Application Complete! Ready to Run in 2007 Standard Chartered Marathon in Hong Kong!

Just received my confirmation e-mail!

I'm really looking forward to the 2007 Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon.

However, it is very disappointing to see the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic association skirting around the serious issue of pollution. They provide you with historic weather information, but nothing on historic pollution levels (last year for example, pollution readings were extremely high and the number of runners taken to hospital was also at an all time high.

Amazing, considering that in Hong Kong we have warnings for "black storms" (heavy rain) and typhoons... but severe pollution is apparently not considered a serious enough issue that the organizers would contemplate cancelling the race.

You should take the pollution readings on that day seriously. Given that most days in Hong Kong are "high" pollution days (using the ratings of the Hong Kong government), it is very likely pollution readings on race day will also be in the "high" category. You can find current and historic pollution readings at the website of the ironically named Environment Protection Department.

I am not planning to run if the reading a few hours before start time is over 75 according to the Hong Kong Pollution Index. I know it's a totally arbitrary number I've chose - please let me know if you can suggest a better number.

[on top - picture of today's pollution from my office - can barely see windmill in Lama Island]

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Here is something you will almost never see these days.. BLUE sky in Hong Kong!

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William Pesek in Bloomberg Article: measures against pollution will be inflationary

In a Bloomberg article written by William Pesek Jr., he states that China's fight against pollution will likely lead to inflation. He also notes that in the past several years many new factories may have invested in China specifically due to the lax pollution controls. Who knows what the costs of this lack of policy have been in China, but in Hong Kong it is estimated cost over $300 million in additional healthcare bills per year.

Read the full article, courtesy of Envirovaluation.org by clicking here.

Exxon: move your HQ to Hong Kong!

Slightly off-topic, but I've just read a post from Dr. Jeff Master's WunderBlog (must read!) about how Exxon and other fossil fuel companies are funding the U.S. based Competitive Enterprise Institute and their misleading ads that claim CO2 emissions are not harmful with the tag-line, "Carbon Dioxide: they call it pollution, we call it life."

Read WunderBlog to understand this cynical reactive PR campaign being published in response Al Gore's new film, An Inconvenient Truth.

If Exxon and the other fossil fuel companies think CO2 is such great stuff then InvestHK should really be giving them a call. pronto!

Hong Kong Pollution Driving Expats Away

Another article in today's The Standard talks about exatriates in Hong Kong leaving the city or refusing to move here due to Hong Kong's terrible air quality.

The article points out issues that all of us living here are already familiar with: The government doesn't even acknowledge some of its pollutants (in particular fine particulates) , the pollution is getting worse, not better, the consequences on health are terrible (though Hong Kong's Department of Health has no mention of pollution on their website).

While corporates in Hong Kong had previously not publicly commented on pollution, it's interesting to see that many are now making public announcements to express their displeasure with the situation.

Sadly, some of Hong Kong's most influential multinatials, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank (sponsor of the yearly marathon here), are doing nothing... The nature of their commitment to the welfare of this community has always been tenuous. In Hong Kong this matters because of the 'functional constituency' system used in government, where companies and trade groups (not individual residents) are the primary directors of government policy.

Read the full article here.

How Much Pollution are Hong Kong Companies Emitting?

One reasonable way of coming to grips with our pollution problem in Hong Kong and Guangdong would be to first try to understand how much of each of the major pollutants companies are emitting on a yearly basis.

Apparently the U.S. EPA requires that pollution emitting industries provide a yearly estimate of the types and amount of pollution they are emitting.

Unfortunately this does not seem to be a requirement in Hong Kong. It would be interesting to know how much pollution New World First Bus (and First Ferry), for example, emit into our atmosphere every year.

If you're interested in reading more about air pollution generally, check out wunderblog.

It's been three days since Typhoon Chanchu swept by Hong Kong and the skies have quicky returned back to their usual low-visibility :(