In China, jar of French mountain air fetches $860

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing artist Liang Kegang returned from a business trip in southern France with well-rested lungs and a small item of protest against his home city's choking pollution: a glass jar of clean, Provence air.

He put it up for auction before a group of about 100 Chinese artists and collectors late last month, and it fetched 5,250 yuan ($860).

"Air should be the most valueless commodity, free to breathe for any vagrant or beggar," Liang said in an interview. "This is my way to question China's foul air and express my dissatisfaction."

Liang's work is part of a gust of recent artistic protest — and entrepreneurial gimmickry — reflecting widespread dissatisfaction over air quality in China, where cities often are immersed days on end in harmful pollutants at levels many times what is considered safe by the World Health Organization. The chronic problem has spurred brisk markets for dust masks and home air purifiers.

China's senior leaders have pledged to clean the country's air, partly in response to a citizenry increasingly vocal about environmental issues. But it is a daunting task that must be balanced with demands for economic development and employment crucial to maintaining stability.

In February, a group of 20 Beijing artists wearing dust masks lay on the ground and played dead in front of an altar at the city's Temple of Heaven park in a performance art protest.

In this photo taken on March 29, 2014, Beijing artist Liang Kegang collects fresh air in the commune …

In March, independent artists in the southern city of Changsha held a mock funeral for what they imagined would be the death of the city's last citizen because of smog.

"If smog cannot be effectively cleaned up, what it will leave us is death and cities of death," artist Shao Jiajun said.

Liang's contribution is a short, ordinary glass preserves jar with a rubber seal and a flip-top. It has three small, handwritten paper labels: one with the name and coordinates of the French village, Forcalquier, where he closed the jar; one saying "Air in Provence, France" in French; and one with his signature in Chinese and the date — March 29.

The auction closed on the night of March 30, and Chengdu-based artist and entrepreneur Li Yongzheng was the highest bidder.

"I have always been appreciative of Kegang's conceptual art, and this piece was very timely," Li said in a telephone interview. "This past year, whether it was Beijing, Chengdu or most Chinese cities, air pollution has been a serious problem. This piece of work really suits the occasion."

In this photo taken March 29, 2014, residents breath from bags of fresh air taken from a provincial  …

Liang is not the only one to make money from China's air-pollution angst. Entrepreneurs also see the potential, and so do tourism officials in parts of the country where skies are clear.

Chinese President Xi Jinping joked to Guizhou province delegates during last month's National People's Congress that the scenic southwestern province could put its air up for sale. Days later, the province's tourism bureau announced plans to sell canned air as souvenirs for tourists.

"Canned air will force us to stay committed to environmental protection," provincial tourism director Fu Yingchun said recently.

In central Henan province, local tourism authorities promoting a resort scooped up mountain air and gave away bags of it in downtown Zhengzhou, the provincial capital. City dwellers greedily inhaled the air, and some said they planned to visit the mountain resort to get more than a lungful.

Chen Guangbiao, a recycling tycoon who briefly made headlines with his abortive plan to purchase The New York Times, has been selling fresh air in cans under his "Good Person" brand.

Want one? They sell for $3 each on China's online bazaar of Taobao.

EnvironmentNature & EnvironmentChinaair qualityair purifiers

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World War I-era love letter from U.S. soldier to his girl goes up for auction

Photo courtesy Hansons Auctioneers and Valuers LTD

Let's hear it for old-fashioned amour.

The most romantic tweet in the world couldn't hold a candle to this 100-year-old letter written by an American World War I soldier named Charles.

The letter, which included a pressed French poppy, is going up for auction at Hansons Auctioneers and Valuers in Derbyshire, U.K. Written on American YMCA paper, headlined "On Active Service with the American Expeditionary Force," the letter is as tender as it is mysterious. 

Text as follows:

Dearest Girl, I love you so, for your prayers and your love. If prayers will aide and they will God will take care of everything. Of course it is hard to understand this war in regards to the Lords will and means of protecting his people – but I guess it was not intended that we should understand.

In the meantime I must stop – sweet girl, I will be so careful and you must be good and write very often. Tell me everything as you do and let the French poppy which I am enclosing represent my kisses for you – dearest girl, all my love. Remember me to mother – yours Chas (more kisses).

On the auction's description page, auctioneer Charles Hanson said little is known about the author and even less is known about the woman it was sent to.

"We can be fairly sure — that the French poppy picked up by an American serviceman represents a latter battle of WWI, perhaps when victory was in sight," he wrote.

Historians believe that more than 8.5 million people were killed during World War I, including 116,000 Americans. There is no way to know if Charles was one of the many who lost their lives or if he made it home to his "dearest girl."

Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz).

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Enormous alligator snapping turtle rescued from drainage culvert

Something that caught a Baton Rouge, Louisiana resident’s eye led to the rescue of an enormous alligator snapping turtle. WAFB 9 News reports that Travis Lewis was outside his home when he saw what he thought was a log in a nearby canal. Lewis told the station, “So, I took a closer look and it was a big ole turtle, so I jumped up screaming and hollering for Martin to come help me.”

The rescued alligator snapping turtle (WAFB)

Lewis’ loud cries for help made his friend, Martin LeBlanc, think he was being attacked. When LeBlanc got a look at what Lewis was screaming about, he saw the huge turtle with a head the size of a football and thought, “I’m from Pierre Part. I was thinking dinner, no lie. ”

Travis Lewis and Martin LeBlanc (WAFB)

The turtle was in a predicament. "He was wedged in a culvert and one of our friends actually climbed in the culvert and pulled the turtle out. He was wedged in real tight," said LeBlanc. The group was able to free the nearly four-foot-long alligator snapping turtle 45 minutes later and knew to stay clear of the animal’s business end. "Because it latches on to you, it's not going to let go. It's almost like an alligator. Once it latches on to you, it's going to take whatever it bites with it," Lewis explained.

The rescued alligator snapping turtle (WAFB)

The men plan on releasing the turtle once they identify a spot where it can roam free. So, this big guy is safe from LeBlanc’s turtle soup pot.

The culvert where Travis Lewis first spotted the turtle. (WAFB)

Video and more info: WAFB

Animalsalligator snapping turtleTravis Lewis

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