Part of the value of travel is to remind oneself of the things we have that we sometimes take for granted. Off and on for the last five months one of the things I have been really appreciative from home is the nice air quality. Granted, there are times during the winter when Boise has an inversion that our air quality really suffers, but by and large, it is clean air, just the way God gave it to us. In much of the developing world, though, the drive for economic growth has trumped pollution control. This is perhaps understandable, but it is also very unfortunate. Egypt, India, and Nepal all have been prime examples of this, with Bangkok a step below. (And I have read that China is as bad or worse.) In Egypt, it appears to be a combination of lots of old cars with no pollution control devices, combined with a large population focused in just the Nile Valley in a sunny climate. In India and Nepal, the problem seems to stem more from wood and trash burning, though there are plenty of old belching cars and buses here, also. This may not have been such a problem 33 years ago when I was last in these places, as the population was probably less than half what it is today, but with the dense population, it has really become an issue. During the trip, I have continued to run every day, excepting my day a week off to rest my legs. However, with the air quality problems, it has often made runs quite unpleasant, and has led me to question whether running during those times was improving or worsening my health. The burning in my airways, with the black color to my sputum when I return from a run, leads me to wonder what is being done to my lungs. I, however, am fortunate, as this problem will be limited to the time we spend traveling here. The people who live here are the ones who deal with this on an ongoing basis. Hopefully, as their economies grow, they will be able to afford to focus as well on their health.
-Mitch
4/4/11
long4adventure