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It is mentioned though: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49729291 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49729291 https://www.reuters.com/article/

by davedx 7y ago

It is mentioned though: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49729291 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49729291 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-beijing/chinas-capital-beijing-vows-air-quality-improvement-but-gives-no-target-idUSKCN1Q90TU#targetText=The%20World%20Health%20Organization%20recommends,and%20manufacturing%20plants%20in%202019 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-beijing/c.... People do give a damn. Unfortunately governments around the world aren't often leaping to take effective action. It's the same with environmental issues in general.

throwaway8941 7y ago
Sorry, I should have been more clear in my whining. The largest cities are being talked about, be they located in Europe or Asia. It's the smaller ones who suffer the most and whose population has zero hope for any progress (or simply doesn't care). Beijing is a health resort compared to where I am located. At least my friend claims so (he spent about 3 months there on a business trip back in 2011.) I know of at least 3 cities in my country suffering from extreme air pollution. You won't find any news articles about any of them.
- a_t48 7y ago
  If you don’t mind me asking, which country are you in?
  - throwaway8941 7y ago
    Sure, I am from Kazakhstan. The same situation can be found in pretty much every country in the region though. I plan to take a lot of pictures during the upcoming winter, because almost no one on the English-speaking segment of internet believes that there can be so much pollution in the air, that it reduces visibility to 10 meters.
    - ohduran 7y ago
      Any light you can shed on this (pun intended, of course) is welcome. Still, sounds incredible, is it just on peak times or on a daily basis?
      - throwaway8941 7y ago
        In winter time, almost every evening, from 6:00 PM through the night. Except for windy days (from ~7 m/s upwards), which are pretty rare. It's all because of the old Soviet heavy industry which hasn't been properly maintained since 1991 (say what you want about USSR, but there was more responsibility then), crappy gasoline, lots of old cars which made their first 100k miles in Germany or US, high sulfur coal being used in stoves... the whole shebang. Did I mention that some people use cow dung/rubber/plastic rubbish in their stoves? Yep, we're living on the same planet as you are.
        jabl 7y ago
        Are you still using mazut as well?
        mos_basik 7y ago
        Not the person you were asking, but I did a double take on your question because I had thought growing up in the DRC that "mazut" was the French word for diesel. Turns out mazut is a separate thing. Also, it was definitely used in the local heavy trucks up to the last time I was there in 2011 - ones like this: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5292/5509628757_f8219820b9_z.jpg https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5292/5509628757_f8219820b9_z....
        davedx 7y ago
        It sounds terrible, I feel truly sorry anyone has to live with so much air pollution. You're right I haven't seen any coverage of Kazakhstan in the media I read.
johnisgood 7y ago
> Unfortunately governments around the world aren't often leaping to take effective action. This is a widespread issue. We are heavily dependent on the Government on almost every issue, and people seem to want to be more dependent on them. But the question is, what can we do about it that would be effective when we are getting pressure from all fronts because of misplaced power, and financial incentives?

by davedx 7y ago

throwaway8941 7y ago

Sorry, I should have been more clear in my whining. The largest cities are being talked about, be they located in Europe or Asia. It's the smaller ones who suffer the most and whose population has zero hope for any progress (or simply doesn't care). Beijing is a health resort compared to where I am located. At least my friend claims so (he spent about 3 months there on a business trip back in 2011.) I know of at least 3 cities in my country suffering from extreme air pollution. You won't find any news articles about any of them.

a_t48 7y ago
If you don’t mind me asking, which country are you in?
- throwaway8941 7y ago
  Sure, I am from Kazakhstan. The same situation can be found in pretty much every country in the region though. I plan to take a lot of pictures during the upcoming winter, because almost no one on the English-speaking segment of internet believes that there can be so much pollution in the air, that it reduces visibility to 10 meters.
  - ohduran 7y ago
    Any light you can shed on this (pun intended, of course) is welcome. Still, sounds incredible, is it just on peak times or on a daily basis?
    - throwaway8941 7y ago
      In winter time, almost every evening, from 6:00 PM through the night. Except for windy days (from ~7 m/s upwards), which are pretty rare. It's all because of the old Soviet heavy industry which hasn't been properly maintained since 1991 (say what you want about USSR, but there was more responsibility then), crappy gasoline, lots of old cars which made their first 100k miles in Germany or US, high sulfur coal being used in stoves... the whole shebang. Did I mention that some people use cow dung/rubber/plastic rubbish in their stoves? Yep, we're living on the same planet as you are.
      - jabl 7y ago
        Are you still using mazut as well?
        mos_basik 7y ago
        Not the person you were asking, but I did a double take on your question because I had thought growing up in the DRC that "mazut" was the French word for diesel. Turns out mazut is a separate thing. Also, it was definitely used in the local heavy trucks up to the last time I was there in 2011 - ones like this: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5292/5509628757_f8219820b9_z.jpg https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5292/5509628757_f8219820b9_z....
      - davedx 7y ago
        It sounds terrible, I feel truly sorry anyone has to live with so much air pollution. You're right I haven't seen any coverage of Kazakhstan in the media I read.

johnisgood 7y ago

> Unfortunately governments around the world aren't often leaping to take effective action. This is a widespread issue. We are heavily dependent on the Government on almost every issue, and people seem to want to be more dependent on them. But the question is, what can we do about it that would be effective when we are getting pressure from all fronts because of misplaced power, and financial incentives?