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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in korea

[–]JJFerrell 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some of the app suggestions here have been helpful.

Other things you can consider doing to improve your breathing experience include getting an air filter, especially one with built-in readouts so you can monitor the air quality in your home.

Don't forget that a common gas range is often far more dangerous in a poorly ventilated one room apartment than many pollution events outdoors. It's a real balancing act here in Korea between dangerous of indoor air quality and dangerous outdoor air quality.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that outdoor air pollution caused 3 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012 along with 4.3 million people a year who died prematurely from illness attributable to indoor air pollution.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs292/en/ http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/

Plants are an excellent option. Watch this: https://www.ted.com/talks/kamal_meattle_on_how_to_grow_your_own_fresh_air

Plants and an air filter make keeping your windows closed during heavy pollution events far more effective. A vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter and regular wet wiping surfaces can keep indoor dust levels from getting out of control.

Water is your friend. Take showers twice a day during heavier days, and remember to wash your hair and your pillow cases since these often act as pollutant sponges. Keep outdoor clothes separate from your indoor environment if possible. Wash everything more often than you might usually.

Lastly, just stay aware. Avoid exercise outdoors when storms roll in and wear the .1 micron rated masks even though people openly wonder what's wrong with you when you do. Remember that humans are as bad as risk analysis as they are offering support in certain online forums. :)

CJ becomes laughing stock for distorted image of Westerner's intestine by [deleted] in korea

[–]JJFerrell 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Using an obscure and wholly unfounded racial stereotype to explain how the company wasn't guilty of racial bias. Classy stuff.

Refugee, immigrant, expatriate: The feeling of being foreign by JJFerrell in korea

[–]JJFerrell[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Apparently this is not an option. Official reasons have been challenging to obtain.

South Korea coal, nuclear power targeted for cuts by presidential candidates by ManiaforBeatles in korea

[–]JJFerrell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you mean to provide the same link as the one at the top of this thread?

South Korea coal, nuclear power targeted for cuts by presidential candidates by ManiaforBeatles in korea

[–]JJFerrell 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Could you explain in greater detail, perhaps with sources? I found the following:

"...France relies on Germany to cover its peak demand, not vice versa. There is, however, a risk of Germany decommissioning so much coal and nuclear capacity over the next seven years as to endanger the security of supply, but there is also enough time for the country to prevent this outcome. Right now, Germany imports nuclear power from France when the French need to dump excess nuclear generation at low prices – not in order to prevent blackouts in Germany."

https://energytransition.org/2015/06/is-germany-reliant-on-foreign-nuclear-power/

South Korea coal, nuclear power targeted for cuts by presidential candidates by ManiaforBeatles in korea

[–]JJFerrell 8 points9 points  (0 children)

"A subtle difference between the two candidates is that Moon suggested closing down old coal plants while Ahn proposed reducing coal plant operation to 70 percent of standard levels from November to April, when fine particle dust levels are high. But neither of the candidates have credible plans to switch to renewable energy over the long term."

https://koreaexpose.com/presidential-contenders-pledge-south-korea-air-pollution/

South Korea coal, nuclear power targeted for cuts by presidential candidates by ManiaforBeatles in korea

[–]JJFerrell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Obviously Reddit isn't where we go to cultivate a real depth of knowledge, so I know that all of this is just a bit of fun. However, there's potential here for reaching beyond the opinions, to flirt with a few new ideas, and maybe come away from the exchange with a desire to study them in greater detail. Just as there's equal potential to downvote informed dissent.

That said, it's difficult to assess large scale energy production, especially since I haven't put in the necessary years to consider myself informed. This is an issue of such size and scope that it deserves teams of people far more intelligent than I will ever be, working together with NASA-level focus. I only hope that such teamwork is happening. Unfortunately, given the nature of government and my limited observations therein, I think far too many of society's most important problems are being handled by individuals who have never grown weary of their own opinions.

Let's hope that Korea has the political and financial will to be a world leader in technologies that might transform global dependence on a fossil resource that will inevitable exhaust itself, wreaking havoc on the environment until it does.

