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| A Junk in Victoria Harbour as smog veils the city. |
I love Hong Kong. Honestly, I really do. No
other city in the world has quite the mystique that Hong Kong does. It is a
fascinating mixture of East and West, bustling, busy, dynamic, exotic and
undeniably cosmopolitan. It touts itself as Asia’s World City and mostly I feel
that is an apt title. But for a city that is so very advanced it is also so
incredibly backwards. Business drives this city. BIG Business. And as is often
the case, business, particularly BIG Business comes at the expense of the
environment.
The government is very happy to lay Hong
Kong’s air pollution problems on what gets blown over the border and that to
some extent is very true. But for a city that is as cosmopolitan as Hong Kong,
it lacks some of the simplest environmental initiatives. While HK may not be able to control what
blows down from China it can certainly control pollution of its own creation.
Roadside pollution is a big issue but Hong Kong only recently introduced
vehicle idling laws and honestly they are woefully inadequate. Three minutes is
a long time for a vehicle to idle and the fines are small. There are no
emission regulations and as a result many vehicles are poorly maintained and
heavily polluting. When the power company proposes a rate hike the government
responds be offering a rebate to consumers, who would be better served in
learning to reduce power consumption (including myself). Faced with a growing
population and the garbage it generates, instead of promoting waste reduction
measures like recycling and composting, the government proposes to build a
super incinerator in an environmentally sensitive area.
Shek Kwu Chau, the site of the proposed
incinerator, is an island located near Lantau Island and Cheung Chau. It is
uninhabited except for a Drug Rehabilitation Centre and you need permission
from the government to get there. Its waters are home to dolphins that are
increasingly threatened by habitat loss and pollution. The incinerator project
requires extensive land reclamation that will increase the stress on these
already fragile animals. Why the
government would propose to build an incinerator using, from my understanding,
outdated polluting technology on an environmentally sensitive area, in a city with already poor air quality, with no existing
transportation links to move the garbage and with no public consultation makes
little sense to me. But then I am just one woman. I am not Big Business and I
suspect that Big Business is behind this project. However I have a voice. It may a small one,
but it is still a voice and I believe we can stop this project.
Please visit the following sites for more information and to find out what you can do to stop this project:
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