POLLUTION IN HK- Have you had enough??!!

[bekyboo44]

Hi,

Some of the members on geobaby.com have decided that we can't merely sit by as Hong Kong's pollution worsens. As Mothers, Mothers to be etc. we are all deeply concerned about the worsening pollution and the effect it may/is having on the health and lives of our families!

If it's ok (Rani?) I'd like to use this post to collect YOUR views on the pollution, how do you feel about it?

- How does the air pollution in HK compare to the air quality in your home country?
- Is leaving Hong Kong an option for you because of the pollution?
- Do you worry about the pollution and its effect on your child's health, and as a result are there days when you just don't take your child/children outside?
- Has the air quality in Hong Kong aggravated any condition your child may have, e.g. asthma?

We'd like you collect YOUR thoughts with the ultimate goal of forming them into an open letter to the following- Donald Tsang, SCMP, Standard etc.

We could sign it, 'Mothers of Hong Kong, and then follow it with our signatures (obviously the more the better)!

I know we all feel powerless at times, especially when it comes to such a huge political issue as air pollution, but I think it's time we at least had our voices heard! It's time we stopped talking and took action. The more we talk, the more will join us, and the louder our voices will become, eventually someone will have to stop and listen to us!

 

[bekyboo44]

We want to hear from, LOCAL Mothers, EXPAT Mothers....anyone living in Hong Kong!

 

[sunniefaith]

I hope that I won't get shot down when I write this. I have to admit that I don't have a kid and hopefully by next year, we'll have our adopted child. When we moved to HK last year, we were fully aware of the pollution in HK. We knew what we were getting into. We had people advising us not to move because of the pollution, and stuff like that. But we bit the bullet and we made the move. Having said that, there are times of the year that the pollution can be extremely bad but I'm not going around grumbling because I knew what I was going to get myself and my husband into.

I come from Singapore where the haze comes by at certain times of the year and it has become a part of our lives that we're used to it when we were living in Spore. We decided to move here because of money and also for career advancements. But if the pollution does get really bad to the point that we can't take it anymore, we may one day move back.

My point is that, if the pollution is really that bad, then do something like move back to your home country or something like that. From the reports that I've been reading from papers, the blame of the bad pollution is on China and other issues. I wonder, honestly, what can Donald Tsang do? Go across the border and ask them to shut down the factories? Maybe you are right, it takes someone to have the guts to do it. But at the end of the day, what are your expectations from the government? There are companies that have moved their headquarters to Singapore because of these issues and SCMP had it in their headlines, what realistically, what will the government do?

Sorry, enough of my ranting....my point is, if families came to HK with the lure of money and knowing fully and not being deceived about the pollution, then don't complain and make noises. To me it's like, ya, we know will earn good money and we know of the pollution and we'll come and grumble and complain. But if you're being deceived into coming then by all means go rant, rave, complain and do whatever you want. And know what you want and expect from the government.

 

[Neha]

As a mother of a 11 month old child, I feel that the pollution levels in HK has deteriorated very fast in last few years. I came to HK in 2000 and things have gone downhill since then. My husband has been living in HK for the past 14 years and he did get asthma attacks from 1997 but since 2001 his attacks got worse to the extend that since 2006 he has to use a steroid inhaler twice a day to prevent asthma attacks. We as parents can deal with our own ill health but the fear of that affecting our son doesn't sit well with us.

Over the years Govt has made certain superficial attempts in cleaning up the pollution , but more needs to be done, Weather it is having certain days as no car days, odd/even no days, Talking to Guangdong province officials about their pollution levels, Contacting HK Owners of ftys in China to have certain off days and not running ftys 7 days a week. Having Solar pannels on top of High rises to use solar energy, using our surplus budget to find alternative energies. I am sure there are more ideas that can help us fight pollution.

On days when the pollution levels are very high we don't take our son out to Central, Causewaybay, we try to organize indoor activities for him , but we cant do that for the rest of his life, he needs open green spaces to go play and feel fresh and energetic.

