I'm talking specifically about this post:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091028/sc_afp/chinaenvironmentgreenpeace
The news post does not make a huge deal out of a Greenpeace report about China - and they shouldn't since it's only one source. It does however note the amount of dangerous chemicals and heavy metals in the Pearl River of Southern China.
I'll refrain from commenting on Greenpeace and their style of reporting bad environmental news, but to my untrained eye the numbers on the report are quite impressive. Besides, I'm firmly in the camp that believes large Chinese factories do pollute.
Here is the link to the report I wish the original author had included:
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/hazardous-chemical-pollution-o.pdf
Yes, it's meant to be scary if you care about the Guangdong waters but damn if that isn't a lot of heavy metal in the water. Besides, you don't see anyone claiming the water isn't in use. The locals have even arranged mass swimming events in Guangzhou to prove how clean the water is. Yeah, you probably float in it very effortlessly.
Assuming a dead rat didn't float in to the Greenpeace sample jar it's a scary read. Here, I'll post a pic of some unrelated bad looking water I've seen in China just to repeat the point - China is relatively stable, but what if the rural regions run out of potable water?
No comments:
Post a Comment