Causes and Consequences of Air Pollution in China - Report Example

Air Pollution in China Introduction China wakes up every day to air that defiles their health in every way. Platt terms China’s air pollution as the world’s “deadliest”. The country’s dependence on fossil fuels has seen it beat the US as the top CO2 emitter globally (Kuby et al. 795). The situation has been so severe such that Vanderklippe cites a man from Hebei province who sued the government in February 2014 for the “severity of the fouled air,” this being one of the many other affected citizens. To further show that the situation is severe, the reporter cites the U.S. embassy based in Beijing which rated the air quality in the capital as hazardous. Indeed, the poor air quality threatens the power of the Chinese Communist Party which derives its authority from its social contract for providing better quality life to the people. The increase in both indoor and outdoor air pollution in China due to rapid industrialization, urbanization and economic growth adversely affects its people’s healthy, ecology and economy, thus the adoption of critical measures to curb the problem. Nature of China’s Air Pollution The contributing factor to China’s air pollution is its rapid economic growth, urbanization and industrialization. He, Huo, and Zhang observe the proportion of China’s urban to total population grew from 18% to 31% between 1978 and 1999, this being three times the world’s average during the same period (398). The use of coal as a source of energy has been the main source of anthropogenic air pollution. Even so, Zhang and Smith observe that 60% of the population still lives in rural areas (848). This population uses biomass, which mainly includes crop residues and wood, in simple stoves. Thus, while the urban population heavily depends on coal for energy, the rural population depends on biomass. As such, China faces the problem of both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Despite the improvement in environmental protection requirements that have improved China’s air quality in the past decade as observed by Liu et al., the issue still remains a critical challenge (281). SO2 and total suspended particulates, TSP, still remain ten times more concentrated in China’s air than recommended by the World Health Organization. Thus, it would be beneficial to understand the sources of this. Causes of Air Pollution in China The indoor air pollution in China is attributed to the rural population’s reliance on biomass as the source of household energy. Zhang and Smith observe that 80% of the energy that the rural households consumed in 2003 was from biomass, that is mainly wood and crop residues (848). Even though coal is only used in 10% of these rural households, it is widely used in urban areas. In these urban areas, He, Huo, and Zhang observe that 75% of the stoves are less than 10% efficient thus contribute significantly to indoor air pollution (414). Collectively referred to as solid fuels, they significantly contribute to indoor air pollution. They are responsible for the concentration of inhalable particulates, IP, CO, NO2 and SO2 in homes. Residential cooking and heating have also been cited as major causes of indoor air pollution, particularly emitting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs. The level of indoor air pollution varies with the type of wood used and could be even ten times more polluting during winter. This indoor air pollution has further been propagated by the room layouts or house structures in China. Kitchens have been found out to be more polluting than bedrooms, of course because they remain the primary place where these energies are consumed. In their studies, Zhang and Smith found out the concentration of TSP to be particularly higher in kitchens where coal was used but contained less CO and NO2 (850). The end and beginning of fire produce the greatest pollution. Even where coal smoke has been vented outdoor, the neighborhood pollution results in significant pollution reentry back into the given households. This would be mostly so during winter when atmospheric dispersion is poor. Also closely related, new furnishings and building materials contribute significantly to indoor air pollution. They emit greater amount of volatile organic compounds, VOCs than older materials (He, Huo, and Zhang 416). Thus, indoor air pollution is caused by household heating and cooking, propagated by house structures and room layouts. In the same way coal pollutes indoor air, outdoor air also gets polluted. As observed by Kuby et al., the growth of coal for commercial production grew 45 times more between the year 1953 and 2007 (797). This has been attributed to the increase in demand for China’s industrial products. For this reason, the number of industrial exports has experienced an explosive expansion. As noted by He, Huo, and Zhang, the north particularly faces the greatest challenge because of the presence of heavy industries (405). Even with the campaigns for alternative energy sources, China’s industries still go back to coal. Outdoor air pollution in China could also be attributed to emissions from motor vehicles. According to researchers, “motor vehicles are also a major contributor to the air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions” (Lang et al. 2664). They are the greatest contributors of urban NO2, CO and VOCs as pollutants. This is propagated by the rapid increase in motor vehicle. The annual increase in private motor vehicles stood at 24% between 2003 and 2007, this being an increase from 12.2 million to 28.8 million cars (Kuby et al. 797). The total number of motor vehicles grew from 42 million to 200 million between 2000 and 2010 together with an increase in the consumption of gasoline from 13.9 million to 32.0 million tons during the same period (Lang et al. 2664). According to He, Huo and Zhang, vehicular emissions have also been propagated by slow increase in transportation infrastructure, with the poor infrastructure causing the average vehicular velocity in Beijing and Guangzhou to be 20 km/h (413). The situation is even worse in dense traffic and large cities. Other sources include farming and remote sources of particulate matter. In the northern cities of China, ammonia pollution has been noted to increase significantly during summer and spring farming seasons. In the southern cities where farming occurs throughout the year, no seasonal variation exists. With this observation, He, Huo, and Zhang deduced that the air pollution attributable to ammonia is contributed 30% to 60% by livestock farming and 17% to 47% by use of nitrogenous fertilizers (408). The aridness and lack of vegetation in north China makes the region prone to particulate pollution from loess soil particles. This natural source of air pollution has made it difficult to control air pollution in the nearby cities. Effects The most significant effect