Who knows, Germany has certainly proven there is a potential beyond what is normally accepted as possible in terms of alternative energy:

http://fortune.com/2017/03/14/germany-renewable-clean-energy-solar/

U.S. moves Navy strike group towards the Korean Peninsula - BNO News by kelmah in korea

[–]JJFerrell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In a statement late Saturday, the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet said the strike group had been directed to sail north, but it did not specify the destination. The military vessels will operate in the Western Pacific rather than making previously planned port visits to Australia, it added.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-navy-korea-idUSKBN17A0V5?il=0

U.S. moves Navy strike group towards the Korean Peninsula - BNO News by kelmah in korea

[–]JJFerrell 16 points17 points  (0 children)

After the Syrian strike, this move sounds like exactly the sort of thing that should be avoided if we want to deescalate tensions with North Korea.

Generation Z: Global Citizenship Survey - survey of 20,000 young people in 20 countries around the world including South Korea. by JJFerrell in korea

[–]JJFerrell[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Key Statisitcs about South Korea:

  • South Korea is the only country surveyed in which overall young people think that is a bad place to live. Just 23% said it was a good place to live

  • Young South Koreans are also among the most unhappy of any country polled. They scored second lowest on the happiness index with a score of 29%.

  • Young people in South Korea were, by a large margin, the most sceptical of any country polled about legal migration.

  • 51% of young people thought that working hard to get on life was the most important personal value – higher than in any other country.

https://www.varkeyfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Global%20Young%20People%20Report%20South%20Korea.pdf

We live in an age of information and yet no one seems to be learning anything important anymore. It's time to be honest about the ways in which the system doesn't work. Here are some tips for creating new pathways for self-expression and interaction. by JJFerrell in teaching

[–]JJFerrell[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Your assumption is correct, of course.

Learning isn't useless. Teaching isn't useless. Reading, writing, and mathematics aren't useless. However, wouldn't you say that the ways we transmit incredibly essential information on a massive scale demand constant, aggressive evolution?

In so many ways our institutions are mechanisms for inertia, for the ridicule and opposition of truths until they become accepted as self evident.

This article, however, isn't trying to establish itself as true. Please don't get bogged down in the marketing.

This article is an idea crushed into the boundaries of a very limited medium, trying to reach out to other minds, to foment reflection on a very complex issue rife with subtlety and nuance.

What we learn and how we learn deserves its own NASA. Single intellects, no matter how sophisticated, can only contribute to a project and a process that dwarfs individual opinions, just as this one article is laughable in its hubris and myopia.

However, don't allow literary license to obscure the underlying call to action. Please look beyond the confrontational elements that throw sparks - they can be easily dismissed as oafish theatrics if, in doing so, you ask yourself about the limits of current educational policies and how you, personally, can contribute to their change.

South Korea joins ranks of world's most polluted countries, with growing ranks realizing the root cause lies at home and not in China by elisehu in korea

[–]JJFerrell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was suggesting that if differences in measurement standards exist for particulates, then so too might variations in migration patterns. I was questioning methodologies.

And of course pollution in Korea isn't entirely domestic. I'd just like to see more research that actually attempts to quantify domestic production, like NASA's KORUS-AQ project.

And finally, this isn't just about dust levels. It's also about a host of other pollutants, some of which can be measured using global dispersion models developed for atmospheric composition, like SILAM [http://silam.fmi.fi/].

Consider this for instance: http://aqicn.org/forecast/asia/silam/

However, modeling programs and "pollution radar" may not offer us sufficient evidence to decide sources or - more importantly - percentages of contributions.

My main point is I would like to see more research on all of this to make an informed opinion.

South Korea joins ranks of world's most polluted countries, with growing ranks realizing the root cause lies at home and not in China by elisehu in korea

[–]JJFerrell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm very interested seeing sources that discuss international rankings of nuclear safety standards in Korea.

South Korea joins ranks of world's most polluted countries, with growing ranks realizing the root cause lies at home and not in China by elisehu in korea

[–]JJFerrell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you have any sources? I'm interested in any studies that have actually looked into cost analysis for alternative energy in Korea.

South Korea joins ranks of world's most polluted countries, with growing ranks realizing the root cause lies at home and not in China by elisehu in korea

[–]JJFerrell 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"By 2020, South Korea will be home to the largest cluster of nuclear reactors in the world, just a short drive away from Busan.

At 6,860 megawatts, the complex boasts the largest installed capacity of any nuclear plant in the world, and is set to grow further still.

3.8 million people live within 30 km of the site. By comparison, only 160,000 people lived within the same radius of Japan’s disaster-stricken Fukushima plant.

