of a few crap decisions that are being followed out by a few.
down town seoul. image from terradaily.com
this is a result of china's massive push on industrialisation, and the lack of winter type weather on their northern deserts. so as a result, china, korea, and japan have to put up with toxic sand blowing across their respective countries for 3 months every year. this dust is particularly bad for the elderly, the young and paople with respiratory and heart conditions. we are advised to stay indoors, with some schools opting for a day off classes during the worst of it. we are also told to wash our hands and feet(?) more regularly, although some of the guys around here should probably do that anyway.
the suggested apparel for the next few months
at first when we arrived in seoul, it was only the elderly and young children that were wearing the masks, but now they are being worn by virtually everyone. if you see someone not wearing one, you instinctively want to tell the person to 'put one on as we are having a highly toxic day today'. it still makes me shiver to even contemplate that, let alone write a joke about it.
however, i think you do have to keep high spirits about the whole situation. this is what most of the people here do, as this is really a situation that is out of control of most people. unfortunately the majority of the population has to suffer because of a few crap decisions that are being followed out by a few.
see the lighter side.... www.decrim.com
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Comment by katyzzz
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katyzzz
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
i keep waiting for someone to walk around the corner in one of those world war 1 chemical warfare masks!
Comment by Lilla
Enviro Warrior
An Extra Ordinary Life
Dream Herald
wow : I had heard it was bad (since I last trudged the land there in '87) ... but this sounds dreadful?
China worries me, it is headed to problems of major proportions... but I guess it has people to spare, does it not?
great post, great mask ... don't you just love the human spirit?
Lilla ...
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
china is a concern. they are kind of like a fat kid that has been let lose in a chocolate shop! all this (de)velopment. all this indusrialisation. everyone knows that it has to have negative consequences and this is one prime example of it.
this was something that we were not expecting at all and has partially dampened our experience. but on the other hand, i have seen first hand what mass industrialization can do and its affects, and this is enough to make me never want to drive a car again.
but the scary thing about it is that the people just don't listen to the warnings! they are more willing to put a band aid on the situation, instead of removing the cancer that is eating the environment. but at least someone is making money out of it.....
yeah the human spirit is truly an amazing thing. is there nothing that can squash it?