In this thorough investigation, Chai Jing answers almost any questions about China’s struggle with industrial pollution.  The sheer amount of fascinating points raised by Jing could be enough material for a paper, or potentially a book for that matter.  She discusses the personal threat smog is to her infant daughter; whom she attempts to protect from a lifetime of lung disease by carefully monitoring air quality reports and limiting her time outside.  Jing goes into depth about the danger pollution presents, which I found surprising, fascinating and above all terrifying.  The very real threat of lung cancer is part of daily life of those who live in very urban areas with heavy vehicle traffic or steel-producing towns that burn billions of tons of coal.  It’s astonishing that lung cancer rates have risen over 400% since the Mao Zedong took power.  I had previously figured that smog inhalation would result in a bad cough or shortness of breath in old age, rather than the reality of entire households (especially in rural areas) being cleared out by lung cancer.  One of the more significant points Jing brought to light was the economic obstacles to environmental reform.  In short, blue-collar workers of China rely on steel mills and power plants for employment and China’s developing status makes enforcing regulations difficult (or simply unimportant).  For example, Jing joined inspectors at a vehicle checkpoint in the Yanqing district of Beijing, at which officials inspected for emission control devices.  Most trucks were sold as being in compliance with an emissions standard, yet most lacked control devices completely or were far above the allowed limit.  This goes to show the negligence for environmental policy and maximization of profits that characterizes Chinese industrialism.  Ironically, after hearing about the filters and masks to protect against poor air quality, one of the truck drivers was smoking a cigarette.  I’ll admit at this point I opened my room’s windows and took a deep breath of American mountain air and couldn’t be more appreciative.