China's Recent Environmental Problems - Case Study Example

Running header: China’s recent environmental problems Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: Essay outline and draft Title: the environmental problems that China has faced in the recent years 1. Introduction I) Environmental problems resulting from China’s development efforts II) The environmental problems have accelerated to become a global issue 2. Body a) Water pollution I) quality of water in water bodies deteriorating due to industrial, domestic and agricultural wastes II) Water shortage experienced due to deforestation, increased farming activities and electricity generation b) Air pollution I) china’s urban areas among the most polluted in terms of air pollution II) Air pollution mainly through industrial emissions III) China ranked the greatest green house gases emitter in the world c) Land pollution I) Land pollution due to improper industrial waste disposal as well as agricultural activities II) Deforestation contributes to land pollution III) Desertification and dust storms being experienced more than ever before d) Climate changes I) China’s climate has greatly changed because of environmental degradation II) Rises in temperatures resulting in rise in the sea level III) China experiencing climate related disasters such as flooding e) Tension between development and need for environmental protection I) Development necessary but leading to environmental problems II) Sustainable development practices to be encouraged so as to limit environmental problems 3. Conclusion I) China’s development though important should not slow efforts to protect environment II) Government should intensify efforts aimed at environmental protection Introduction The development efforts by various countries in the world have resulted in a variety of environmental problems that now characterize the world. China is not an exception to these environmental problems. Although the economy has rapidly expanded of late, this has come alongside an environmental crisis. In fact, the rate of environmental degradation in the country is thought to surpass its rapid rate of economic growth. The scale of environmental issues is so large that they are no longer localized problems but global issues. The global ecological systems which are already fragile are being strained further (Liu and Jordan, 2008). On the contrally, demanding strict compliance to environmental standards would significantly retard the economic growth pace and accelerate the country’s poverty and unemployment problems. In other words, there exists tension between development and the need to protect the environment as rapid development in china seems to accelerate the rate of environmental degradation. This paper looks at china’s recent environmental issues and the tension between development and the need to protect the environment. Recent China’s environmental problems In the recent years, china has been experiencing rapid economic growth as well as rapid agricultural to industrial and rural to urban movements. The country’s gross domestic product has been increasing at double digit rates annually and hence millions of its people have had their lifestyles improve from extreme poverty. However, despite the positive outcomes of the economic growth, there have been negative impacts on China’s environment (Shunsuke, 2010). The country is currently faced with many daunting environmental issues which are significantly affecting human health in the country and hence human life. Owing to the fact that china has the largest population in the world, environmental management and sustainability are now recognized as a top priority area by the government despite the fact that economic development is of paramount importance to the country. Some of the environmental challenges that china has been facing include both indoor and outdoor air pollution, pollution of land from use of water containing industrial wastes, untreated human and animal sewage, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides as well as water pollution (Cole and Shimamoto,2005)). The environmental problems are discussed below; Water pollution Although there are large bodies of water surrounding china, it experiences the problem of water scarcity. China’s rivers have some degrees of contamination from various industrial wastes as well as chemicals. According to the State environmental management authority-SEPA, the water quality in most rivers and seas in china is gradually deteriorating. For example, the water quality in Hai, Liao, Huaihe Rivers, yellow sea and Bohai Sea is greatly deteriorated. The causes of water pollution in china are attributed to industrial development on industries such as agriculture, brewing, paper, textile and chemical industries (Elizabeth, 2007). This is due to the fact that the industries use large amounts of water for their production processes such as cooling and electric sources. Most of the industries do not have hazardous waste treatment facilities and hence the waste is discharged directly into the river systems. This greatly contributes to their pollution. Industrial activities in china have greatly contributed to water pollution. Mercury released into the air by coal fired factories is capture by rain drops and transferred to the soil, surface water and ground water. Surface water affects fish consumed. Groundwater is polluted by runoff from factories and then used by farmers downstream for irrigating their crops. Increased use of fertilizers also pollutes water as fertilizers in china contain high levels of metals especially cadmium which is harmful. Waste disposal in china has also greatly contributed to water pollution. There is an increased deposit of organic and toxic waste from household, agriculture and industry (Chan and Yao, 2008). Increased deforestation has caused the flow of bud along the rivers and affected both quality and quantity of water supply. For example, Lake Taihu was covered by foul smelling algae in 2007. This blocked fresh water for more than two million people in Wuxi owing to the algae infestation. China also experiences the problem of water shortage. Water beds for several important cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are low causing shortage of supply of well water. Supply of water from rivers such as Yellow river as well as Yangtze River is running short owing to diversions to agriculture production as well as electricity generation along the rivers. Furthermore, untreated sewerage damped into surrounding rivers is creating a surplus of red phytoplankton (Chow, 2007). As a result, red tides have become a common occurrence in china, killing off sea life while adversely affecting the surrounding coastal communities. The toxins from the algal also make sea food unsafe to eat. Air pollution Chinese air especially in the urban area is among the most polluted globally. No wonder air pollution was among the most vital considerations in approving Beijing as the official venue for Olympics in 2008. It is believed that the high energy consuming industries contribute the majority of industrial air pollution within china. According to the world health organisation estimates, sixteen of the twenty most polluted cities in the world are in china and most of them fall under air pollution category. In Beijing for example, cars are the major cause of air pollution (Committee on energy futures and air pollution in urban