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Beijing Citizens, Shrouded In Pollution, Flock To Giant Screens To View Artificial Sunrise
You know it's bad when...The smog has become so thick in Beijing that the city's natural light-starved masses have begun flocking to huge digital commercial television screens across the city to observe virtual sunrises. Following this week's practical shutdown of the city of "beyond index" levels of pollution, as The Mail Online reports, residents donned air masks and left their homes to watch the only place where the sun would hail over the horizon that morning...
It's grim...
The futuristic screens installed in the Chinese capital usually advertize tourist destinations, but as the season's first wave of extremely dangerous smog hit, ths happened...
Via The Mail Online,
...
The air took on an acrid odor, and many of the city's commuters wore industrial strength face masks as they hurried to work.
'I couldn't see the tall buildings across the street this morning,' said a traffic coordinator at a busy Beijing intersection who gave only his surname, Zhang. 'The smog has gotten worse in the last two to three years. I often cough, and my nose is always irritated. But what can you do? I drink more water to help my body discharge the toxins.'
...
The density of PM2.5 was about 350 to 500 micrograms Thursday midmorning, though the air started to clear in the afternoon. It had reached as high as 671 at 4 a.m. at a monitoring post at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
That is about 26 times as high as the 25 micrograms considered safe by the World Health Organization, and was the highest reading since January 2013.
In the far northeastern city of Harbin, some monitoring sites reported PM 2.5 rates of up to 1,000 micrograms in October, when the winter heating season kicked off.
...
Beijing reported 58 days of serious pollution last year, or one every six to seven days on average, Xinhua quoted Zhang Dawei, director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, as saying.
...
China has drawn up dozens of laws and guidelines to improve the environment but has struggled to enforce them in the face of powerful enterprises.
On Wednesday, China's commercial capital, Shanghai, introduced emergency measures, allowing it to shut schools and order cars off the road in case of severe smog.
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This is symbolic to a lot of what is going on globally today. Accept artificial for real and do nothing to fix the problems. It can only get better, right?
If I were a Chinese city dweller I'd be thinking that one of those empty cities sound pretty good right about now.
all those empty cities will be filled with slaves soon enough. imported from "the west".
hmm... you don't think the gov would sell us people to china for debt repayment, do you?
I know, no one would probably see you sneak in there either. Coupla chinese solar panels, a chemical toilet, ioidide pills and voila! Harro new home!
You've just crossed over and entered the twilight zone (literally)
"Imagine, if you will, a world run by psychopaths." -- Rod Serling
In that ball of sun, I discern a subliminal portrait of Chairman Mao.....
But regulations are socialistic, capitalism would surely solve this, if left alone.
This is a prime example of the inability of socialistic regulations to have any legitimate force in society.
In a capitalistic environment, corps would go under in an instant if they were exposed to true demands of consumers, rather than lobbying government for protective barriers-to-entry as well as bribing corrupt officials to ignore their crimes.
Don't believe me? Well, look at how many NSA iPhones were sold in Bejing yesterday.
What a bunch of horseshit.
I think I read about this in a scifi novel in my youth.
I see they've got exactly the same problems as the rest of us - enforcing the law against powerful companies. Poor bastards, the legacy health problems from this era of their development is going to be epic.
They're a communist-run country, friend. If they wanted to enforce those laws, they would already be enforced. I seriously doubt the companies dictate anything to the leadership there. They're mostly owned by the higher ups in the government anyway.
So, yeah, they got the same problem as us (cronyism and corruption).
It's amazing how people can fail to make this connection, insisting that it can only be solved by more government.
So no regulations would somehow make the corporations care more? Why don't they care now?
I'm surprised you don't choke on the shit you're full of.
Reckon you need to be carefull of choking on all the straw you're full of.
I think you need to read more closely.
Brainwashing works; that's why the government pays for it.
I would say that between the pollution, processed food, pharmaceuticals, radiation, GMOs...the list goes on, that the legacy health problems world wide are going to be epic.
I just sighed so loudly reading your reply, the whole office turned around. Too true Doc. Too true.
Back to work.
Money is more important than your health....cheap plastic trinkets.....and sell them to the world....maybe that is why no one showed up for the Apple sale today..they all died in line.....I would go long Chinese tourism...to fresh air locations
Long Fake Vitamin D...
You didn't pollute that!
If you like your sunrise, you can keep your sunrise
someone else polluted that for you
Land of the non rising sun
That's one way to stop the spy drones from collecting data!
I was in Beijing a few years ago when it was like that. It smells like burning plastic everywhere you go. Even in the hotels.
Sounds absolutely charming; definetly not visiting there anytime soon.
...At least it looks better than a flag of the sun..
