Growing up I never really thought about the air I breathed, to my little mind air was air. The 3 biggest concerns in my home town were probably; the cedar pollen which comes in clouds every spring, the mosquitoes which come in clouds every summer and the smell of dead fish and sulfur. You could say I took air quality for granted but that wouldn't really be correct as taking something for granted means you realize there is more then one option, for me I had never even thought of the air being dirty or unhealthy, for my little mind air was just ... air.
But after I moved to China I became rather ... enlightened shall we say. The air pollution here is always bad, on a good day we might reach moderate air quality but most days range between unhealthy for certain groups, and very unhealthy. Amazingly the other day our quality went up to the good green zone at about 48, the sky was so beautifully and remarkably clean and clear. I had to take this picture just to show how bright and beautiful the sky was. It was so beautiful it almost brought me to tears, not that that's very difficult these days but still ...
The craziest memory I have of pollution, one that will probably always stay with me was year before last in the fall. The smoke (we don't bother with the term smog here, because really there is no fog in it, it's just smoke) was so thick and low that you could go into one end of the shopping mall and not be able see to the other end, if you look up you couldn't see much past the second floor. Smoke even filled the metro stations and you could not see traffic lights at intersections making the traffic jams even worse. That year I believe a few public buses got lost in the smoke, who knows how many countless personal drivers did. That was the worst year I've seen and I truly pray it never gets that bad again. For my children, and all the other children, for those who live here now and for the future.
For those of you who have never experienced this, I hope you never have too. From what I understand, most large cities in America have taken serious steps, to eliminate as much pollution as possible. You hear constantly green this and green that, and sometimes it can get frustrating but I would encourage people to appreciate that and to find your own ways of being a little "greener". It's more then just hype or hip, it's about taking care of the world God gave us. Whether you believe He created it or ... something else, there is never any good reason to not take care of it. I'm not saying trade your car for a horse and buggy but just in the everyday things being a little more conscientious can make a world of difference. Whether it's throwing a piece trash in the can instead of on the sidewalk or planting a garden or if you live in the city walking or riding a bike or even public transport as apposed to just another car taking up space on the already crowded streets.
If you live somewhere with clean air I encourage you to protect what you have, and if you live somewhere that doesn't ... fight for it. Every little bit does make a difference, just because it is small makes it no less of a difference and when all our small differences are added up they can start to make things change.
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