Smog Journeys: A Chinese Filmmaker Looks at Carbon Pollution
January 24, 2015
Description:
Jia Zhangke’s short film for Greenpeace East Asia depicts the effects of air pollution in northeast China, a region frequently blanketed in dangerous levels of air pollution. ‘Smog Journeys’ traces two familes from two different backgrounds; one a mining family in Hebei province, and the other a trendy middle class family in Beijing. Both face a similar fate.
More evidence that the Chinese people are acutely aware of the damaging effects of coal burning, and pollution in general – a key driver of the recent agreement on Greenhouse gases between the US and China – discussed in my recent video, below.
January 24, 2015 at 10:59 am
Reblogged this on Just Your Type of Blog. and commented:
A really serious issue here that needs to be addressed soon before it’s too late. Another link here: http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/01/chinas-toxic-sky/100449/
January 26, 2015 at 9:29 am
“Clean air doesn’t come to those who wait”, says the Greenpeace clip at the end. How true, and it’s a shame that the Chinese “waited” for decades before getting serious about pollution. Now that their water, air and soil have been poisoned almost beyond repair in many areas and the whole planet is in trouble, they are finally going to “do” something? Let’s hope it’s not too little too late, and that they don’t have a future SHTF problem that slows down what they SAY they are going to do (which is a start but not enough).
I do think that it’s very cute the way they have embroidered the masks for the kiddies with cute little animals—-the kids can have FUN while they choke to death, and the marketers can compete to come up with the most “popular” design (and get rich selling them). Maybe they can have a contest on social media with everyone posting pics of their favorites. Lord love a duck and maybe I’m crazy, but there’s something wrong with that whole picture.
And what’s wrong with Crockers that this post has gotten NO play? Are we in a state of denial? Is it “Oh, we now have an AGREEMENT with China—don’t worry, be happy, all is well”? I have chanted CHINA-INDIA-COAL on a number of threads in the past, and the “agreement” with China is just talk for now. Speaking of India, the WashPost had a good article yesterday on how achieving an “agreement” with India is going to be difficult.
China’s economy is much farther down the development road than India’s. Just as China tripled its fossil fuel emissions in the past 15 years, India can be expected to do the same in the next 15 (just as India’s population is expected to surpass China’s). Check out the WashPosr article—-very revealing:
washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/heres-why-obama-wont-get-a-climate-deal-with-india-this-trip/2015/01/24/77fb95c9ccf-11e4-86a3-1b56f64925f6_story.html
PS