Beijing scrubbed itself clean of pollution for the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, the constant working of factories and exhaust from automobiles has led over seven hundred flights to and from Beijing being cancelled due to the smog. Stores have sold out of face masks for citizens to wear on the streets, and people worry that the air quality will not be fixed in the near future. The citizens have begun to question whether or not they can still trust the government with their health and safety, after such a crisis. Furthermore, the airport announced the cancellations of the flights as a result of the weather, and made no mention of the pollution. There has been great unrest among many citizens who feel that their government doesn’t care about whether they live or die. The fine particles that make up much of the pollution in the city are called PM 2.5 as they are at most 2.5 microns in diameter. The publishing’s of the Chinese government only take into account particles that are at least 10 microns in diameter. The United States Embassy has set up a Twitter feed which speaks of the air quality in Beijing, and the reports of the Embassy are very different from those of the government. A Chinese Foreign Ministry official asked the American diplomats to stop the Twitter feed, saying that it could lead to many social consequences. Finally, this Tuesday, China Daily published an article stating that the lung cancer rate in Beijing had increased by 60 percent over the last decade, although the smoking rate has not changed.
This was a shocking article to read. Pollution has been a very relevant topic worldwide for decades, but the current situation in Beijing really displays the worst of it. Often we think about how pollution will affect us in the future, but here in New York we have yet to face a situation as serious as the on in Beijing, and I cannot even imagine needing a mask to walk in the streets. This article also reminds us what can happen when we don’t stress the dangers of pollution, and how that is an extremely prominent issue in today’s world.
This article was very well written. However, there are a few things that could have been done differently. For example, the article was very repetitive, and repeated the same facts in several different places. Furthermore, it did not really describe how Beijing came to be so polluted, and instead offered several vague reasons with little specificity. Other than these minor details, this was an excellent article that was very informative.
Wong, Edward. "Outrage Grows Over Air Pollution and China's Response." The New York TImes 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.
Julia was able to capture the main points of the article in a very coherant way. The synopsis paragraoh clearly illustrated the gap between the information that China submits to the public, and the actual reality of the situation. Julia explained what the pollution in China actually was. 2.5 microns in diameter is a very fine particle size, making it easier for the body to internalize it. Julia also was able to show how the state of pollution in China is going to affect the rest of the world. United States Embassy has stated, on Twitter, that there will be social consequences for China is they do now begin to release accurate data and try to ameliorate their problem. The Chinese citizens currently believe that their government does not care about their health. Julia also made her article review interesting by beginning it with a connection to the Beijing Olympics.
ReplyDeleteThe review could have been better by adding a bit more detail about some statistics. It was interesting to find out about the particle size and the 60% increase in lung cancer. Another aspect of the review that could have been improved was the importance section. I would have liked to hear the view of Julia in a less mainstream way. We all know pollution is bad.
I found this article review to be overall interesting. It is strange to see a country that is so advanced in technology to be so reluctant to improve their air quality. Maybe they should put more emphasis on green technology since they already have a leg up.
Julia did a great job with her review of the article on Beijing’s air pollution. She expressed the concern of the Chinese for their health, as well as the lack of concern their government has shown for fixing the problem well. I also liked how she clarified the size of particles that make up a majority of the smog as well as state some of the statistics of how these particles are affecting the people to give a better picture of what this pollution is and how it is effecting the people. It was very informative for her to say how the US felt and in contrast, the Chinese retaliation to the opinion but lack of response in acting on changing the condition of Beijing.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest to Julia to have done a little research on what the particles are, because although it was very informative to know their size and how the people are responding, it would be nice to know what it was and a little bit more specifically where it was coming from. I would have also liked it when she was connecting it to America, to compare the air pollution levels of New York.
I found it very interesting fact that there had been a 60 percent increase in lung cancer even though the smoking rate had not changed. It is a great point that emphasizes the severity of the air pollution in Beijing and the need for that to be addressed.
Ms. Keating did an excellent job of discussing the ramifications of the Chinese keeping information from their public population and therefore mitigating the problem that is now reached the level of disaster. The true problem with the Chinese population is the mere size. Because most of the debris is so small, it is easily internalized by the body, through pores in the skin as well as openings like the mouth and nose. The Government has shown no concern for the health of the billions of people in China, and therefore have had no warnings or alarms about the state of pollution. Julia kept the interest of the reader by adding facts alongside connections to the Olympics, an event that is of importance to many individuals across the world.
