which part(s) of Asia would you NOT want to live in? Options

[fivers]

actually I wouldn't mind living in any of them since I Asia, but I'd say Mongolia as I'd feel super bored and isolated there..



Edit: oh and of course, North Korea.. (how could I forget lol)

Re-Edit lol: and Papua New Guinea, oooops! (that's Oceania).. I actually meant Irian Jaya, for obvious reasons hahaha

Re-Edit³: I just realized India is in Asia too (am really stupid, I know), so I'll say Bombay, oh! and Afghanistan and Pakistan

Hopefully Last Edit lol: earthquake and tsunami high risk areas i.e. Fukushima.. (thx Yer, geico & Krateros for reminding me lol)


This post has been edited by fivers: Oct 10 2011, 02:35 PM

[Mauser]

Don't forget the skinheads in Mongolia and Russia. You're probably safer in cities there as the police will be there to protect you. I wouldn't want to visit Beijing. Too much smog and pollution. I don't want to visit Thailand or Burma either. Lots of gangs there.

[fireplant]

Don't forget the skinheads in Mongolia and Russia. You're probably safer in cities there as the police will be there to protect you. I wouldn't want to visit Beijing. Too much smog and pollution. I don't want to visit Thailand or Burma either. Lots of gangs there.

Beijing pollution is fu-ked up. The thing is it looks just like any regular city, doesn't have any factories, cars are modern and clean, no motorbikes. But in winter time you smell coal and wood smoke, because so much is still burned for heating. The geography also traps the air there, I think. Really coastal cities are much more suited for high density development. Geographically, USA and Europe are blessed with marine west coast climates, they get the clean marine air blown into their coast, but marine east climate in Asia get dirty continental winds.

[Mauser]

Beijing pollution is fu-ked up. The thing is it looks just like any regular city, doesn't have any factories, cars are modern and clean, no motorbikes. But in winter time you smell coal and wood smoke, because so much is still burned for heating. The geography also traps the air there, I think. Really coastal cities are much more suited for high density development. Geographically, USA and Europe are blessed with marine west coast climates, they get the clean marine air blown into their coast, but marine east climate in Asia get dirty continental winds.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olym...ollution/1.html

1. On the first day, a cold front sweeps in from Mongolia, similar to the way cold fronts from Canada visit the Northeast United States.
2. The cold front tends to bring blustery winds, washing away the smog and delivering clearer air from the north. Again, this is similar to the winds from Canada that shove pollution out of New York City.
3. After a day or two, the incoming winds begin to shift counterclockwise, to the west, and then to the southwest, with the haze from industrial zones in tow.
4. As the wind shifts entirely to the south, the haze builds until another cold front form the north crashes in and wipes it away. The smog clears, and the cycle starts anew. In the summer, the cycle lengthens to two weeks, as opposed to every week, because the decreased temperature difference between the equator and poles slows down atmospheric circulation.

Chinese officials have, in the last few months, begun to recognize that the smog is a regional problem, worsened by the new coal power plants that go online at least weekly in China. For the last few months, the scientists say, Chinese officials have started traveling to the provinces south of Beijing to remind local leaders that they have a duty to help ensure a pristine Olympics, and that they should consider enacting measures to reduce particulate pollution. But these southern provinces power Beijing, and the cost of shutting them down would be astronomical.

Actually the cause of the pollution in Beijing is due to the fact that there are so many factories located around it. Furthermore, it barely receives any rain to wash away the smog. Beijing does receive coastal winds, but it's not enough. The damage has been done. Beijing alone has over 4.8 million cars[1]. They have already tried drastic measures to fix the problem during the Olympics- shutting down factories, closing roads, reducing number of vehicles on roads, but nothing really changed[2].

[1] Strong winds kept Beijing's skies clear and blue for most of January despite the city's numerous coal-fired power stations and more than 4.8 million cars on the roads -- the capital's main sources of air pollution.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-beijin...-pollution.html

http://www.wri.org/stories/2008/07/beijing...t-isnt-the-cars

[2] Contrary to popular perception both inside and outside China, Beijing’s air pollution problem is not primarily due to increases in personal vehicle use. Granted, there have been dozens of press reports about the surging numbers of vehicles that Beijingers are buying. These reports are true, but also misleading. In contrast to the experience in the U.S., Beijing’s boom in vehicle ownership has not yet invaded its surrounding areas. It is mainly China’s wealthiest cities that are participating in the car boom; smaller cities and towns have seen more modest growth in vehicle ownership.

The real causes of Beijing’s air quality woes lie elsewhere. An article last year suggested the key component to Beijing’s ozone problem (the stuff that makes your eyes itch, causes shortness of breath and reduces visibility) is actually volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from small factories in neighboring Hebei province. A sniff test suggests that there are plenty of these factories operating in and around Beijing. Many are small (and possibly illegal), and they operate only at night to avoid the scrutiny of environmental inspectors. So the Beijing government has several problems: first, it must locate these hidden factories. Then they must shut them down—and convince neighboring provinces to do the same.