Relativity

I was so busy at work this week that I didn't even notice when the heat and humidity was suddenly replaced by moderate temperatures and breezes. One morning when I was walking down Nanjing Road to McDonalds (Maidonlao) I noticed that the distance from the office to the Golden Arches seemed much shorter than usual. I pondered this over my eggs and English muffin before realizing the walk over had been unusually comfortable. I hadn't arrived a sopping mess for a change. That's why the distance had seemed so much shorter! It's Einstein's Theory of Relativity in action. As the temperature drops time seems to go faster and distances get shorter.

The weather has eased up on us a bit but the pollution is relentless. Nitrous Oxide levels in Shanghai are five times higher than in Los Angeles. That sounds pretty bad but it's nothing compared to Chongqing in central China. Chongqing's NO levels are off the chart entirely.

There have been several international news events this week regarding environmental disasters in China. In Gansu hundreds of people, many children, are suffering lead poisoning from a smelter nearby. In Inner Mongolia two villages have been wiped out by toxic wastes from two paper mills. The stories go on and on - but mostly in the international press - most of these stories are not covered in the Chinese press. The Chinese are not the only ones paying a terrible price for their economic development - the pollutants have been detected in North America after drifting across the Pacific. The whole world is paying the price - whether we want to or not.