What a way to live. To be sure we have plenty of crap here going on but at least I can walk outside and see a clear sky(no chemtrails today, thanks assholes) and breathe the clear, crisp air.
All those happy, fuzzy, feel good stories that so many are touting about China are really quite insignificant when one reads stories like this one.
quasimodo: http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/what-are-chemtrails.htm
Instead of power producing windmills, they need powered windmills that can act as fans and blow the smog away.
"Gooooood Moooorning China! This morning's sunrise is brought to you by Shan Dong. Shan Dong, providing you with quality dong accessories since 2004. The forecast for today is smoggy with a chance of death."
+1 Thanks for a good laugh to start my day in LA!
Today's breakfast: Fukushima fish.
Today's lunch: Floating river pig.
Today's dinner: Crispy something.
Ah, ah, must be in the making wokked dog in ginger sause, or maybe General Tso's kitten. Smack me in the lips!
Have you heard about "Gutter Oil"? Crispy indeed!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/10/28/you-may-never-eat-street-food-in-china-again-after-watching-this-video/
Ah, blobbing-up the recycled gustatory means to the zenith of the most mattering ways! I crap my hands in applausing!
But hey, since all pollution and bad things are product of US 'americanism', everything in China is there in the fore clean as a weasel, and as pure as the snow in the driving. No symmetry between, no, not even nearby.
Proud Chinese Citizenism citizens, let 1000 turd blossoms bloom!
if you like your sunrise, you can keep your sunrise!
We used to get this in Denver years ago..its called an inversion....where the cold air is trapped by the hot air mass....and it stunk....I was a runner at the time....I did not like to go out in it...
Do androids dream of electric sunrises?
No, but I still dream about Sean Young in Blade Runner.
." Is this testing whether I'm a replicant or a lesbian, Mr. Deckard"
Damn!
Next thing you know Wall-E will make an appearance and start cleaning things up!
Nothing to see here - literally.
W T F ! will i ever wake from this nightmare?
Do tell Johnny Appleseed - it sounds like an interesting story! I recenlty moved to Florida and planted ~10 trees and it is a lot of fun. I want to read your story of the 900,000 trees.
don't know how many i have planted. the u s forestry service use to pay cash back 35 years ago. you showed up just after daylight, they gave you the seedlings, a sack, a dibble. and you walked a straight line with people spaced beside you and planted tree's. took about 10 seconds each. i did it about 20 times, all day with 2 15 minute breaks and 30 minutes lunch provided by the forestry service. was good money at the time above minimum wage and in cash. you had to give your name, but you could say anything. i was richard millhouse nixon several times. i think mickey mouse for the rest.
I hope they get a little bigger portion of soma as a consolation prize.
Soma my ass; it'll take a good size portion of good old Opium to "forget" about that sunrise.
Great headline, sadly though there's probably some who will believe people are 'flocking' *cough* outside *cough* to these Orwellian screens to view a sunrise just so they could imbibe and rejoice in the smog outside, rather than stay inside or get from a to b as fast as they can.
How much coal was burned to power those screens? LOL
Who knows, but Beijing itself has committed to phasing out all its coal-fired electrical generating plants by the end of this year. Natural gas powered generators are already in operation and hopefully for the sake of those who have to endure that environment, the city will honor its commitment.
edit: amy spam below about ipads is not from me, but can't seem to delete it.
// You could win an ipad!Complete this survey Start now click here awardhotspot.com You could win an ipad!
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To the retarded downvoter; Any reason why you downvote facts? Stupid cunt, lol.
TGR Possible fix? AdBlock?
TGR Possible fix? AdBlock?
Thanks will try it. Though ZH is the only site the spam problem has ever happened for me. Other sites have always been fine.
//I downoted you because
Lighten up, learn.
Nah not overly sensitive (though my third post may give that impression). Down votes fair enough for the spam crap on my post, but I fail see why facts such as beijing has publicly stated it plans to phase out its coal burning plants in the capital by end of this year would attract a down vote.
I only called the downvoter a cunt after he down voted.
Gee, if they only used more nuclear power instead of burning coal then the air would be clear because radioactive pollution is transparent!
Inscrutable, these fellows.
Definitely agree... what you don't see won't hurt you.
No pain, no gain.
T'will pass.
If every Beijinger would go outside and breathe the polluted air, their lungs would filter the particulates from the smog. The air in and around Beijing would clear faster and be somewhat clean.
Long Vics Vapo Rub and Mentholatum. We'll have a hell of market there soon!
Seems a bit drastic. Buy yourself one of these things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UzUvbMuuxI
The water droplets stick to the particulates and take them out of the air.
