ManufactureThis was in Los Angeles this past weekend, and had a ringside seat for much of the devastation wrought by a series of major wildfires.  Much of the Los Angeles area is currently being smothered by a blanket of bluish smoke stemming from a series of blazing brushfires.  And no matter where ManufactureThis drove—in a big circle from Encino to Santa Monica to Pasadena to Burbank—a strange chocolatey smell hung in the air.  It smelled somewhat fragrant, but frequently reduced us to coughing.

Seen from a passing jet plane, the California wildfires are even more intimidating.  The sheer wall of smoke that rises up from the hills and eventually pours down into the valley is on a scale that must be seen in order to be believed.  And the insect-like helicopters that constantly rotate in to drop their small parcels of water appear insignificant against acres-wide central plumes of rising smoke “walls.”

There’s a relevant point here, though.  First, the smoke from these forest fires is bluish, and quite distinct from the typical flat, orange haze of L.A. smog.  And second, this smoke is palpable and omnipresent—instantly breathable and noticeable, whether one walks out of a bookstore in Los Feliz or a Thai restaurant in Santa Monica.  From the window of an airplane, one can see why: the smoke is simply everywhere.

What ManufactureThis finds so disconcerting is that this sort of tragic, once-a-year, accidental blaze is actually commonplace in Beijing and throughout Mainland China.  The difference, however, is that in the People’s Republic, this sort of environmental toxicity is self-inflicted.  And, it NEVER stops.

As the New York Times noted last week, the neverending brew of toxic industrial waste gases from China’s belching factories may kill as many as 340,000 people in China and India each year due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.  That number is merely one estimate, and it neglects the sheer numbers of people elsewhere in the world, including those along the west coast of the United States, who also must inhale China’s fumes.

When confronted with palpable environmental devastation, one sees more clearly than ever that something must be done to protect what remains of the earth fragile ecosystem.  And that especially includes efforts to reform China’s wanton pollution.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 8:43 pm and is filed under Holding China Accountable. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.