The Effects of Air Pollution in China - Report Example

? AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA College: Air Pollution in China Air pollution in China is a topic that has garnered a lot of interest among many environmentalists. Although industrialization in China has been appreciated and encouraged, it has contributed to the pollution of the air and the consequences have far reaching effects. Outdoor and indoor sources of air pollution have contributed to increases in impurities in the normal air concentration with trends promising more danger in the future. The health analysts have already burst in an outcry against the danger of air pollution and the need to fight against this kind of pollution. The health analysts have promised more disease such as lung cancer, pulmonary diseases, and other health complications as a consequence of the air pollution trends. Cumulatively, the effects of air pollution have a negative impact on the economic growth of a country, which is a severe problem in society. Consequently, there is a need to focus on the causes of air pollution, its impacts and the possible preventive measures that can be used to mitigate against the scourge. Reilly (2011, p. 1) points out that the progressive development of China for three consecutive decades has come along with adverse consequences on the environment. In the last 30 years, China has experienced the highest level of industrial development which has consistently contributed to the development of this state. However, industrialization has been accompanied by the emission of hazardous gases in the atmosphere which has contributed to an increase in the carbon dioxide gas content in the atmosphere. Most industries use crude oil products to fuel their machines as the source of industrial power. The by product of these industries include smoke, whose carbon dioxide content is high and additive to the atmosphere. As most industries regard the cost of fuel as cheaper than that of electricity, they opt to use this kind of power and consequently contributing to build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Urbanisation is another factor that has contributed to the increased air pollution in the atmospheres. With development of industries, most people have relocated to urban areas in search of job opportunities and better livelihoods. This population build up in China towns predisposes the environment to the risk of air pollution. For instance, Beijing alone has a population of more that 22 million people, a figure that is more than double the population in New York City (Policy and Global Affairs, 2005). As people obtain job in the urban areas, they have the ability to purchase vehicles that run by diesel or petrol. For instance, in Beijing, every day the town experience an increase in its automotive by a figure of 2000 new cars. This trend promises an increase in the rate of air pollution and an increase in the adverse effects of the carbon dioxide surge in the atmosphere. This has sent an alarm to environmentalists to design effective mitigative measures to reduce and if possible eliminate the level of air pollution in China. In the rural areas of China, solid fuels contribute to the increase in the rates of air pollution in the country (Policy and Global Affairs, 2005, P. 6). One characteristic of the rural areas in China is that they have the poorest and disadvantaged groups who live well below the poverty line. This lifestyle makes it hard for the people to afford alternative means of fuel such as electricity and they have to resort to the use of coal, corn stalks, firewood and other biomass. Burning these solid fuels produces a lot of smoke that contains high levels of carbon dioxide and other unfriendly gases that are unhealthy for human consumption. Coupled with the fact that this population has no chimney facilities accelerates the rate of air pollution in the atmosphere. The fact that the majority of the population lives in rural areas makes it even more complex to induce preventive measures to curb environmental pollution in this region of China. In essence, Energy is a primary necessity for every citizen and imposing regulations to curb this kind of pollution would be practically impossible and unreasonable. Consequently, pollution in the rural areas has posed a great challenge to the people and regulations have failed to reduce pollution in these localities. Apart from an increase in the Carbon dioxide levels, China has also experienced an increase in sulphur dioxide and the PM2.5 level in the atmosphere. Sulphur dioxide gas is released after decomposition of organic matter such as rotten vegetables and green leaves. Urban areas in China are congested yet have a poor waste disposal facility, encouraging irregular dumping of organic waste materials. When these materials rot in the open atmosphere, they release sulphur oxides that naturally are unnecessary constituents of the air. A US embassy in Beijing released official Beijing data indicating an increase in the level of air pollution by over 100% within a period of less than one year (Policy and Global Affairs, 2005). This has lead to the declaration of China as unhealthy environment that poses an increasing risk to its population every year. The data released in 2013 has sent a warning signal to the China Municipal council triggering them to engage in a proactive strategy to reduce the carbon dioxide levels. The effects of air pollution in China can be categorized as either outdoor or indoor. Indoor pollution effects include the effects of the waste gases that are released in a confinement to those who come into direct contact with it. Smoke contains carbon particles that are well known to cause lung cancer especially when they reach a toxic level in the blood. When these gases are inhaled they are passed to the lungs and become absorbed in the blood and transferred to tissues in the body. Other gases such as carbon monoxide if inhaled are known to be sure causes of death with a short period of time. A research by Tanaka (2010, p. 32) indicates that air pollution in China has increased the number of people who have acquired lung cancer and acute respiratory infections that are well known consequences of direct inhalation of impure air. The cumulative impact of indoor air pollution is increasing expenditure of income in the health sector and eventually the an increased mortality rate. Outdoor effects of air pollution have far reaching effects not only to China but also to the World at large. Global warming is one the severe outdoor effects of environmental air pollution in the society. The carbon dioxide gas causes the depletion of the ozone layer, which is critical in the filtering of ultraviolet rays from the sun. When this layer is thin, the sun ultra violet rays become more fierce and penetrate into the atmosphere, a situation that predisposes human beings to skin cancer (Policy and Global Affairs, 2005, P. 9). Global warming leads to a rise in the environmental temperatures which has a great impact on the environment. With an increase in temperature, weather conditions are bound to change and in iced regions the snow will melt down. These changes in weather patterns have affected the economic productivity