Combating air pollution in Northern Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
Every
year in northern Thailand local residents burn everything
in sight
including "fields, leaves, rice straw, garbage and grasses."The result is air pollution and air that is almost to impossible to breathe.
Today's article is Saturday's editorial in the Bangkok Post which calls for quick action to right this untenable situation.
The infographic on the right includes useful definitions as well as city-by-city air pollution comparisons.
Another article Saturday reports on a meeting being called between the five countries affected by the haze (Read article).
air pollution - putting
into the air things that cause harm to humans and nature: "chemicals,
particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or
discomfort to humans" (See Wikipedia)
combat - try to stop something from happening
combating (noun) - the activity of trying to stop something from happening
residents - people who live in an area
everything in sight - everything in an area, everything that you can see
untenable - impossible to continue because of serious problems
right a wrong - make a situation that is bad, good again
haze - water, smoke or dust in the air that makes it difficult to see clearly หมอกควัน
combat - try to stop something from happening
combating (noun) - the activity of trying to stop something from happening
residents - people who live in an area
everything in sight - everything in an area, everything that you can see
untenable - impossible to continue because of serious problems
right a wrong - make a situation that is bad, good again
haze - water, smoke or dust in the air that makes it difficult to see clearly หมอกควัน
EDITORIAL
Haze a menace in the North
20/03/2010The Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not include the right to breathe non-toxic air. That is because it is a fundamental requirement of life and therefore supposed to be taken for granted. But there is a flaw in that assumption and anyone living in, or visiting, the North at this time of year already knows what it is.
A tweet posted on Twitter sums up the situation well. The message is a warning to anyone visiting Chiang Mai and reads: "Smog is getting worse. Bad air everywhere. Bring sunglasses and face mask if you have to go there." The writer was not exaggerating. Smoke from wildfires has created a critical situation in Chiang Mai and in provinces throughout the North.
menace - something
dangerous and likely to cause harm
Universal Declaration of Human Rights - the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled made by the members of the UN in 1948 (See Wikipedia)
toxic - poisonous and harmful to people, animals or the environment เป็นพิษ
fundamental - very important and essential พื้นฐาน รากฐานที่สำคัญ
taken for granted - people accept it without question
flaw - something that is not right or correct
assumption - something that you consider likely to be true even though you have no proof ข้อสันนิษฐาน
smog - polluted air that mixes smoke and fog
exaggerating - describing to make seem more important than it is (better, worse, bigger..etc...than it actually is)
wildfires - forest fires, fires that burn down many trees in the forest
critical - very serious and dangerous, crisis situation อย่างวิกฤต, สำคัญยิ่ง
Universal Declaration of Human Rights - the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled made by the members of the UN in 1948 (See Wikipedia)
toxic - poisonous and harmful to people, animals or the environment เป็นพิษ
fundamental - very important and essential พื้นฐาน รากฐานที่สำคัญ
taken for granted - people accept it without question
flaw - something that is not right or correct
assumption - something that you consider likely to be true even though you have no proof ข้อสันนิษฐาน
smog - polluted air that mixes smoke and fog
exaggerating - describing to make seem more important than it is (better, worse, bigger..etc...than it actually is)
wildfires - forest fires, fires that burn down many trees in the forest
critical - very serious and dangerous, crisis situation อย่างวิกฤต, สำคัญยิ่ง
It is so bad in Mae Hong Son that a state of disaster has been declared in every district. Over 12,000 people have sought help for respiratory distress and eye inflammation. The level of particulate matter (PM10) has soared above the safety level of 120 - reaching 518.5 microgrammes per cubic metre on Thursday, the highest ever recorded in the province. These tiny particles with a size of less than 10 micrometres can easily enter the lungs, prompting doctors to warn people to wear face masks when outdoors. Predictably, flights into the province have been suspended because of the poor visibility and there is no easy escape.