By god I think you've got it. Just order all ten million of them to get outdoors and breathe deeply; clean that air right up; and the survivors can enjoy the benefits. The non-survivors can be heros of the revolution; sounds perfect to me.
Worthy of a 5 year plan. But where do we dispose of the lungs?
I'll slam my home country all day - the Orwellian Judeo-Xtian nanny-fascist hypocrisy that it has become ... forever washing its hands of the misery it inflicts all over the world ... forcing its swollen tit on every exploitable culture.
"She who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."
China's a very different flavor but we are attached at the hip with China.
I honestly wonder how much more absurdist horrifying we will see things get. We keep making new highs, so to speak.
In China, you have a town square of any size and the local politboro has already placed a giant screen there ... as you see above ... you are surrounded by input 24/7, buy buy buy tongjimen [comrades].
But we are a lot cleaner here for it ... moved the manufacturing and now the moneyed class is buying over here ... turning the U.S. west coast into China's de facto Elysium.
By the way why are they buying Detroit? Here is an angle from a native I know very, very well ... Detroit has a 'name' in China with a certain generation that now has money ... L.A. does too ... these are apparently Talismanic western names over there, like Shangri-La or Shambhala for an aging hashish-eater such as myself.
They are not buying it so much as securitizing it and selling it to the gullible ... seems the local markets are cooling off. Of course not one in a hundred knows what they are buying, it's just shares of American Pie and wonderously cheap to them.
China is moving on to be a consumer nation just like the US of A. The bloat of corruption in a economy that pretends to have "central control", will not be overcome. Next stop:Somewhere, Africa.....the next low cost producer.
ROFL! Hey AnAnon, how was that sunrise this morning, buddy?
All you China! fuckers, guess what? China is playing catch up, and moving remarkably fast. They went from real live eatin' people starvation in the late 60's to becoming a world powerhouse manufacturer today. Pretty decent technolgy, transit. etc.
But they get all the bad with the good. just as fast, and 10x larger. No escaping pollution. Something that's already at least been addressed in US for decades, yeah, I know, all you ELF and granola eaters gonna hate on that. But it's true. it's a hell of a lot better than it was.
On deck for China: Labor unions and workers rights. You ever see old reel footage of the coal strikes/riots/wars in the US from the early 1900's? How's that gonna play out expanded and the pace quickened by the nth?
Let the good times roll! Center of the Heavens my ass.
Well done William Banzai; now to just get those printed up and on the boards, Cultural Rev-style ...
Good thing those Chinese folks don't have any of those Communist environmental wackos in their country that folks like Rush, Bill O'Reilly, and countless right wingers on this board always bitch about in this country.
No different than the UK or the US during their respective Industrial Revolutions
http://transitionvoice.com/2011/03/shin-bone%E2%80%99s-connected-to-the-ankle-bone/
Move along...
It's all good.
they say the smog is the reason for the beautiful sunsets....
This is the results of offshoring allot of our manufacturing.
Greenies in the states have been waging a war against manufacturing. The regulations become more and expensive (and so do the Political payoffs to the Leftists), so what’s a big "polluter" to do? Well here is the answer.
Turn your company from an evil polluting manufacturer into a green zero carbon importer. Now that all your CO2 is being released offshore it does not come up on the Greenies US political books.
Never mind that the OLD plants in the US were much Greener than the Zero Regulated offshore plants.
Never mind that the overall pollution is going to skyrocket globally (its off our books).
Never mind that the people in China are going to eventually get lung cancer and die (it’s not cigarettes so it’s OK).
Never mind. Go buy more imported goods.
Never mind that much of the manufacturing was sent off shore due the corporate ability to pay slave wages in countries run by dictators or true authoritarian communists. That way profits are increased, as are bonuses. For the ONLY thing that matteres is profit, not making the town, city, state or region in which your company operates a better place for everyone. Only profit matters...in the most Christian nation. ironic isn't it?
Of course it's ALL the fault of greenies. People should enjoy eating cancer-causing pollutants and breathing filthy air all ofr the sake of having more plastic crap to buy at Shitmart. It's the "merican way gawddammit.
I know I'll get flamed for this, but wouldn't the China pollution problem be evidence of why a strong government regulatory body is good for this kind of thing? Sounds like the industry people aren't really acting in "rational self interest" nor are they being all "mutually beneficial" in their efforts. Seems like they don't care who they poison as long as their production rates and stock options rise.
No, I'm not saying that we need to suddenly have the black helicopters and stormtroopers out checking to make sure everyone's chimney is up to spec...but come on.
Not flamed... But you realise that energy production in China is regulated and the pollution is a direct result of government policy?
That is actually something of which I was not aware. How is that the case? (serious question)
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty examples of gov making a mess of things. But these days a lot of folks are being played by corporate interests with their chants for eliminating regulatory bodies. Kind of a baby with the bathwater approach to reform.
