The smog in China is now so bad that an entrepreneur is successfully selling cans of fresh air. He says he’s not doing it to make a profit, but just wait until he’s created an insatiable demand. For those of you who think it’s ridiculous, what would your grandparents have thought about your regularly buying small bottles of water for $5? Maureen Chowdhury reports for NPR:
In response to the growing concern over China’s air pollution, a theatrical Chinese entrepreneur is selling cans of fresh air.
Chen Guangbiao, a multimillionaire, philanthropist and environmentalist, is selling each can for 5 yuan (80 cents) according to the Brisbane Times. Chen isn’t trying to make profit off the stunt; his estimated net worth is $740 million.
There are different air varieties including: pristine Tibet, post-industrial Taiwan, and Yan’an (early era of Communism). The air is collected and compressed from “revolutionary regions” from Jinggang Mountain in Jiangxi Province to some ethnic minority areas and Taiwan, according to China’s Global Times.
Chen encourages people to inhale from the can or even drink it.
He’s using the cans — similar in style to typical soda cans — to highlight the dangerous conditions of air pollution in the country.
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