state
- condition สภาพ
disaster - something very bad that happens and causes a lot of damage ความหายนะ
respiratory - related to the process of breathing air in and out through the mouth to the lungs ระบบทางเดินหายใจ
distress - a feeling of worry or being upset ความกังวลใจ
inflammation - a red, painful and often swollen area in or on a part of your body การอักเสบ
particle - a very very small object (example: a particle of sand)
particulate - made of particles
matter - physical substance in the universe สาร,วัตถุ
lungs - the organs in your chest that fill with air when you breathe ปอด
prompting - causing
suspended - stopped for a period of time
visibility - how clearly objects can be seen, or how far you can see clearly, usually because of the weather conditions ทัศนวิสัย
disaster - something very bad that happens and causes a lot of damage ความหายนะ
respiratory - related to the process of breathing air in and out through the mouth to the lungs ระบบทางเดินหายใจ
distress - a feeling of worry or being upset ความกังวลใจ
inflammation - a red, painful and often swollen area in or on a part of your body การอักเสบ
particle - a very very small object (example: a particle of sand)
particulate - made of particles
matter - physical substance in the universe สาร,วัตถุ
lungs - the organs in your chest that fill with air when you breathe ปอด
prompting - causing
suspended - stopped for a period of time
visibility - how clearly objects can be seen, or how far you can see clearly, usually because of the weather conditions ทัศนวิสัย
The cause of all this misery is acrid smoke generated by the annual practice of burning off fields, leaves, rice straw, garbage and grasses ahead of the next planting season. This has been making people sick for the past month and has been worsened by the high temperatures and a cold mass of air from China, which prevents the smoke from escaping into the upper atmosphere.
misery
- an unpleasant life with great suffering
acrid - of a smell or taste that is very strong, bitter and unpleasant in your nose and throat
generated - created
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
practice - a way of doing something that people do regularly การปฏิบัติ
mass - a religious ceremony in some Christian churches การสวดมิซา
mass - large amounts จำนวนมหาศาล
atmosphere - the air above the earth (See Wikipedia)
acrid - of a smell or taste that is very strong, bitter and unpleasant in your nose and throat
generated - created
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
practice - a way of doing something that people do regularly การปฏิบัติ
mass - a religious ceremony in some Christian churches การสวดมิซา
mass - large amounts จำนวนมหาศาล
atmosphere - the air above the earth (See Wikipedia)
It is an intolerable situation for those living in or visiting the North and they cannot be expected to simply put up with it. Every year history repeats itself. Health and forestry officials promise a new campaign to convince landowners not to burn forests, rubbish or grass but this always fails because it involves changing a mindset and traditional way of life. It is time to get tough and slap heavy fines on those starting the fires and to stop making excuses for inaction.
intolerable - cannot
be tolerated, cannot be accepted
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
put up with it - accept and endure things that are difficult to accept
campaign - a series of actions intended to produce political or social change การรณรงค์, การกระทำการหรือวางแผนเพื่อให้บรรลุตามเป้าหมาย
convince - saying things to make people believe something
rubbish - waste material or things that are no longer wanted or needed ขยะ
mindset - the general way that people think about things, their attitude
traditional - things (clothes, music, customs, etc.) that have been part of a country or society for a long time
get tough - stop or punish something bad (that no one did anything about in the past)
slap heavy fines on Y - require payment of money as punishment
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
put up with it - accept and endure things that are difficult to accept
campaign - a series of actions intended to produce political or social change การรณรงค์, การกระทำการหรือวางแผนเพื่อให้บรรลุตามเป้าหมาย
convince - saying things to make people believe something
rubbish - waste material or things that are no longer wanted or needed ขยะ
mindset - the general way that people think about things, their attitude
traditional - things (clothes, music, customs, etc.) that have been part of a country or society for a long time
get tough - stop or punish something bad (that no one did anything about in the past)
slap heavy fines on Y - require payment of money as punishment
(Source: EDITORIAL, Haze a menace in the North, 20/03/2010, link)
