A Trip to China

I know I talked previously about my sadness after seeing the Noland Trail being closed off for environmental clean up, but nothing comes close to my experiences in China this past summer. I went all over this country, and when I say all over, I literally mean I witnessed at least 50% of the country in 6 weeks. I learned many things during my time there, but in relation to this class, I learned what true pollution looks like. It was frankly disgusting, and nothing like we have here in Newport News. The water is undrinkable, mountains of trash as well as toxic waste clog most of the rivers, and even the air itself is boarder-line not breathable. Although China has made recent attempts to clean up their country in the past few years, saying they have a long way to go would be serious understatement. The one place I went to see that wasn't overridden with pollution was Changbaishan mountain on the border of North Korea. The views here were impressive to say the least, but there was still a massive amount of construction going on near the resort that was being built, and hordes of people fleeing the crowded cities were tightly packed all around us. It simultaneously made me appreciate the nature we have in America while also filling me with a heavy heart to see mankind treat God's creation in such a manor. I truly hope China can learn from its mistakes and continue to make progress on cleaning up its environment; it's never too late.