Hong Kong is home for us and we are not going to leave Hong Kong anytime soon, but as residents we would like the Govt to take concrete steps in tackling this problem,

A Concerned Mother and A Concerned Resident

 

[Neha]

sunniefaith dont worry u wont get shot down because u were honest about your reasons

 

[sunniefaith]

sunniefaith dont worry u wont get shot down because u were honest about your reasons

Thanks....phew....was thinking of getting vest:redface: But I have to say, sometimes it gets to me that people know what they are getting into and they turn around and grumble.

 

[Neha]

I hope u read the entire thread " Pollution always so bad ?"

 

[sunniefaith]

Ya...i did.

 

[woodk6]

I mentioned most everything in the other pollution thread but here's a little bit more...

We arrived in HK in 2003, not by our own choice but because my husband's firm transferred him out here. We are from Southern California and obviously the pollution here is much, much worse in HK than San Diego. We spend about half the year in HK and half in CA thankfully. So I feel better about my daughter getting clean air at least half the year otherwise I'd force my husband to transfer to Singapore, which is an option for us. We like HK better and it's closer to home. Anyway, it seemed that when we got here in 2003, the pollution wasn't nearly as bad. Meaning, I knew that some days it was there but it didn't bother my husband or me at the time and I don't remember thinking it would be a reason to leave. Kind of reminded me of the same levels of pollution in Los Angeles which I'm a little bit used to. I think back then almost every time we took visitors to the peak we could more or less clearly see the harbour. Now it seems that going to the peak on most days is a waste of time.

My husband since then has developed a cough that does disappear if we're in California. He said that most of the men in his office have the same cough. They also don't smoke other than the occasional cigar. Fortunately, my husband has an indoor walk to work now and is only outside briefly every day. I will not take my daughter outside when I look out the window and see brown in the sky.

We will leave HK earlier than we'd planned because of the pollution and we're trying right now to figure out when that will be and where we'll go exactly. HK is very different than where we're from in So Cal and we actually enjoy going back and forth. HK is a cosmopolitan city and whereas our other house is in a laid back beach town, basically. It's nice to have both extremes. I will miss HK very much actually.

I read an article in either the Los Angeles times or the SCMP that mentioned that breathing the air in HK (and other major cities) was like smoking "x" number of cigarettes a day. I can't remember the number was in HK but it was very alarming. Maybe you can also talk with the Clear the Air organization here in HK and ask for some statistics.

 

[aussiegal]

Here are my feelings. Sunniefaith's theory that those of us that are unhappy with the pollution levels should have known better and shouldn't have come is unhelpful. Not all of us had a little 'look see' before we came and though we had heard about high levels of pollution I'm sure many of us would never have imagined that many days you can't see Kowloon from Central or that the pollution is often so bad that your eyes hurt and you can taste it in your throat. Many of us could never imagine pollution could get this bad in a place like Hong Kong.

The good news is that many foreigners are already protesting the pollution in a very meaningful way - yes, by leaving the country. That will do more to get the government to wake up than anything else we can do. When you have people like myself and Woodk6 who actually WANT to stay but won't because of our babies health it's a sad and sorry state of affairs.

Also, I wonder who's job it is to change things if it's not the government's as Sunniefaith writes?

Personally, I believe it is the government's job to take control of the situation. They have a massive budget surplus and could easily devote a good portion of it to reducing Hong Kong created pollution. Introduce congestion taxes, allow people to drive only on certain days as they have done in Naples for more than 15 years, make it more expensive to run a car, change buses over to LPG, outlaw the use of plastic bags, outlaw the use of incandescent light bulbs in two or five years not ten.

The answer to keeping Hong Kong an international powerhouse is not lowering tax one percent as they plan to do but improving the lifestyle of residents. That way the locals with options won't leave for greener pastures and the ex-pats won't continue to stay away or leave, as the case may be. In fact, I'm fairly certain that there aren't many cities in the world that could compete with Hong Kong in terms of lifestyle, location, opportunity if you take pollution out of the equation.