Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

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Dodger
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Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by Dodger »

Jun post_id=99057 time=1580050889 user_id=142]

Incidentally, where does the 48% of food GDP figure come from ? That seems suspect, unless of course they count every bit of processed food with at least a trace of sugar added.


Global demand for sugar is huge, both for consumption directly and as an additive in a wide range of industries, including soft drinks, processed-milk products (milk, butter, yoghurt, etc.), sweets, baked goods and the list goes on and on.

The 48% of food GDP figure I provided was reported in the August, 2019 Bangkok Post (see paragraphs 9-10 in link below)

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/17 ... bt-payment

A more comprehensive look at the overall picture of Thailand's GDP is in Thailand Industrial 2018-2020 Outlook Report. See link below:

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/getmedia/ ... 18_EN.aspx

I agree that cane burning has to stop. I also agree that bad emissions from road vehicles has to stop. If the manufacturing company's in Thailand apply the same level of control over their emissions that the farmers and vehicle owners do, we're all in trouble. Nobody controls or maintains anything over here. The one exception would be the farang population IMO, who, for the most part, maintain their vehicles, and they don't burn anything. Now we're talking about cultural transformation which could take decades.
Jun

Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by Jun »

Journalists frequently struggle with basic maths and plausibility checking of data. Possibly because they are more likely to have an education in languages rather than maths or science.

I suspect the Bangkok Post journalist has misinterpreted some data.
Dodger
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Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by Dodger »

Jun wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 11:35 am Journalists frequently struggle with basic maths and plausibility checking of data. Possibly because they are more likely to have an education in languages rather than maths or science.

I suspect the Bangkok Post journalist has misinterpreted some data.
Not to belabor the point, but it wasn't a journalist who provided these GDP data, it was the Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit.

I'm not going to bore you with this, but if you compare the U.S. Global GDP Analysis Report for white sugar exports, it shows pretty much the same GDP data as Thailand's Annual GDP Analysis. Based on that, I would say that the numbers are close enough to be plausible.

In any event, there's a lot of money at stake, all at a time when Thailand's exports, foreign investments,and tourism, are all on a downward spiral. If they (the government and its Finance and Industry Ministries) thought that enforcing a ban on burning cane to lower air pollution was the answer, they would have enforced this decades ago. The root cause, and solution, to this stalemate, is between the Finance and Industry Ministries and Krungsri Bank, who not only holds the majority of farmers debt, but would also be instrumental in providing cheap loans to farmers for the machinery they desperately need.

It's all about $$BIG MONEY$$. The farmers are simply being used as a distraction.
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Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by pong »

This morning in that very same newsppr:
Most affected are some provinces in cenrtal with much cane growing and esp. in the far north, with Payao or Phrae way above the ´safe limit´. Was declared to be relatively nice here in BKk during the now finished ChNwYr.
But then yesterday i went to east side of BKK-NO traffic jams-speedy ride, where it was milling with people and where it was definitely much more worse as here by the river in mostly a fresh light breeze.
Most Buses etc anywhere in Th run on gas and thus do not spew out dieselfumes. The main exception are the old red BMTA citybuses, which are not owned by the city but by the govmt! Also around 60/70% of trucks ride on gas -see all those cilinders stacked behind the drivers cabs. THailand gets loads of natural gas from out of the sea thus its very cheap. Alas-from what I know about that, motosy and those nasty tuktuks are the main air-spoilers due to their outdated antique type of motors. But hear than the outcry when that is said-the POOR people are again and always the culprit and its a big taboo about having them comply, or so it often seems.
PLus that it also looks like Thai farmers are not among the brightest even in farming-any new technique in that seems like has to come from abroad.
Jun

Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by Jun »

pong wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:40 pm Most Buses etc anywhere in Th run on gas and thus do not spew out diesel fumes.

Please could you share the source for your statement ?

Most buses I see in Thailand are belching out diesel fumes
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Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by Gaybutton »

pong wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:40 pm Most Buses etc anywhere in Th run on gas and thus do not spew out diesel fumes.
If not, they're spewing out something, at least most of the buses I end up behind when driving. Only the newest and well maintained buses seem to be better and are not spewing out thick black smoke. Nevertheless, even if whatever they're spewing out is invisible, I still get the odor in my car most of the time when I'm behind them.

It wouldn't be so bad in Pattaya if there were only a few tour buses, but usually there are so many that just trying to count the ones I see, whether parked or on the road, becomes impossible. Even if those buses are individually responsible for only a very little bit of pollution, there are so many of them that collectively it is a serious air pollution problem.

As far as I can tell, the tour buses are allowed to go on any soi they want and park anywhere they please if they can find a space. If nothing is done about it - and I see no indication that anything will be done - it doesn't take much intelligence to see that the pollution problem can only continue to get worse.
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Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by Dodger »

Jun wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 4:14 pm
pong wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:40 pm Most Buses etc anywhere in Th run on gas and thus do not spew out diesel fumes.

Please could you share the source for your statement ?

Most buses I see in Thailand are belching out diesel fumes
Agree.

Diesel buses and vehicles key to smog problem.

Read article below:

https://thethaiger.com/news/bangkok/ban ... ey-problem
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Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by gerefan »

Lovely day in Pattaya ...not a sign of any pollution at all.
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Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by Gaybutton »

gerefan wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2020 6:49 am Lovely day in Pattaya ...not a sign of any pollution at all.
AirVisual shows Pattaya's air pollution level today as "moderate." Don't forget, air pollution is not necessarily visible.
Jun

Re: Air pollution problems in Bangkok - and it's not very good in Pattaya either

Post by Jun »

Correct. I would check pollution data with an app.

One other point, none of the measurement stations on the app I use are on Dongtan beach. If there's a nice breeze, the beach may well have low pollution.
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