Topic of the week

what do you think about the increasing air polution in Ho Chi Minh City? Please share your opinions on how to control air polution in big cities like HCMC.


It's not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one's dignity, to work unhampered,to be generous, to be independent

To Jonhtrung
Air pollution is very serious in large metropolitan cities like Chicago, New York, Tokyo and HCMC. That's not only affects the quality of air we breath, but also our health, our mother nature, the image of the city worldwide as well as our future generations.
That's why air pollution is what our destiny depends on.
What are the sources of them? How they deteriorate our health? And things that the government and we can do to improve the worse situation.
JonhTrung can you share with us what you know about air
pollution con***ion in HCMC, please, thanks

Hi hcn8295,
As you seem to have been away from Vietnam for a while, I write down my experience in a "visual" way so you can get the picture. I will give more opinions about this ongoing problem if no one in this forum wants to discuss it.
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Long ago i read an article written by a foreign journalist. Somewhere in the article , the journalist mentioned that he enjoyed sitting by the windows in his New World hotel room and looking down at the ongoing activities. He was impressed by the the scene of thousands of vehicles weaving in and out on streets.All of the sudden, the journalist associated that dynamic picture with the general characteristics of Vietnamese people: hard-working, flexible and adaptable. I was touched by that beautiful association and it make me proud as a genuine Vietnamese.
Here is another story. I spent my childhood with vast green rice field and friendly cows. The road to my home was filled with shadows coming down from huge coconut trees that lined up along the road sides. Everything was perfect to me at that time: nice neighborhood,friendly people and ..fresh air. Hardly ever did I feel sick and I never knew of hospitaliztion.Almost everyone traveled by bicycles; a Honda mortorcycle was a fancy thing at that time.
Now back to that newspaper article. Maybe by the time the journalist jotted down his thoughts, I might have been somewhere in his associated picture.If I was , I would be so engrossed on my bike in order to find my way out of the traffic maze. Yes, everything mentioned in the journal would be here, even more animated! I would see tens of the so-called transportation means zigzaging before my eyes.Next right to me would be a lemon truck slowly moving forward with its imtermittent startling honking sound. On my left, there would be a Xich Lo getting stuck as the pool of motorbikes ahead was getting nowhere as well. And, there was something the journalist did not put in his article: exhausted fumes coming out from thousands of motor bike's exhaust pipes. There were enough fumes and dust circulating in the air that most drivers had to put on a mask over their noses to block the poluted air from entering their nostrils. SInce I rided my bike around for work and personal activities, my chronic nasal disease never seemed to heal as every day countless of invisible dust got through and kept contaminating my nasal system.
Man, I miss all the coconut trees!!

It's not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one's dignity, to work unhampered,to be generous, to be independent

Được johntrung sửa chữa / chuyển vào 02:40 ngày 22/07/2002
Được johntrung sửa chữa / chuyển vào 02:42 ngày 22/07/2002
Được johntrung sửa chữa / chuyển vào 02:44 ngày 22/07/2002
Được johntrung sửa chữa / chuyển vào 04:00 ngày 23/07/2002

I do agree with you , Johntrung , pollution is of the most serious problems that we have to find out the solution. Whenever I go on the street, I feel so unpleasant , vexed with fumes . Pollution actually affect our health, our spirit. I'm dreaming about someday in the future VNese no longer use masks and breath in a fresh air such as Canadian, Australian, Norwegian ,etc. You know, a foreign friend of mine used to say that in the street, VNese look like criminals escaping from police . Hurting,.... huh, ...hurting, angry, ashamed, and sad....

Dirosemimi

"Air pollution in HCM", "a problem", no, I never call it like that. I think it just an sign of ecomic growing in our city. We all know that our country is still on the way. And I'm happy with that .
"a foreign friend of mine used to say that in the street, VNese look like criminals escaping from police". I think he doesnt understand much about our VN culture&people . And again, I'm happy with that. I'm VN, so I do in the way VNeses do, don't expect me to act like a friend in US or France does. That's it

thangnn,
chill out! Maybe that foreigner was just joking with Dirosemini and there was no implication in her message saying that you have to act like foreigners
The joke (or a serious criticism) seems to be a little bit harsh but given that the rising polution in Vn's metropolitan areas, Vietnamese people are truly facing a serious PROBLEM in their living environment. I don't know why you did not think polution is a problem when the air in HCMC has been more dusty than ever. Have you ever noticed people wearing dusk mask ten years ago? So air population is not a Problem huh?

While it's obvious that I by no means intend to criticize the ongoing programs which have been conducted to mitigate the polution, the point of this topic is to improve our English by sharing our logical thinking about an existing problem.
Hey hcn8295,
Here is my take on the topic. I would rather not talk about some obvious solutions such as education and administration but rather tackle the issue in other perspectives. As you might know, the number of motor bikes in large cities including Sai Gon, Ha Noi, Can Tho are shooting up due to several factors such as higher level of income, competitive pricing from the automobile makers, better infrastructures...; the level of polution contributed by these motor bikes has been going up accordingly. Needless to say , the government would find it an arduous job to stop or lower the demand for buying motor bikes. In my opinion, some of the following regulations can be taken to tackle the problem :
-Establish highly regulated automative emission control. Each automobile is required to attach a catalytic emission filter in the engine to minimize the exhaust release.New technologies on emission control have been used in cars for years and recently in motor bikes. The cost to bundle this filter with the engine is quite affordable and the end-users won't see much difference in final price (or course it's also up to the marketers to adjust their pricing policy). If this regulation can be executed, I believe the exhaust release will be reduced significantly
- Promote the habit of using public transportation. It's not an easy job as other factors including existing infrastructure system, traffic problems... will have a great impact on the promotion. Therefore, I would ignore these factors (as it is in the hands of the government) and turn to a more possible task : changing the habit. I believe if there are enough media broadcasts to promote and explain the benefits of public transportation, there will be more positive attitude (which lead to action) toward it. The rationale behind this tactic is that people are usually influenced by the media. As of now, I don't see any consistent media (TV, magazine,....) programs are conducted to promote the habit of using public transportation in Vietnam
Any other recommendations?

