Sometimes people say, "You don't know what you have until it is gone." I never realized how precious clean air, clear blue country skies, and fresh drinking water was until I didn't always have it.
When growing up in the country, I was never around any areas of big pollution. I never could smell the air, unless the wind was out of just the right direction and I could maybe catch a whiff of my neighbors cattle operation. If the weather was clear it seemed like you could always see for miles upon miles. Our water came either from city water, or out of a well, and I never had a problem drinking straight out of the water faucet on the side of our house.
Shenzen, China is a ten minute drive away from where I live, so I'm guessing it can't be farther than 2-3 miles. At my work, there is an area you can go to that gives you a great vantage point to be able to see in to China. However, there are times when you can't see that far due to smog. The poor visibility could also be attributed to the extremely high humidity, but I believe the major contributor is pollution. I can also tell when the air is contaminated by how my eyes feel. I always wear contacts and there are some days that I have to take them out as soon as I get home because the air has affected them. Some people at work also comment on it affecting their eyes as well. There are times when you almost feel like you're getting a cold with puffy eyes and a stuffed up nose, but I believe it is related to the levels of pollution in the air. The acid rain has a huge effect on buildings and vehicles here. It causes things to look dingy and worn out, even though they may be very new buildings. The rain does help clean out the air and after a good, long, hard rain, you can see in to China quite easily.
I didn't realize certain parts of Hong Kong had a smell until I went to a bigger town than the one I live near. There were people everywhere, cars everywhere, food vendors and restaurants everywhere. All of this was on the streets surrounded by high buildings. The tall buildings cut down air flow so the air becomes stagnant and that, mixed with everything else can create quite a smell. I can't even fully describe what it smelled like, but I'll give it my best: It was a mixture of stale water, rancid food, dirty clothing, musty shoes, exhaust, and maybe what the trash dumpster at McDonalds smells like. I think that is about as close to describing what I smelled on that day as I can get. I'm not even going to go in to my experience in a public toilet in this town....ugh!
I've heard many conflicting stories about the drinking water here in HK. Some people say it is very safe to drink, others say it isn't. I do know that shortly after I got here I was drinking it, and eating local food and I was not feeling well at all. I don't know if something in the food got to me, or if something in the water got to me, but I didn't feel well. I told some friends I was drinking the water and they were surprised I was not in the hospital, so now I boil all my water. It is somewhat time consuming to always be boiling and bottling pots of water, but I'm OK with it as long as I don't get sick again. At work we have "Culligan" type machines and also bottled water available which is very nice as I drink about 2 gallons a day it seems.
When I was in the USA, I was never a huge environmentalist or "tree-huger extremist" and never thought anything bad about using 10 plastic shopping bags to carry out my groceries from Wal-Mart, but since I have come here and seen all the pollution, it has really opened my eyes up to really striving to do my part in taking care of the world. In my line of work, we can potentially have a huge impact (good or bad) on the environment, so I have been reading and educating myself on ways to make a positive impact on the environment. Also, in my daily life I have made some changes too: I use recyclable shopping bags (a habit started by my neighbor who does the same as well, plus they charge you to use plastic bags at the store,) I re-use my water bottles (heck of a lot cheaper than buying new ones and throwing them all away), and I recycle any extra plastic bottles or aluminum cans I may have. In my line of work, I have become very conscientious of chemical use, and am always searching for ways to either decrease the use, or to be able to use it more effectively.
I am looking forward to coming home to clean air, drinking water out of the tap, and not being able to smell my town. I'm not looking forward to how cold and dry it will be once I get home. Oh well, I guess you can't have it all!
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