Friday, January 18, 2013

Perils of breathing in China


Now we know why rhinestone gas masks are showing up on fashion runways in China. It’s not fashionista; it’s survival! Here a man in Beijing wears a flimsy face mask in a vain attempt to breath in the smog-shrouded capital city.

Implementation of environmental laws in China is weak in legal oversight & bends over backwards to accommodate multinational corporations. Over the past several years, China has cited dozens of multinational corporations (including American Standard, Panasonic, Pepsi, Nestle, & 3M) mainly for discharges of substandard waste water but there don’t seem to be any consequences for polluting the country. The government’s reckless disregard for environmental concerns has provoked confrontations with thousands of Chinese citizens & environmentalists who do not like seeing their cities, fields, & rivers laid waste & stinking like cesspools & their air quality turned into toxic smog. Reportedly, there are thousands of environmental protests in China. Hopefully, a thunderous awakening is on the horizon in China.  (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

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