of China especially where agriculture is the sustaining economic activity. The existence of a combination of carbon compounds and sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere causes smog and acid rain that all impact on the vegetation negatively. Millman, Perera and Tang (2008, p. 1-11) have raised particular concern about the effect of air pollution in China to young children. In their research, they found out that exposure of expectant mothers to adverse air pollution was responsible for reduced fetal growth, hence leading to birth of abnormally small children. Such children are more likely to experience childhood breathing related problems that may in severe cases lead to death. Moreover, air pollution predisposes children to pulmonary diseases that are fatal resulting in a higher infant mortality rate. For instance, statistics indicate that the number of children who developed asthmatic complications increased by 64% in 2000 with more deaths occurring in the urban areas. The statistics indicate that air pollution is China is already threatening the existence of future generations if effective measures are not put in place to reduce environmental pollution. It is indisputable that the situation in China demands a prompt action before the situation worsens beyond the present condition. One strategy that would be effective in the purification of the environment is the development of clean energy and its supply to all regions in China. The domestic use of solid fuel is a major cause of indoor air pollution as it exposes most people to direct inhalation of the gas. Electricity is one of the clean energy that can be utilized to ensure that indoor air pollution is completely neutralised (Tanaka, 2010, p. 57). Consequently, the government should engage in the development of rural electrification to reduce the environmental impact of carbon compounds. Since this may be a long term measure, it would be important to erect short term mitigation measures to reduce pollution. For instance, the development of organic biogas digester projects would help the local people to harness power from organic wastes, hence reducing the release of hazardous gases in the atmosphere. This would ensure that the effects of environmental pollution in the rural areas are considerably reduced. Secondly, strict environmental policies should be formulated to govern waste and petrochemical gas emission in the industries. Industrial pollution poses a threat not only to the employees but also to the entire population in the country. Employees working in these organizations are at the risk of contracting lung and heart diseases more than any other people in the country (Tanaka, 2010, p. 23). Organizational health standards should institute policies to ensure that the work environment is employee friendly and does not pose danger to the health of the employees. While it is important to allow industries to exercise liberty in investment, the government should intervene to compel the organization to remain friendly to the environment through policy regulations. For instance, organizations should be compelled to implement gas treatment before disposing it to the atmosphere or recycle of gas to protect the environment. Regulating the industrial sector will ensure that employees as well as the general public are free from indoor and outdoor air pollution effects respectively. It would be crucial to focus on air pollution that has resulted from rural to urban migration and the associated increase in the number of carbon dioxide producing means of transport. Petro and diesel engines are potential sources of air pollution gases that have adverse consequences in urban areas and to the greenhouse effect that has threatened to overturn the weather patterns in most regions in the world. To reduce this effect, it would be recommendable to provide alternative means of transport to serve the vast populations in the urban areas (Policy and Global Affairs, 2005, P. 10). For instance, the existence of electric trains will ensure that a large number of employees can be transported to the job places without necessarily depending passengers vehicles that are potential causes of air pollution. To ensure that this is the most preferred means of transport, it would be important to provide significantly reduced the price of rail transport as a motivation strategy. Less use of private and commercial vehicle will considerably reduce the emission of harmful gases. Civilization is a critical tool of influencing the mass behaviour and inducing personal responsibility of the environment (Policy and Global Affairs, 2005, P. 12). The public should be made aware of the various sources of air pollutants, the impacts and the possible mitigation measures. Getting the public aboard the government plan to reduce air pollution would be of significant impact on the success of the plan. One form of civilization would be to sensitize the public on the need for planting trees in the environment to facilitate the air purification process. As trees synthesis, they take in undesirable carbon dioxide gas and release oxygen gas which is vital for the human breathing process. Citizens should be encouraged to plant more trees to facilitate the reform process and contribute to the establishment of a clean, safe and healthy environment in China. In a nutshell, the success of the air pollution reformation does not only depend on the government action but also on the cooperativeness of the people in complying with the plan. From above, air pollution in China is a disaster that is blinking warning signals to the environmentalists and the nation as a whole to engage in rigorous mitigation strategy. The emission of carbon compound gases by the citizen in rural and urban areas and release of toxic gases by the ever growing industry sector promises a lot of danger to the health of the nation. The short term impacts include an increase in the contraction of lung and heart diseases which threatens the survival of future generation. In the long term, greenhouse effects are expected to set in accompanied by the effects of global warming that is likely to overturn weather patterns and reduce land productivity in the country. This indicates that there is a need for a timely and effective action to reduce the already prevailing effects and to mitigate against pollution in the future. The government has a role to play in civilizing the society and introducing to them eco-friendly cooking and transport methods to reduce their contribution to environmental pollution. Finally, tough policies should be formulated and implemented to reduce the industrial air pollution in this sector. Bibliography Millman, A., Tang, D. and Perera, P., 2008. Air Pollution Threatens the Health of Children in China. Official Journal of the American Academy of Paediatrics, 122(1), 620-627. Policy and Global Affairs, 2005. Urbanization, Energy and Air Pollution in China. Beijing: National Academy Press. Reilly, J., 2011. Health Damages From Air Pollution in China. Available through: Tanaka, S., 2010. Environmental Regulations in China and their Impact in Air Pollution and Infant Mortality. Available through:< http://bellarmine2.lmu.edu/economics/papers/ tanaka_jmp.pdf> Read More