{"id":547,"date":"2018-01-25T06:19:24","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T12:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/?p=547"},"modified":"2018-02-01T07:36:36","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T13:36:36","slug":"polluted-categories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/2018\/01\/25\/polluted-categories\/","title":{"rendered":"Polluted Categories"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_section et_pb_section_0  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et_section_regular et_block_section\" >\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_row et_pb_row_0  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et_block_row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_column_4_4 et_pb_column et_pb_column_0  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et-last-child et_block_column\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_module et_d4_element et_pb_text et_pb_text_0  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>Truthfully, I was unsure of how I may process my semester-long experience in Shanghai during my time in Japan. At first, I thought it may be best to separate these two experiences in fear of producing a negative judgement through an unfair comparison. In part I still find this to be true.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_row et_pb_row_1  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et_block_row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_column_1_2 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et_block_column\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_module et_d4_element et_pb_text et_pb_text_1  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>As we\u2019ve explored various understandings of the phrase \u201cenvironmental sustainability\u201d over the last few weeks, we have examined multiple incidents \u2014 both historical and contemporary \u2014 of pollution. While I was fortunate to study in China for a semester, I found myself struggling with a strong susceptibility to the air pollution. This made me wonder: what would it mean to live in a polluted environment long-term? How does the presence of pollution reflect on the international perception of a state or population?<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_column_1_2 et_pb_column et_pb_column_2  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et-last-child et_block_column\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_module et_d4_element et_pb_image et_pb_image_0\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_5326-e1517456425370.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_5326-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_5326-e1517456425370-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_5326-e1517456425370-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_5326-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_5326-1080x1080.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_5326-e1517456425370.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" class=\"wp-image-706\" \/><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"et_pb_module et_d4_element et_pb_text et_pb_text_2  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><pre>Clear sky in central Shanghai\r\nnear People's Square.\r\n10\/1\/17<\/pre><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_row et_pb_row_2  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et_block_row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_column_4_4 et_pb_column et_pb_column_3  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et-last-child et_block_column\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_module et_d4_element et_pb_text et_pb_text_3  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>One of the supplemental readings we were provided with describes in detail the former portrayal of Japan as toxic, overpopulated, and even the pollution capital of the world (Avenell, 2012). As I read these words, I couldn\u2019t help but think of the language used to describe China today. Many people have asked me about overpopulation and air quality in China. Even my reading professor \u2014 a woman who was born and raised in Shanghai \u2014 explained to us that China was a \u201cdeveloping\u201d country and cited air pollution as a key reason.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_row et_pb_row_3  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et_block_row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_column_1_2 et_pb_column et_pb_column_4  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et_block_column\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_module et_d4_element et_pb_image et_pb_image_1\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_6993-e1516882598745.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_6993-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_6993-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_6993-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_6993-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_6993-510x382.jpg 510w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_6993-1080x810.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_6993-e1516882598745.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" class=\"wp-image-555\" \/><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"et_pb_module et_d4_element et_pb_text et_pb_text_4  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><pre>View of sunrise during day of no-ticeable pollution in Tokyo from Tokyo Central Youth Hostel.\r\n1\/15\/18<\/pre><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_column_1_2 et_pb_column et_pb_column_5  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et-last-child et_block_column\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_module et_d4_element et_pb_text et_pb_text_5  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>To what extent do we utilize industrialization and environment to subjugate others or to categorize them into our own world understanding? Surely the answer to this question differs from individual to individual. I myself am unsure of how I would answer this. Regardless of what labels we try to divide and organize ourselves with \u2014 \u201cadvanced\u201d or \u201cbackward,\u201d \u201cdeveloped\u201d or \u201cdeveloping\u201d \u2014 I do believe that these do not define people. This is something I have come to understand in my time in China and Japan. Whether we are in a country that is a global hegemon or ravaged by war, we are all the same.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_row et_pb_row_4  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et_block_row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_d4_element et_pb_column_4_4 et_pb_column et_pb_column_6  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode et-last-child et_block_column\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_module et_d4_element et_pb_text et_pb_text_6  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>As we cast out our labels we are making a judgement on a very specific moment in time, ignorant to the histories and futures we seek to organize. As a result, those in power have created a system in which states can be ranked by their level of economic progress \u2014 their \u201cdevelopment.\u201d I wonder if we can consider these to be \u201cpolluted categories.\u201d As we have heard from ARI staff and many guest speakers, truly frightening things have happened in the name of \u201cdevelopment;\u201d the devastation of the Ashio Copper Mine is one example that has been prevalent in our time here in Tochigi.<\/p>\n<p>Though I may not have answers to all of my questions, I am sure of one thing: we should be incredibly careful not mistake our opportunity and privilege as another\u2019s inherent flaw. In that way, we will not perpetuate a system of subjugated, polluted categories.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1577,"featured_media":552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ari","category-pollution","category-tokyo"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1128\/2018\/01\/IMG_5776-e1516882680580.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1577"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":717,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547\/revisions\/717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/esj-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}