Is someone's request about living in Kunming the best place for a pissing contest?
For the actual relevant questions posted:
1) HK vs Kunming Pollution. There is more to pollution than air pollution. Kunming's air pollution rates can be just as high as HKs, even though we get more blue sky (an effect of the altitude, not pollution). However, Kunming has higher levels of pollution in water and animal protein. These may not make someone sick immediately, but they can have health effects in the long-run. Similarly smoking is more prevalent, so if someone or a member of their family is particularly sensitive to it (example, someone having recently undergone cancer treatment or who is prone to recurrence) then Kunming may not be the best place. This is also a general problem in China, as CERTAIN health problems connected to pollution are much higher here than elsewhere, but only manifest in late-life.
2) Medical Care: There is good medical care in Kunming that will cover a majority of problems someone would face. However, if a person has very specific problems, Kunming would be a bad idea. Orthopedic surgery is really lacking here, so people with chronic joint pain/back pain or who has sustained injuries that would require precise surgery would do well to think twice before relocating. Similarly, if someone had a child/spouse/etc who required ongoing mental health care, then probably stay in the larger cities or outside China. The infrastructure is simply not here.
3) Location based problems: Different people have different sensitivities to their environment, so yes where they live can affect their health. For example, actually yes if someone is prone to current headaches or has chemical sensitivities, then SLC, UT may be a better option. Lower altitude, fewer plants, and a long winter that kills everything off in the air would have many benefits for someone like that. My stepmother had severe allergies living in SoCal, to the point that she (as a restaurant critic) lost her sense of smell and taste. She relocated to Boston where the plants are different and the winter freezes everything—surprise, she can smell and taste again.
Sidepoint, SLC, UT is awesome. Amazing food and environment there.
Yunnan air routes a hot commodity
Posted byMore direct flights (full ones) that do not require excessive connections as well as flights on smaller aircraft that do not go as fast or so high into the troposphere are actually net advantages to helping combat the negative influences of air travel. And yes, the current form is arguably unsustainable, but advances in aircraft design, fuel efficiency and better logistics are easing the burden somewhat. Telling people not to fly is probably pretty ineffective... most of us got here that way. But telling people to fly smarter and more sustainably might work.
Yunnan Baiyao rebounds after rough start to 2013
Posted byActually there are quite a few scientists in Kunming who only study the effects of TCM. Baiyao (and most TCM) have active ingredients that actually cause the effect, and a few fillers that have been added over the years that are either inert (as far as tests show) or merely serve some physical function (taste, binding, etc.). Not sure about Baiyao itself, but quite a few other products the company makes are well established and clinically showen to be quite effective complements to typical western-style medical treatments. Some of that may be due to the placebo effect, but testing the chemical compounds on cell-lines has shown some positive effects as well.
Changshui once again closed by fog
Posted byActually, don't get a horse. Chicago, NYC and London of the 19th centuries were cess pools of disease caused by too many horses in an urban atmosphere. The old Brownstones of NYC had raised porches so that there were a few feet of distance from the road level to give a place for the manure to go... oh, and if a horse died, it stayed in the street till it decayed and could be moved. Add to that rampant disease and insanely high amounts of methane (which isn't great for the atmos either....), and well... maybe don't get a horse.
Kunming to monetize street vendor chaos
Posted bytotally irrelevant, but @mmkunmingteacher, actually Salt Lake City proper is pretty awesome. Definitely more of a cultural vibe than you get in some western cities if you know where to look. ; )
Changshui once again closed by fog
Posted byI think the author is more making reference to the fact that before the new airport was built, the area up North was well known to have horrendous fog problems but they decided to put the airport in there regardless. The massive delays last year were just the first taste of the kind of problems you get when you put a multi-billion dollar installation in a perhaps less than suitable location (especially as Yunnan Gov. would like to make Kunming the air hub of Southeast Asia).