China is notorious for its poor air quality, ranging from the burning of raw coal, to millions of cars crowding city roads, and to blatant industrial pollution from factories and companies. I couldn’t believe it when I heard that pollution had gotten so bad in China last week that heavy pollution warnings were issued. This means that residents with respiratory problems are encouraged to stay indoors.
For those of you who haven’t been to China, I’ve heard from numerous sources that pollution is bad there, especially in and around the larger cities. When you go out during the day, you will often come back with a face full of soot and pollution – so much so that your towel will turn black if you wipe your face. Apparently, even if you blow your nose, it will come out dark because of all the pollution. I’ve heard lakes and rivers are nowhere near clear, let alone the skies.
I recognize that we in the U.S. aren’t exactly innocent either. Considering we’re only a fraction of the world’s population, we do more than our fair share when contributing to global warming. I think all countries, especially those with resources like China really need to take a step back and look at what they are doing. Remember the Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century? We saw all those pictures of coal burning, smokestacks spewing raw pollution into the air, and industrial waste everywhere. Well, China is like that… but 100 times worse given the scale at which they are going through their Industrial Revolution.
No matter who is at fault or who the worst violators are, we all need to stop pointing fingers and do our part to help. The more blame we try to shift, the worse the problem will get. All countries, especially China and the U.S., need to set examples. I know we can start by passing legislation that will help our environment, such as the 
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