ReplyDeleteThough her review was very well done, Ms. Keating could have elaborated on some of the statistics about how the pollution had grown. She did mention that there was a 60% lung cancer increase, but she did not explain how this had come to be as well as explaining the types of debris that are being ingested by the population. I also wish Julia could have taken a stronger stand when explaining exactly what her views were and how this could affect us here in Bronxville. The warnings about pollution are ubiquitous, but how China will affect Bronxville would be an interesting thing to note.
This article was incredibly interesting to read, as was Ms. Keating’s review. The most fascinating part to me was to see a country which is thought as so technologically advanced come up so short in the race to be green and lower pollution. China should focus much of their technological advancements on this crucial issue instead of focusing time, energy, and money on things of lesser importance, like a smaller cell phone.
Julia did a great job with her review of the article “Outrage Grows Over Air Pollution and China’s Response. This article was about how severe China’s air pollution problem is and how it is effecting China negatively, for example leading to the cancellation of more than 700 flights because of smog. This article also discussed China’s response, or lack there of, to this pressing issue. Julia did a things exceptionally well. Firstly, she did a good job providing detail on why the Chinese government has not done more. She explained that the Chinese government can only take into account particles a certain size and they do not want to create social unrest. Secondly, Julia also did a good job connecting the issues in china to us, in New York. When doing something like this, it is always good to make the topic relevant to the reader because then they are more interested. Thirdly, did a good job keeping her review short. The points she wanted to make were very focused and clear.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Julia’s review was excellently done, there are a few minor things she could have done to make it a little better. Firstly, she could have elaborated on the long term and short term effects of this air pollution of china. She mentioned lung cancer briefly, but I think if she had elaborated how the pollution can effect people’s health would have really made he review stronger. She also could have discussed the environmental consequences. Julia could have also made her review stronger had she elaborated on the source of this air pollution a little more.
I found this review very interesting. Personally, I have been to china and when I complained to my tour guide about how I couldn’t breather he simply responded “its dust from the Gobi desert.” This shows how well the Chinese government has done in keeping the under the rug. I had no idea the situation was getting worse before I read this article.
Amanda Austi
ReplyDeleteCurrent Events Comments: December 6, 2011
Comment of Julia’s Review: “Outrage Grows Over Air Pollution and China’s Response”
I think that Julia did a very good job presenting this article. One thing that she did well was she had an interesting opening statement. It was very engaging and made the article more interesting to learn about. Another thing that she did well was she summarized life in Beijing very vividly. She stated that “flights have been cancelled and stores have run out of face masks. These specific details made the article more interesting and described the dramatic effects of the air pollution in Beijing. Last, I think she made a good point in her second paragraph. She linked this article nicely to our world by saying that people allows look towards the future but Beijing is a perfect example of what is to come if air pollution is not stopped.
Although the review was very good, there are some things that could be improved. First, I think that she could have said more about how and why Beijing is as polluted as it is. I would ask this because I would think that the United States and other developed countries have a lot of manufacturing, but why does Beijing suffer the most from it. Second, I think that it could have improved if she added more statistics about how the air pollution has grown. This would have clearly shown the increase on Beijing pollution.
One interesting thing that I learned in this article was that the government of China is not really doing anything to fix the problem. Julia mentioned that this is because the government is afraid of social unrest. However, I find this morally wrong for the government to not take dramatic steps towards cleaner air for the people. The pollution in the air can lead to many diseases and also just creates a dirty living environment. China is such an advancing society, and should use its technological advancements towards making a cleaner world for their people to live in. If China does not do something about this problem, there will be major effects on the Chinese public in Beijing.
Julia was very successful in her summery of the article about Chinas pollution problem. She did a great job making the issue seem very topical and serious, which is. Julia was successful in giving details about the extent of the pollutions and the technicalities that allow the Chinese government to ignore the issue. Julia was did a great job explaining the united states reaction to this problem and her opinions on the matter. To improve the summer Julia should have provided a link so that the reader could compare her summer to the article. Julia should have also gone into more the specifics negative effects of pollution on the health of society. Overall I found this article to be very eye opening, and I am concerned for the future of China’s environment.
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