Public Health

Cycling through XinJiang and Gansu, brought spectacular vistas, marred only by the passing coal trucks. Now the trucks have delivered their payloads and are causing much more harmful effects. More than half the riders don their facemasks every morning, with the other half wishing they had brought one. When we arrived in China, we were appalled by the amount of hawking and spitting in public places. Now, due to the declining quality of air, many of us are hawking and spitting in much the same way.

It’s unsettling to blow one’s nose and see nothing but black mucus in the tissue paper. Soot takes residence along our eyelids and when a cold wind blows, ebony tears stream towards our ears. A typical day finds us passing several thermal power plants and burning trash in a drainage ditch. Days are shorter, terrain flat, but we battle man-made conditions.

China recently overtook the United States as the number one air polluter in the world. Additionally, China has 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities. Our original route to Beijing was deliberately changed due to the city of Linfen, Shanxi recently deemed the most polluted city in the world. It is said, coal dust in the air is so thick that cars must use headlights during the day.

As our bodies experience repercussions of environmental denigration, we cannot help but meditate on greater cause and effects. While we are cycling, we are helping rather than hurting.