Giraffes, Air Pollution, and a Viral Documentary

This sign caught my eye in Kunming. Of course, it was the giraffes which first attracted my attention, but then I looked at the words. They say "Is this how we breathe?" Then in smaller writing: "The atmosphere is polluted, the environment is ruined, does humanity desire to exist like this?" Although clearly an anti-pollution campaign, it doesn't actually promote any actions, just makes a point.  It's a cute way to make the point though.

Pollution is a major issue in China, particularly in the large cities. It is also a politically charged issue. I don't know who paid for those signs, but many people have been trying to call attention to the pollution problem in China for several years. In fact, there's a new documentary that has recently gone viral in China and is being compared to An Inconvenient Truth. It's called Under the Dome and it combines a personal story of a mother trying to give her daughter a healthy life with facts about and visualizations of pollution (said mother is an investigative journalist). She skillfully explains some of the basic science and makes abstract numbers seem more tangible. She also explores the question of why China's air pollution is so severe and what can be done about it.

My one caveat regarding the film is that it is, if not quite sensationalist, certainly constructed very purposefully to upset people, perhaps in not entirely fair ways. But pollution--especially in cities like Beijing and Shanghai--is a big problem, and people should be getting upset. Some are hoping it will be the wake-up call for China that Silent Spring was for the US.

Interestingly, although the Chinese government does not always encourage environmentalism, this film seems to be approved of because it has a positive attitude. It calls for change, but makes it seem that change is actually possible. Here's a link to the video (with subtitles) as well as an NPR story and a write up in the Huffington post.