It's not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one's dignity, to work unhampered,to be generous, to be independent

Được johntrung sửa chữa / chuyển vào 05:30 ngày 23/07/2002
Được johntrung sửa chữa / chuyển vào 05:32 ngày 23/07/2002

Hi Johntrung
I love to hear your comments. The science of air pollution is complex and evolving. Becoming informed is a key to people of
HCMCT becoming effective players in preventing air pollution. Here is my brief discusion:
1) Reducing dependence on the motor bikes is an essential
strategy for reducing air pollution from personal transportation. This strategy requires a rethinking of the way our communities are designed, and will result in countless benefits for our communities, and for our environment.
2)Stricter vehicle emission and fuel standards. Increasing the stringency of emission standards and tightening gasoline standards will significantly improve human health and air quality. Creating a more stringent sulphur standard for gasoline must become a top priority.
3). Enhanced fuel efficiency requirements. Fuel consumption is directly related to carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles, and adoption of more stringent standards is one of the single most effective measures government could take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also, with less fuel being burned, polluting chemicals released by fossil fuel production and combustion decrease.
4). Incentives to accelerate the retirement of higher polluting vehicles or motor bikes. Older vehicles often lack effective pollution control equipment, and are a severe pollution problem. Accelerated vehicle retirement programs remove these vehicle from the road by buying the car and then scrapping it.

Now that the government is in the progress of ending the motorcyle registration for good , there has been a frenzy of people rushing to purchase motorbikes from all brands. It is interesting to see how they proceed to put all the suggested transportation programs into operation. I believe that Singapore transporation model can be a good reference to us for their traffic congestion is low and the level of polution stemming from vehicle exhaust is really well controlled compared to other neighboring countries.

Wah~~ why are you ashamed ar Dimi ?? Vietnam is a developing country, in other words, you can say not rich. Then if u expect the polution must be like in Australia or Canada and Norway... (actually Canada and Norway all the time freezing.. then the very hard to feel the environment is bad, but the truth is very bad) then Vietnam may can get the best pollution but it would also be the poorest country, because government used all money for develop the pollution, our economy is be vomitted. Have a look with the other developed coutries, their pollation is good because their economy is strong, they have no war ... World War II, german and italy lost but they are in Europe Group, that group how can they be poor ?? japan also lost, but japan is very small and the population is very small. If the Japaneses has our big population and live in the land as big as ours.. i dont think Japan could be as strong as now.
Australia is truly one of the countries has the best pollution.. no dust in the air normally, but when it has bush fires, you will see the dust as big as the cloud, why ?? because too hot. Eventhough, Australia is surround by the cold water sea, but using too much air-con***ioner, therefore.. summer 46-52 degree ... then will you like to live in Vietnam or in Australia ??? .. Australia is also the country has most people got skin cancer, because the sunshine contains lot of UV wave, and Australia has the biggest hole of cracked ozone. In fact, the environment protection in Australia is basicly good, but because of the weather then the reaction of the ozone field in Australia become stronger, day by day, year by year.. those reaction took away lot of ozone.. therefore there is a big hole.
That's is about environment. About how to decrease the air pollution, firstly need to re-plant all of the green trees. Because nothing, even machines, can be the air-filter as good as green trees, free or use treatments with rubbish fields ... using un-leaded petrol for vehicles... just can do good these three things, we will absolutely have the new image of our pollution.
About the masks, i feel nothing to be shamed Dimi, just your friend spoke bad sentence. I can say no one like to wear that, no fashionable, inconvinience, but they need to use. If they dont wear to make your friend change his/her mind, will you or your friend pay the hospital fees for those persons ar hihihihi. Ashamed is not the good word for development.

What is Air Pollution?
Air is the ocean we breathe. Air supplies us with oxygen which is essential for our bodies to live. Air is 99.9% nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor and inert gases. Human activities can release substances into the air, some of which can cause problems for humans, plants, and animals.
There are several main types of pollution and well-known effects of pollution which are commonly
discussed. These include smog, acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and "holes" in the ozone layer. Each
of these problems has serious implications for our health and well-being as well as for the whole
environment.
One type of air pollution is the release of particles into the air from burning fuel for energy. Diesel
smoke is a good example of this particulate matter . The particles are very small pieces of matter measuring about 2.5 microns or about .0001 inches. This type of pollution is sometimes referred to as "black carbon" pollution. The exhaust from burning fuels in automobiles, homes, and industries is a major source of pollution in the air. Some authorities believe that even the burning of wood and charcoal in fireplaces and barbeques can release significant quantities of soot into the air.
Another type of pollution is the release of noxious gases, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and chemical vapors. These can take part in further chemical reactions once they are in the atmosphere, forming smog and acid rain.
Pollution also needs to be considered inside our homes, offices, and schools. Some of these pollutants can be created by indoor activities such as smoking and cooking, and so our exposure to harmful indoor pollutants can be serious. It is therefore important to consider both indoor and outdoor air pollution.