Not Fog

Every year in the Fall, the winds shift direction. They change from blowing warm tropical air up into HK from the South China Sea to blowing slightly cooler air down from the mainland.

Surrounding HK a few hundred miles to the north are a few Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which are very favorable to foreign direct investment. It is in these zones where many multi-national firms have set up in order to take advantage of the Chinese labor market. This region is often referred to as the "world's factory floor" as these SEZ's are where a large amount of China's exports are produced.

The winds shifted last week and are now blowing down from the north. Along with the cooler air (which I appreciate a great deal) the northerly winds bring with them some pollution, a by-product of the intense manufacturing taking place close to here. To see the discreet change in the air that has occurred only over the course of the last few days has been a pretty profound experience for me. I've been to Beijing, so I've seen pollution before, but this pollution is different. It's not a result of millions of people driving cars and burning coal to cook and keep warm. It's not the result of massive construction efforts or a huge metropolis sustaining itself. This pollution is a result of the cheap manufacturing of goods mostly headed for the West.

Below are two pictures of the same little group of islands that can be seen from campus. They were taken about two weeks apart, both in the middle of the day. See if you can tell which was taken before the winds shifted and which was taken after.

(not fog.)