The sun doesn’t shine in Linfen, and that isn’t a sad long lyric – it’s a painful fact. During the time of the day that is brightest for most people in the world, Linfen is a dark, dingy city, covered in soot and smog. Drivers need headlights to navigate the roads, thousands of people outside wear masks to save themselves from breathing in the harmful pollutants. Linfen’s main hospital is the busiest place in the city, with the majority of patients, not surprisingly, being admitted for respiratory problems and diseases. People struggle for oxygen, both indoors and out, and children of Linfen have little if any place to play.

Coal is the driving force of Linfen’s economy and subsequent pollution problem. The burning coal turns the air bitter and sulfurous. Citizens have trouble seeing due to the soot in their eyes. The snow falls down appearing a dreadful black. Cancer and other diseases have begun to spring up all over the city in recent years. It is estimated that 20 out of every 1,000 people in the area have died from cancer, with the majority only 30 to 40 years of age. The water in the city is far from drinkable. The separation in class has grown, as purveyors of the coal industry have become rich and the rest of the citizenry has become indigent.

Linfen’s pollution is already affecting surrounding cities in China. It won’t be long until the problem spreads through Europe, and the oceans, and eventually the world. The city will become completely uninhabitable long before the world realizes the deadly problem. China’s attitude toward carbon emissions is a deterrent for many parts of the world. Other governments refuse to act until China acts, and the waiting game continues at the world’s expense.