of China’s air pollution that has attracted great concern has been the adverse health effects on the people. China’s outdoor air pollution negatively affects human health. According to He, Huo, and Zhang, coarse particles enter and clog in human body posing adverse health effects (407). Similarly, toxic emissions from indoor air pollution threatens human health with consequences such as lung cancer, respiratory illness, lung function reduction, poisonous coal endemics, CO poisoning and immune system impairment (Zhang and Smith 851). Long exposure to and high concentrations of these air pollutants could lead to mutation and death as observed by Chen (1296). Therefore, air pollution in China risks not only the health of its people, but also fosters mortality and morbidity. Furthermore, ecological problems have also been experienced as a result of air pollution. As noted, “urban air pollution is rapidly emerging as a major environmental issue” in China (He, Huo and Zhang 398). Acid rain forms from SO2, NO2 and CO pollution, interfering with soil pH making the soil in northern China to be more alkaline (He, Huo, and Zhang 410). This renders agricultural land unproductive. Additionally, VOC and NO2 from vehicular emissions react in the air forming secondary pollutants like peroxyacetyl nitrate, PAN and O3 which form photochemical smog. This is common in Beijing during summer, though Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou also face the same problem. Such affects visibility and ambience of the environment. Ultimately, economic challenges arise. Chen et al. estimated China’s healthcare cost attributed to air pollution in 111 cities at $29 billion per year in 2004 (1297). Taking an overall look to estimate the economic cost of China’s air pollution, the World Bank studies in 1995 document $44.88 billion in economy losses. This encompasses healthcare costs, damage from indoor air pollution and ecosystem damage. Therefore, air pollution imposes an economic burden on China from direct destruction to costs involved in handling the effects and adopting preventive and control measures. Solution China has successfully adopted energy use reforms to curb its air pollution menace. The country has been pushing for the adoption of more efficient energy sources for industrial and domestic use. It has diversified its energy sources. Specifically, China has shifted dependence from coal to electricity as observed by Kuby et al. (796). Electricity is said to be friendlier to the atmosphere than coal. The government has also been keen to promote structures that promote the use of gas and electricity in place of coal. Even so, China still faces challenges keeping its reliance on coal low due to its rapid industrialization. Chen et al. observe that China has also adopted the use of low-sulfur coal (1294). All these reforms seek to minimize air pollutants. Technological approaches have also greatly reduced air pollution. The technologies adopted aim at curbing the level of toxic substances emitted by the different energy sources in the country. Chen et al., for instance, note that China has promoted the installation of flue gas desulfurization, FGD, technologies to lower the level of industrial sulfur emissions by up to 90% (1294). Indeed, the researchers observe that this has positively impacted on the health of the people of China. Lang et al. also note the development of hybrid and electric vehicles, HEVs and electric vehicles, EVs which reduce energy consumption by between 30% to 33% and 17% to 19% respectively (2681). The stoves used in households have been also been modified to make them less polluting. Zhang and Smith particularly cite the 1980s NISP 180 million improved stoves with chimneys and blowers for effective combustion (853). This improved household energy use and reduced indoor air pollution. Finally, numerous legislations and policies have deterred practices that propagate air pollution. Among these include the 1980s dust removal and smoke abatement policy. In the 1990s, a policy was passed requiring briquettes to be used for residential coal burning so as to curb pollution from particles resulting from residential coal burning (He, Huo, and Zhang 405). The Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, MOEP has been in the forefront, giving itself targets such as the one which aimed at reducing SO2 emissions by 10% between 2006 and 2010 (Chen et al. 1294). Such efforts have a gone a long way in deterring anthropogenic air pollution. Conclusion Indeed, China, one of the countries with high air pollution rates, has had its people’s health adversely affected together with the economy and ecology due to indoor and outdoor air pollution. Indeed, the country had made major strides forward in achieving ambient atmosphere, but more still needs to be done. Whereas modern economies have banned the direct combustion of coal in residential stoves, boilers and kilns, China remains with no regulations with this regard. Thus, it would need to put in place appropriate measures to save, particularly the 60% of its population based in rural areas, by adopting regulations on household energy consumption. Even so, it needs to keep up-to-date with the developments in the scientific approaches used in air pollution studies so as to provide modern and effective solutions to the problem. Should China fail to adopt effective measures, it risks the health and even existence of its people. It would compromise the global environmental sustainability due to the shared nature of the atmosphere. Works Cited Chen, B. et al. “Air Pollution and Health Studies in China – Policy Implications.” Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 61 (2011): 1292 – 1299. He, K., H. Huo, and Q. Zhang. “Urban Air Pollution in China: Current Status, Characteristics, and Progress.” Annual Review of Energy and Environment 27 (2002): 397 – 431. Kuby, M. et al. “The Changing Structure of Energy Supply, Demand, and CO2 Emissions in China.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 101.4 (2011): 795 – 805. Lang, J. et al. “Energy and Environmental Implications of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in China.” Energies 6 (2013): 2663 – 2685. Liu, M. et al. “Effects of Outdoor and Indoor Air Pollution on Respiratory Health of Chinese Children from 50 Kindergartens.” Journal of Epidemiology 23.4 (2013): 280 – 287. Print. Platt, K. H. “Chinese Air Pollution Deadliest in the World, Report Says.” Nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic News, 9 July 2007. Web. 6 May 2014. Vanderklippe, N. “China’s Air Pollution Reaches ‘Crisis’ Level.” Theglobeandmail.com. The Globe and Mail, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 6 May 2014. Zhang, J. and K. R. Smith. “Household Air Pollution from Coal and Biomass Fuels in China: Measurements, Health Impacts, and Interventions.” Environmental Health Perspectives 115.6 (2007): 848 – 855. Read More