Expat view: Dealing with pollution at home

Editor's note: Air quality has become a huge concern for many expats living in China, as 15 percent of the country is experiencing smog. A handful of expats share their experiences with combating the smog in their home country, lessons that China can draw from.

Air pollution fight needs legal help

Nobody likes dirty air and water but with the modernization comes pollution, or does it?

In our rush to make life easier, society decided to go blindly into the future without a thought of the ramifications. The results have been great profits for individuals who have invested their time and money in ventures that have improved the quality of life for many. The side effect in some cases has been a pollutant in the air and or water that all must endure.

If we can create pollution, then we can erase it also. The problem is time and money. Time and money just happens to be the investment that the creators of the pollution made to make life better for all. So they screwed up a little or a lot in some cases.

The US had problems similar to what China is facing now, Industry Going Amok. The results left scars on the land, dirty air and water, land so polluted nobody can live on it. Finally the government opened their eyes and said NO MORE POLLUTION to these INDUSTRIES. Strict laws requiring clean air and water qualities were adopted.

The US Gov. created the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency to oversee these laws. All the states followed these regulations, and added additional requirements that enhanced these environmental laws. The end result was cleaner air and water.

You might ask who paid for the clean air and water? It's a very simple answer. The costs for keeping the environment clean eventually become the burden of the people. The equipment needed to manufacture the lifestyle we all want is added to the cost of making what we want.

It will take time and money to repair today's issues with the environment. The longer people wait, the worse it gets and the more it costs. Set up the laws that require clean air and water, then enforce them.

SDIvester from the US

Days and Nights in Dongguan