Does this satellite image show the scale of China's coronavirus cremations? Sulphur dioxide emissions which are produced when bodies are burned reach alarming levels in Wuhan

Daily Mail ^ | Published: 05:40 EST, 10 February 2020 | Updated: 08:03 EST, 10 February 2020 | Tim Stickings For Mailonline

[Zhang Fei]

[and if they can’t work because they are sealed in they can pay the heat bill]

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I read an article about a Party edict that says companies have to keep paying salaries even though employees aren’t at work. Not sure how long companies can do this before going bust. My guess? Not long. And even with that - $300-$400 a month isn’t enough to pay heating bills. My impression, from talking to Chinese acquaintances stateside, is that outdoor and indoor wear is the same in China. One of the things that strikes them about the US is the 24/7/365 nature of climate control stateside. The average Chinese can’t afford that on their wages.

[datura]

People in China do not have heat in apartment buildings. They wear more clothes. Most have a/c units for summer, or plug in heaters, but not central air as we are accustomed to here in the US. In the cities, electricity is very cheap.

It’s the question of food now - workers aren’t in the fields, or at the docks to receive goods. Trucks are allowed to transport food, but their internal supply chain for basic goods is down.

This is going to be a huge humanitarian crisis at the very least in China. Let’s hope that’s all it is, and that it remains mostly in Asia.

We have many advantages here - better hygiene, less smoking, fewer people handle cash, and less density of humans. If it gets loose here, we are less likely to encounter such high viral loads as the Chinese do.

I pray that saves us from what China is experiencing.

[Swordmaker]

It’s not clear the average Chinese household can afford home electric heat. Per capita income is around $8K. That’s about $700 a month. Median salaries are likely far lower, perhaps $300-$400, because of the lopsided income distribution there.

Chinese state subsidized electricity is nationally mandated to be just 8¢ per kiloW hour. The residents are further subsidized for electrical use under their socialist housing. In the US, it can be as high as 31¢ per KWh. . . Or as low as 11¢. In addition, some cooking is done with barbecue grills, using charcoal, on balconies. More sulfur dioxide released as people stay home and cook.

[wardaddy]

It’s always like this about anything

[FightforFreedomCA]

Can I ask why FR allows stuff like this to be spammed on so many threads? I get it - I’ve seen it a freakin’ 100 times just stop.

[Zhang Fei]

[Chinese state subsidized electricity is nationally mandated to be just 8¢ per kiloW hour. The residents are further subsidized for electrical use under their socialist housing. In the US, it can be as high as 31¢ per KWh. . . Or as low as 11¢. In addition, some cooking is done with barbecue grills, using charcoal, on balconies. More sulfur dioxide released as people stay home and cook. ]

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Everybody cooks. Whether they buy food or cook it themselves, the SO2 output should be similar. But not everyone uses indoor heating. Chinese acquaintances indicate that outdoor wear is pretty similar to indoor wear, and that the ubiquitous 24/7/365 climate control stateside is very rare in China because of affordability issues. People I know have trashed their Chinese wardrobes after heading stateside, because most of their sweaters, et al aren’t really needed here.

And it actually stands to reason. Relative to incomes, housing is very expensive in China. Pork is about $3.50 a lb there. They can’t use motorcycles because they’re banned in most cities, cars are more expensive in absolute terms, gasoline costs more because of onerous gasoline taxes, cars are subject to road taxes and hefty registration fees - bottom line is that there is no excess income left for frivolities like home heating, on incomes that are 1/6 or 1/7 of US levels.

[null and void]

You can ask. But I'm not FR, and I have a ping list of people who have SPECIFICALLY ASKED to be called to these threads.

May I suggest that if you don't like being informed, take a break from FR?

[Zhang Fei]

[In the cities, electricity is very cheap.]

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It’s cheap on US incomes. It’s not cheap on Chinese incomes that are 1/6 or 1/7 of US levels, meaning they can’t afford indoor heating, especially not in the uninsulated, brick, mortar and tile apartments I see in articles about Chinese real estate.

[FightforFreedomCA]

OK, fair enough, but can you “call” them with a simple text post instead of the same picture every time?

[datura]

Good point. My in laws, and my former in laws were all fairly well off. Were...

Now having said that, my sister in law says that protein prices are through the roof now. It was bad enough when the African Swine Flu decimated their pork supplies, but now food is astronomical in Shanghai.

Brother in law and his son have been told to stay home again this week from their jobs.

[null and void]

Dunno, can't Coca Cola sell cola flavored sugar water without the red and white logo?

I've already stepped down the font size on the last line.

Look at the bright side, you can skip these threads, I have to look over them to determine if they are ping worthy, and I don't even ping to all the threads available.

[Zhang Fei]

[Brother in law and his son have been told to stay home again this week from their jobs.]

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If this is basically an undersized version of flu season, Xi Jinping is a hysterical, overwrought ninny. If. The tidal wave of ridicule that follows might (with a push from his always watchful Party rivals, some of whom he might even have promoted to their present positions) sweep him from power.

[null and void]

I confess I am a little punchy.

How does it come to pass that you even see my pings if you aren't on the ping list?

[FightforFreedomCA]

I scan the latest posts and am interested in what’s happening with the Coronavirus, which is the reason I see your posts. It seems the copy-paste-ping just got to me this morning. I see many others do the same and I tire of the repetition. Is what it is...just part of the culture here. Thanks. /rant

[Jamestown1630]

He’s not spamming - he’s alerting a ping list.

[null and void]

Yeah. Me too! But it is what it is, a very hot (zone) topic, and I've taken to adding

a comment or two in <blockquote> at the top of many of these pings to soften it a bit

Even though we're all suffering from threat fatigue, we're still in for a rough ride.

Hang in there my FRiend!

[null and void]

One could argue it’s as annoying as a smoke detector screeching on and on and on.

[PIF]

Just got a post that “People in China do not have heat in apartment buildings. They wear more clothes”

but you say “$300-$400 a month isn’t enough to pay heating bills”

So that seem contradictory and confusing.

[Swordmaker]

Everybody cooks. Whether they buy food or cook it themselves, the SO2 output should be similar.

Not true. When a large percentage of a population eats at a communal kitchen at work, or at a restaurant, or even a street vendor, the amount of SO₂ will be significantly lower as most of those cooking stations will be powered either by gas or electricity, not charcoal. A multitude of single source cooking devices from multiple apartments are nowhere as efficient as large scale cooking stations. It just is much more efficient to cook large amounts of food than to cook for individuals or for small groups. That is common economics.

[Swordmaker]

Just got a post that “People in China do not have heat in apartment buildings. They wear more clothes”

but you say “$300-$400 a month isn’t enough to pay heating bills”

So that seem contradictory and confusing.

No, it isn’t. Clothing is a non-consumable. Electricity is the ultimate consumable. You cannot reuse electricity, while close can last years and be handed down. Clothes are a one-time purchase. Electricity is a monthly expense.