Thanks for being civil.
That is some sad, SiFi, Blade Runner bad juju. They are going to transplant a bunch of the population to those empty cities they built. They have to.
Kind of reminds me of the sunrises over Gary, Indiana and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- before subsidized Chinese steel exports closed down nearly all the steel plants in the US. But at least our unemployed can see the sunrise now -- if they get out of bed in time...
WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE EPA
/conservative retard
You... Realise the pollution in China is government policy?
"WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE EPA
/conservative retard "
How's that EPA workin' out for China pinhead?
"I know I'll get flamed for this, but wouldn't the China pollution problem be evidence of why a strong government regulatory body is good for this kind of thing?"
Like the strong US government regulation that is closing US coal powered electric generation plants and allowing China to build the same, as fast as they can?
Yea, pretty sharp there hoss.
Let me get this straight...you think we have the ability to regulate China's coal plant production the same as we can regulate our own? We aren't allowing them to do anything. They are doing what they want. By your logic we should use the same style of coal plants with no regulation of emissions and let our own cities look like that. After all, we can't let them beat us, right? I guess we don't have to go outside and choke on the air as long as we have cheap electricity to keep the lights on inside.
You missed the point of my comment and then attacked me. Classy. The point, "Hoss", is that I'm not sure how smart it would be for us to loosen regulations here given that unregulated emissions and allowing industry to dictate the terms of their practices seems to have led to rampant pollution in China.
Let me guess, you're all for de-regulation of banking and investing too. After all, they should be able to make as much money as they can, as fast as they can, by whatever means necessary; without regard for everyone they'll rob, cheat, and screw over along the way.
Feel for the average Chinese resident because the pollution mess they are going to leave there is going to be way worse than happened in teh US/Western European and more on par with the worst Soviet industrial pollution legacies which Russia still hasn't remotely begun to touch.
You are right of course, Liberals do not own any companies that pollute.
(rolling eyes)
I wouldn't call that "flocking", but still a sad story.
PM2.5s are about as bad as it gets for polution. Expect thousands of related deaths.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particulates#Health_effects
The world population is doubling every 40 years and you have to be stupid to have faith in humanity,our civilisation is doomed.
Where's Al fucking Gore????
Hey Al you fat fucking pig. Go pay a visit to China and fix this shit.
They are also flocking to my county and that's not a good thing.
Its called "alive smog" and it is good for you...
Madness: Ascend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qt6L4CpZuI
Que the movie, City of Ember.
Stalin took the guns. Hitler took the guns. Mao took the guns.
The enemy is all around us and hard to see.
Back into your chicken coops or the wolf is liable to eat you.
Fuck that dude I'm going jogging.
"WHITMAN, PRICE, AND HADDAD!!! You remember them! There they are now, BASKING under the Beijing (Maui)sun. Their debt to society paid in full." - Killian
http://simpsonsgifs.tumblr.com/post/890027506/in-memory-of-a-real-tree
I'll save China. I'll send Al Gore a few bucks.
Heap Bloated Sky God Make Pollution Go Away Plenty.
This nonsense is repeated as a cure for everything and anything in China. Your friends and co-workers will tell you to drink plenty of hot water. This includes summer time when it is scorching hot. Doctors actually tell you to drink more hot water, as a prescription for the flu and colds. More 5,000-year-old, ineffective, useless, superstitious, nonsense.
Still better than coke though....But yeah the Chinese are probably the most superstitious culture out there. They grind dinosaur bones and sell them for thousands of dollars as 'dragon' bones.
Still better than coke though....But yeah the Chinese are probably the most superstitious culture out there. They grind dinosaur bones and sell them for thousands of dollars as 'dragon' bones.
Time to short sun screen makers?
That picture of the sun rising reminds me of the end of Soylent Green when Sol was euthenised...a movie from 1973, over 40 years ago, predicting now.
RIP Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Joseph Cotton, Brock Peters, Chuck Connors.
well in a land of 1.3 Billion people I wouldn't exactly call that a "flock". It's probably not the sun video they're there for anyway...they're probably already blind, stoned, or nearly brain dead by the smog and don't even know it's there. Just wanderin' around wondering what fucked up fucking planet they're on...
kinda like Californians.
Hedgeless, I just read moose can "easily" jump a 6-ft fence, and that generally they are mineral deficient, so they're seeking "nutritious" plants.
Border plantings of wild things they like? http://www.ehow.com/info_8189354_type-tree-moose-like-eat.html
Actually, moose do not need to jump over a 6-foot fence, they can simply WALK over them.
Long Yuan.
Profit now is so much more important than the ability of your children to breathe in the future.