Relatively Fresh? - Writers Forum

JoannaMac · 08-12-2007, 01:46 PM

Tomorrow night I’ll perform my last shows here in Korea (Yay! Hallelujah! I can’t wait to leave!) before going back to the Ukraine with my husband. I needed a new visa for the Ukraine, so we made a trip to the embassy in Seoul. Unsure of the embassy’s location, we stopped in at a tourist information office to ask for directions, and while the guy brought up a map on his computer, I flipped through a tourist magazine written in English. I opened it to a random page which featured an article about the World Cup Football Stadium in Seoul.

It was clearly written by Koreans because although the there was nothing grammatically wrong with it, the vocab and idioms were a little strange. One sentence in particular sticks out in my mind. It went something like this. “When you emerge from the metro, your senses will immediately be piqued by the greenery and (relatively) fresh air”.

Commenting on the relative freshness of air as an advertisement is something an English journalist would never do. If the air isn’t perfect, then no comment at all is better than drawing attention to its imperfection. At first I laughed, but then the wider implications of this one sentence sank in and suddenly it wasn’t so funny anymore. This is it. The day has arrived; we now live in a world where relatively fresh air is considered a bonus. Fuck.

Further on the topic of fresh air, more and more news articles on the subject of air quality are popping up in relation to the Beijing Olympics. Originally, human rights issues seemed to be the main focus for criticism, but now air quality has hit the head lines, and the health risks are very real.

In China's 14 largest cities alone, air pollution is responsible for the deaths of 50,000 newborns each year. Even healthy visitors often complain of sore throats, allergic reactions and asthma, so what will it be like for athletes who breathe more than ten times the amount of air than an office worker does? Some events may even have to be post-poned if conditions are not suitable, which will invariably be an organizational nightmare.

The U.S team has decided to base itself here in Korea for the duration of the games. The Australian team will be arriving late (three or four days before individual events) to avoid respiratory problems, and for the first time will be bringing an asthma specialist with them. I have this picture in my head of the Olympics in the future, with a pack of marathon runners racing in gas masks. It’s frightening to think that those days are almost upon us.

Hilmar Schmundt writes “The notion that bad air is harmful to athletes' lungs was demonstrated as far back as 1904 during the Olympic marathon in St. Louis. Only 14 of 32 competitors were able to complete the course through the city's dusty streets, running between cars and horse-drawn carriages. Thirteen kilometers (eight miles) shy of the finish line, American runner William Garcia collapsed and almost died of a gastric hemorrhage -- he had swallowed too much road dust”.

What the fuck is going on? I know it’s all about money, but the Olympic Games are humanity’s main sporting event. It’s supposed to be about sport in some way, shape, or form. Why host it in one of the filthiest cities in the world where the chances of getting sick are almost guaranteed?

Seriously, I weep for the future.

Here are a couple of articles regarding the subject.

Bad Air in Beijing? Pollution Dangers Cast Shadow over 2008 Olympics - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

BBC SPORT | Pollution risk for Olympic events

ClancyBoy · 08-12-2007, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoannaMac

In China's 14 largest cities alone, air pollution is responsible for the deaths of 50,000 newborns each year. Even healthy visitors often complain of sore throats, allergic reactions and asthma, so what will it be like for athletes who breathe more than ten times the amount of air than an office worker does? Some events may even have to be post-poned if conditions are not suitable, which will invariably be an organizational nightmare.

All factories will be shut down in Beijing for the olympics, and private cars will be not be allowed on the streets.

While I forsee troubles, I don't think pollution will be one of them.

Also I've been here for 2.5 years and I don't feel all that horrible.

JoannaMac · 08-13-2007, 02:58 AM

Billions have been spent in an attempt to clean up the smog. I already heard about the shutting down of factories and the removal of cars, but it won't make that much of a difference because the areas surrounding Beijing are so heavily industrialized. They can't shut down everything.

And as I recall, you told me the air quality is something you prefer not to think about too much because it's too awful. You also said you wake most mornings with a hacking cough because of it.

I don't live in China, but I'm right next door, living in the yellow haze of the dust clouds rolling in China. It's disgusting.

Hodge · 08-13-2007, 04:12 PM

China is industrializing the way Europe and America did in the 19th century: with big factories and few pollution controls.

Makes me glad I live in a place where porcupines outnumber people.

ClancyBoy · 08-13-2007, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoannaMac

And as I recall, you told me the air quality is something you prefer not to think about too much because it's too awful. You also said you wake most mornings with a hacking cough because of it.

I don't live in China, but I'm right next door, living in the yellow haze of the dust clouds rolling in China. It's disgusting.

Well yeah, but that's not industrial pollution. That's good old fashioned yellow dust from off the Gobi desert.

JoannaMac · 08-14-2007, 09:59 AM

Are the dust clouds getting bigger because of 'desertification'? Korea's pretty polluted too, so with that, the dust rolling over from China, and the humidity, the air here feels 'solid' sometimes.

Tomorrow I'm heading back to Kiev where a lot of the cars and public transport date back to Soviet times. The black smoke belching out of them will seem like a bouquet of flowers though compared to Korean air. At least Kiev is covered with forest which sucks out some of the poison.

Still, I long for the day when I can go home to Oz, where there is blue sky and clean air....... most of the time

Hodge · 08-14-2007, 04:13 PM

Yeah, but the water is polluted with naked Australians.

JoannaMac · 08-16-2007, 07:25 AM

I'm from South Australia, the home of Australia's very first nude beach. We have the nude olympics there

You should grab a couple of porcupines Hodge and come for a visit.