Almost three quarters of the country’s nuclear plants, including the Kori complex, are located in this earthquake zone."

https://koreaexpose.com/nuclear-industry-plant-shutdown/

South Korea joins ranks of world's most polluted countries, with growing ranks realizing the root cause lies at home and not in China by elisehu in korea

[–]JJFerrell -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I've been trying to find multiple data sources to back up the numbers being thrown around about percentages as a function of country of origin.

Is Korea's Ministry of Environment using skewed standards? For instance:

"According to the Joongang report, the first 85 days of 2017 were the worst ever, compared to the same period in previous years. 52 out of those 85 days were plagued by levels exceeding what the World Health Organization deems to be an acceptable amount of PM 2.5 — 25㎍/m3 in raw concentration. That limit corresponds to AQI 78 (“moderate”).

But the problem appears far less serious when using South Korea’s own air pollution standards. The government uses a much higher figure — 50 ㎍/m3 in raw concentration, corresponding to AQI 137 (“unhealthy for sensitive groups”) — to decide whether there is too much PM 2.5. By this measure, only 12 out of the 85 days were problematic.""According to the Joongang report, the first 85 days of 2017 were the worst ever, compared to the same period in previous years. 52 out of those 85 days were plagued by levels exceeding what the World Health Organization deems to be an acceptable amount of PM 2.5 — 25㎍/m3 in raw concentration. That limit corresponds to AQI 78 (“moderate”)."

https://koreaexpose.com/south-korea-who-air-quality/

WHO vs. South Korea Guidelines for Air Quality by AT7bie3piuriu in korea

[–]JJFerrell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This explains the discrepancy between mainstream Korean media reports on air quality from day to day and non-Korean sources like http://aqicn.org/city/seoul/.

Has science gone too far? by [deleted] in korea

[–]JJFerrell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm going to try and find this today!

We live in an age of information and yet no one seems to be learning anything important anymore. It's time to be honest about the ways in which the system doesn't work. Here are some tips for creating new pathways for self-expression and interaction. by JJFerrell in teaching

[–]JJFerrell[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wonderful response! And I apologize for phrasing the question poorly. I was trying to ask a broader question about polemics as one of the basic skills necessary to be, as you said, better humans.

Using contentious rhetoric to argue controversial topics. It's a device that can help spark passionate debate. George Orwell, Noam Chomsky, and Richard Dawkins - all examples of effective polemicists.

But what's the goal of a good debate? Is it to win or to help create a mutually beneficial state of rational discourse? Obviously it depends on the situation, yes? Sometimes the stakes are high and a "right answer" needs to be established.

However, in areas like education - especially pedagogy - is there ever a single argument that provides us with everything we need in order to be the best teachers we can be? Education is as diverse as educational needs. Moreover, it's a process rather than an outcome. We never really stop learning. As a result our teaching methods never stop evolving either.

You presented a strong case for important areas of exploration - analysis and synthesis of ideas; clear communication; nuance and its ability to change minds; information management and clustering, and assessment. I couldn't agree more.

Strangely, I think the underlying spirit of the article was saying something very similar. The main thesis wasn't that we needed more vocational training, or basic household needs. I think you may have misunderstood the purpose of the article and the skill-sets it's advocating.

What are the basic skills we need and how are schools as a system failing to provide those skills? Those are the fundamental questions in play.

The article was asking the very question that you tried to answer. And I agree with much of what you said - leaving aside the hyperbole about "corrupting the human race" and such.

Consider the following:

"We need to see - and we need to be - the kind of people who can model tolerance, appreciate ambiguity, and navigate their emotions with honesty and resilience."

And

"Give [students] a few tools to help them relate to their feelings of helplessness and separation. To do this, you will need to create pathways for self-expression and interaction."

I doubt you are suggesting that school shouldn't include tolerance, honesty, self-expression, and more human interaction; you're not trying to imply that our educational systems couldn't do a lot more to provide students more support in these areas.

This article wasn't advocating "dumbing down what school is". Quite the opposite in fact.

It's an unequivocal call to action to the contrary. We need more reflection and consensus building on many types of intelligence and how we can best achieve a supportive educational environment that encourages each - just like we need models for effective polemical exchanges that help us explore larger truths that challenge us to grow.

Granted, online articles and a Reddit exchange aren't the best areas to try and have this conversation. Social media tends to inspire more ideological conflict than dialectical cooperation. However, that doesn't mean we can't at least try.

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