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Howard Winn

Clearing the air over credit for source of pollution data
Good to see Friends of the Earth pointing to the 'disappointing and shameful' air quality in Hong Kong. 
It is also a shame and somewhat disappointing it wasn't so frank about acknowledging how it came by the data. 
While the original source of the data was the Environmental Protection Department (EPD),  Friends of the Earth  first heard about the existence of measurements for PM2.5 in Hong Kong in an e-mail from another green group, Clear the Air. 
 Lai See  saw this original  data some time ago and it  was sent by Clear the Air  to the Legco panel on the environment on  October 1.  
When  contacted, Clear the Air  chairman James Middleton  said the organisation was  'somewhat miffed at the lack of acknowledgement' of Friends of the Earth's  source.  
But, he added, 'any press exposure that shows the horrendous state of lethal PM2.5 and ultrafines' pollution here caused by incompetent government inaction, prevarication and lack of political will, is good exposure that will be picked up on by the international press and corporations thinking about setting up shop here.'
PM2.5 refers to  particles suspended in the air of 2.5 micrometres in diameter. These are smaller and more dangerous to health than PM10, for which the EPD publishes measurements on its website. 
The department  is  doing test-runs for PM2.5. These smaller particles enter the lungs and contribute to acute respiratory symptoms, increase the frequency of child bronchitis, cause premature death owing to  their toxicity and carcinogens, and cause  cardiovascular illnesses such as heart attacks and heart beat irregularities, according to studies by Harvard University and others.
Middleton says  Clear the Air, with help from a donor, plans to buy a  Dust Track unit. With a certified expert at the controls, the unit  will take  PM2.5  readings in our busiest streets which will be published later. 
Anger management
We have dwelt at some length on the subject of how it is that  sections of Hong Kong's wealthy feel  they can park illegally with impunity because of  the reluctance of the police and traffic wardens to give them a ticket. 
But the lot of a policeman  is not always a happy one. 
A reader tells us that while walking along Robinson Road he noticed a policeman writing a ticket. As he watched, a passing dog  urinated against the offending vehicle. Unfortunately, the policeman  was splashed during the course of this operation. 
Angered, he berated  the owner. This  excited the dog, which began leaping up and down at the policeman. At which point, according to our observer, the policeman began to reach for his gun.  
Our reader, barely concealing his mirth, offered to act as a witness  but was brusquely invited to move on. The police officer recovered his composure and the dog survived. 
Save an elephant
Next time you visit an elephant camp in Thailand, where you can have  rides or watch elephants paint and perform other tricks, have a care. In most cases the elephant will have gone through a  brutal 'training' process to achieve this and there are examples  on video website YouTube.  
We were recently made aware by Louise Rogerson of the Elephant Asia Rescue and Survival (EARS) foundation of the barbaric treatment of elephants, particularly the younger ones, used in the tourist trade in Thailand and Cambodia. 
The  organisation aims  to heighten awareness of the  pain inflicted on these animals, while  directing attention to a number of elephant sanctuaries which have emerged in Thailand in recent years.
 At the  sanctuaries, visitors  can see the elephants in their natural habitat and can wash them and watch them working. The  elephants - often overworked and sick - are bought from their owners.  
 Rogerson, who set up the foundation which has since become a charity, is currently trying to rescue Sambo, a 51-year-old female elephant  in Phnom Penh,  Cambodia. 
The  foundation  paid for Sambo - who has lived a solitary life at a temple for 30 years - to be examined and treated last month by  Dr Paolo Martelli,  the chief veterinarian at Ocean Park. 
The elephant is in great  pain owing  to an untreated foot condition, and limps around Wat Phnom  temple carrying tourists in a heavy chair. 
Details of what EARS does and  information on where to find elephant-friendly sanctuaries, volunteer programmes and how to donate to the foundation,  can be found at www.earsasia.org.



Lai See