For you: a very special Sindicator. Using the sino-indicator of PM2.5 I show how air pollution can really fuck with your emotions. A bit more gravitas in this, a short film documenting a day in shit air, but with a kitschy sci-fi mood and a bit of dark humor.
The underlying motivations for the toxic shroud visible from space are just as nasty as the air. Consumers expect cheap production, investors are gunning for growth, and convenience is king. And as China struggles to provide for the world and its own, developed nations finger wag in reprimand.
I am careful to mention that I have made the choice to live here, as many of you have. Many Chinese do not have a choice. So, N.B.: next time you crank up the heat in your place, take a drag from your smoke, stuff your face with cheese flown in from Switzerland, AND bitch about the air… God kills a coal miner.
Read:
AQI: Beijing v. Shanghai (WSJ)
How society evolves to provide indoor alternatives (if you’ve the money to do so) (The Guardian)
Death rates (SCMP)
Jia Zhangke donating his talents to Greenpeace (YouTube)
Great interactive infographic (SCMP)
BJC’s nod to The Daily Show’s feature on smog, as seen from SPACE (BJC)
An awesome remake of Pharrel’s song “Happy,” tragically shot on a polluted Beijing day (BJC)
