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

can someone help me with this. i was reading the link post by woodk6, and was surprised to find out that "80 per cent of our air pollution comes from the delta" is a misconception: that is not the pollution we breathe. rather about "50 per cent of the air pollution you breathe while walking, shopping or living next to a typical Hong Kong city street comes from the traffic right in front of you - mostly from diesel trucks and buses."

All along i thought that the main culprit is across the border cos there are times when you can feel the air in hk is so much fresher and better with the change in wind direction. for eg, like during summer period, the air quality is better.

So if the traffic pollution is reduced in hk, which mean the pollution will be reduced tremendously and we wont have the haze that we are seeing now???

Thanks for clarifying!!
 
Bekybook44, I thought you did a great job. You have taken into account how the different members of this site feel, with their different statuses here, ex-pat, local, foreigner now calling HK home.

One thing, I'd make it shorter. I'd take out the things they can do. They know what they can do and they've already had quite a few think thanks on the situation that say all that and more.

I would also say that the letter is being written not just for the sake of our children but for our health and the health of all people living in HK. We aren't martyrs and we don't need to be. We have a right to breathe air that will not harm our health.

Perhaps we should actually think about a class action lawsuit. If there are known and easy measures to take that can reduce pollution but the government isn't doing it then i'd say we have grounds for a lawsuit. Woodk6 maybe you can advise on this? It doesn't have to be real, just the mention of it might get people to listen a bit harder and think about their rights a bit more
 
Bekyboo, thanks for drafting a great letter. There were just a few typos - will PM you these.

I actually liked the part of the letter suggesting the various steps the HK government can take to improve the situation. It's useful because they so often just blame the factories in China and try to absolve themselves of their own responsibilities.

Agree with spockey that a good way to execute this would be to upload the letter onto a online site for us to sign. Two possible options are www.petitiononline.com and www.ipetitions.com. Once a final version is ready, it would be good if someone could translate the letter into Chinese so that both versions could be posted online - this would help get a lot more mothers in HK to sign it.

An example is http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sodbhk/ (a petition on a different issue, but a good approach and format I thought).
 
bekyboo44. great job with the letter. I'm not sure about cutting out the suggestions for action....although i can see where aussiegal is coming from. i guess, personally I am always one who likes to propose solutions when you are discussing a problem especially when we can point out some pretty simple things that can be done. it makes the idea of a class action lawsuit pretty powerful (although I have to admit I can't add any knowledge in this area)

in the UK you can petition the prime minister online.
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/
you can both create and sign petitions on this website giving you the opportunity to reach a potentially wider audience

does anyone know of a way we can do a similar thing here in the UK? it would make the gathering of signatures much easier.
 
Hi,

Thanks for all the feedback! Am so glad letter went down so well! Let me go through any typos, and get a final draft together, and then I can post as a petition online! Once I have done that I will post the website for the petition on this website, but please feel free to pass the website onto other friends!

Aussiegal I like you idea about the lawsuit- anyone know where to start with that?
 
Pollution isn't good for anybody

The pollution in Hong Kong is terrible, as it is in many places, and we should all worry about it and do what we can to improve the situation. Simply saying that if one doesn't like it they should move home is ridiculous. This is about thinking globally and cleaning up our current corner of the world; no matter where your original home is, how long you've been here or how long you intend to stay. People who come here "for the money" and move home when they're tired of the pollution is the kind of selfish and short-sighted behavior that causes these kinds of problems. I say we do whatever we can, wherever we are to make the world a cleaner, safer place. Be a good citizen. If Hong Kong is a place to make more money - then vote with your dollar and do what you can to press for pollution controls. Don't just be a parasite in this lovely city and pack it up when you've had your fill. Leave it a better place than you found it.
 
I know you already posted the petition online, is it too late to suggest that we say "parents of Hong Kong" instead of "mothers"? That would allow for more signatures and give more weight to our case.
 
Hubby is not a HK registered attorney but I did casually ask him how a class action would work and he said that sort of thing doesn't really exist in HK. He didn't elaborate but I didn't press him because he's fleece me for posting whatever he said on a website. :) I think it would be better to ask someone locally registered anyway to get the real scoop.
 
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