“The Air that I Breathe” – Personal Reflections on Pollution in China
“Sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe.” I loved the 1974 hit “The Air That I Breathe” by The Hollies when I was a kid. The song is really a love song and has little to do with air pollution, the environment, or the main things I wish to reflect on in this short piece. Earlier this year, The Economist reported, “Last year on a typically smoggy day in Beijing, Li Keqiang, the prime minister, declared ‘war’ on air pollution—a problem that has become a national fixation. Chinese leaders have been embarrassed by the damage caused to China’s international image by the city’s relentlessly grey skies. They worry that the smog could fuel dissatisfaction with the government and undermine stability in the capital, as well as affect their own and their families’ health.” If the problem of air pollution in China has reached a level that forces the central government to admit it is a problem then you can bet it is a serious problem.
