OUR "FLAMBOYANT WASTAGE"

The infamous neon lights of the HK nightlife is apparently creating a big problem of energy wastage. Not shocking to hear since HK is the Pearl of the Orient after all. But, I never really thought of this as a problem until now. I grew up so used to the blazing lights in my surroundings that the reality of how much energy is being used everyday never once crossed my mind. I have to admit, I didn't even know there was a thing called "light pollution".

Light pollution, as described by wikipedia, is also known as photopollution or luminous pollution. It is an excess or obtrusive light created mainly by humans. Among other effects, and like any other form of pollution, it disrupts ecosystems, can cause adverse health effects, obscures the stars for city dwellers, and interferes with astronomical observatories.

The obvious thing to do is to develop a "lights out" after business policy.  But other than that, I can't really think of anything else that can be done because light pollution is the result of industrial civilization. It is inevitable in every developed country. It's one thing to suggest setting a lights off time, but another to actually do it. In a city that has so many inhabitants, the idea seems a bit far-fetched. Besides, businesses in places like Lankwai Fong thrive on HK's sleepless nights. However, there are some businesses that are just downright excessive and overly flamboyant when promoting themselves in HK. Prada, for one, deserves a big smack in the head . Its massive neon sign apparently "spills intense white light onto a near-deserted Central street until 5 a.m. every day". HK might be a cosmoploitan, but hardly anyone is out at 5 a.m...

In an ideal place where light pollution does not exsit, life as we know it in HK would not be the same. And as selfish as this makes me sounds, I'm not sure if I am willing to give that up. As much as I want to be eco-friendly, I have to say that I've always liked the blazing lights of HK! It's what makes HK so alluring and lively.

the subject of many conversations...

The other day i was flipping through a magazine and there i saw it ...bolded and italicized: SIZE 0 IS NOT A SIZE. Since the recent deaths of models Luisel Ramos, Ruslana Korshunove and Ana Carolina Reston to name a few, who all died from complications of eating disorders, some people are now insisting that skinny is not beautiful. I am truly disgusted at the fashion industry and its inhumane, not to mention unhealthy demands for models to be horrifyingly thin (Reston weighed 88 lbs when she died). I found it particularly sad that one agent told the already waifer thin Ramos that "she could make it big if she lost a significant amount of weight". For that, I understand why people are desperately trying to change the standards of our society. I agree that women of all sizes can be beautiful; we need to stop obsessing over being really skinny as a society. However, i feel that saying skinny is not beautiful is the wrong way to promote beauty. There is so much hypocrisy lying in that statement. 

The obsession with being skinny is a big issue, but do people have to go around making the end-all statement that size 0 is NOT a size?! It's so absolute ...and so wrong in so many ways. So much for "women of every size is beautiful". I just want to scream at whoever wrote that article that "What about those of us who just happen to be a size 0 naturally? Yes, we are rare ...but yes...we do exist...and yes, your words do chip away our self-confidence little by little just like the way they would on someone when you call them fat.  And yes...we are constantly aware that we are being judged." Usually I am comfortable in my own skin but every time I read an article that lashes out unforgivingly at how skinny is unhealthy and disgusting, I feel less like a human being and more like a freak. Every time I end up groveling in self-doubt.

Ultimately, my point is ...next time anyone tries to make a remark on the "size issue", he/she should consider the bigger picture ...because everytime someone says ___size is not beautiful, you end up affecting some woman somewhere who is that size. The reason women are so insecure about size is because of how careless we are with our words.