CeMEAS Lecture Series:
Air Pollution and the Public in China:  Perspectives from Urban and Rural Areas

Bryan Tilt, Oregon State University
Tuesday, 04.07.2017, 18:00 – 19:30, VG 2.104

Abstract:
China’s air pollution crisis has recently attracted a great deal of scientific and media attention both domestically and internationally. While official statistics and government pronouncements have been widely circulated and discussed via social media, the perceptions and reactions of people who deal with smog on a daily basis remain poorly understood. How do people in urban and rural China perceive the environmental crisis they face? How do they understand and cope with air pollution in the context of their daily lives? How do they balance the relationship between environmental quality and overall quality of life? In this presentation, I draw upon recent research in one urban area (Tangshan, Hebei Province) and one rural area (Panzhihua, Sichuan Province) to address these questions. I discuss the research findings in the context of emerging literature on the rise of environmental consciousness in China, and consider the implications for the control of air pollution in China today.

Picture: Steve Slep,DSC01109, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://flic.kr/p/2s1DTy