china and United States, 2007). Weakly enforced regulations, traffic congestion, poor quality fuel, badly maintained engines as well as large numbers of older cars which are unlikely to be scrapped also add to carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants including particulates and carbon dioxide resulting to local air pollution. The World Bank identifies the major air pollutants in china as soot, dust and sulfur dioxide which may possibly affect not only china but also the neighboring countries. Sulfur dioxide and snoot resulting from coal combustion are the air pollutants which give rise to formation of acidic rain which now falls over about thirty percent of china’s total area. The acid rains threaten land resources such as forest s and agricultural regions. Industrial boilers and furnaces consume half of china’s coal and are hence the largest sources of urban air pollution. The use of oil and gasoline in the transportation sector also greatly contribute to air pollution in china (World Bank, 2001). As china becomes more and more industrialized , pollution from both industrial and consumer sources is on the rise owing to higher levels of output and consumption unless the pollution per unit of output of consumption or output is reduced. Green house emissions – china is currently the largest emitter of green house gases by volume. This is primarily due to its reliance on coal that amounts to two thirds of its energy consumption (Lu, 2007). . This contributes to sulfur dioxide emissions which gives rise to acid rains. Land pollution In china, land pollution is seen on its land as well as soil problems and improper waste management and disposal. The soil problem is related to deforestation, loss of grass lands, soil erosion, desertification as well as fertilizers run off into rivers, lakes and the sea. Deforestation in china is caused by increasing demand for factory materials and construction, foreign loggings and in such of fuel and land for agriculture. In fact, china’s current forest coverage is below the world’s average. Despite government’s efforts towards sustainable development of forests, illegal logging is still a major threat and aggravates the situation hence slowing down the recovery. Extensive deforestation in china has led to loss of diversity, soil erosion as well as flooding (Lindsay, 2001). On the other hand, desertification-loss of grassland is attributed to conversion to irrigated rice cultivation as well as over cropping and rigorous grazing and technology intensive cultivation for forage and fodder according to the state environmental protection administration (SEPA). Deforestation also leads to soil erosion owing to removal of top cover. Desertification is caused by overgrazing as well as expansion of agricultural lands. China today is experiencing rapid desertification at the rate of 5800 square kilometers per year. In particular, Beijing is threatened by the coming of the desert within recordable distance of 200 miles. Just as in other countries, China’s problem of waste management is related to the increasing industrial development, overpopulation as well as indiscriminate human consumption. The growth of manufacturing industries including livestock production and textile as well as development of small and medium enterprises contributes to land pollution in china (Crutzen, 2001). Industrial wastes when added to other types of pollutants such as untreated sewerage and run off agricultural related substances lead to land pollution. As a result of the increased land pollution and desertification, china is now experiencing increased dust storms. The dust storms spread as far as North America from china and have become deadly when they pick up airborne toxins from factories. Climate change China’s economic development has resulted in serious climatic variations. The country’s national assessment of climate change recently released indicates that the country already suffers from environmental impacts of climate change. Such impacts include increase of surface and ocean temperature and rise of sea level. The rise in sea level is alarming since china has a long and densely populated coastline with some of its biggest cities such as shanghai and Guangzhou. Research estimates a meter rise in sea level which would displace around 67 million people (Economy, 2004). Climate related disasters such as drought and flood have also increased as a result of the climate change. The climate change has also worsened the uneven distribution of water resources in the country. Outstanding rises in temperature exacerbates evapo-transpiration hence intensifying the risk of water shortage for farming in the north. On the other hand, due to southern regions over availability of rainfall, most water is lost owing to flooding. Furthermore, climate change in china endangers human health by increasing outbreaks of disease and their transmissions. Infectious diseases such as cholera are always prevalent during flooding hence claiming many lives (Brownell, 2007). These effects of climate change no doubt exacerbates the degradation of the ecologically fragile areas where most poor communities are concentrated hence pushing most of them back to poverty. As can be seen from the above discussion, it is clear that the main cause of environmental problems in china has been rapid development in various economic sectors especially industrial development. However, tension exists between development and the need to protect the environment. This is because development is necessary for china to be able to sustain her big population although this leads to environmental problems such as the ones discussed above. The increasing environmental problem on the other hand has led the public to increase pressure on the government to put in place measures that will promote sustainable development (Wang, 2008). For example, since 2006 the Chinese government has been receiving thousands of environmental related complaints from the public. Apart from concerns over the cost of environmental degradation, environmental related social unrest can threaten the central authority. For example in May 2008, the public in Chengdu demonstrated against construction of a petrochemical factory and oil refinery due to environmental concerns. It is as a result of this tension between development and the need to conserve the environment that the government agencies target offenders and put in place regulations which are aimed at raising environmental standards. Some of the regulations passed include that of 2007 where new buildings are required to meet energy efficiency standards (MacBean, 2008). Furthermore, the government through the state environmental protection agency has banned four major power firms and four highly polluted cities from embarking on further development until their existing developments comply with environmental standards. This was aimed at meeting the countries goals of reducing emissions. Conclusion Owing to the importance attached to economic development, china’s effort to protect the environment has not been easy. However, the government has of late put in place measures aimed at improving the environment. The government has also registered many environmental organizations aimed at advocating for environmental issues. All these efforts are aimed at promoting public awareness on the need for green environment as well as sustainable development. However, the government’s efforts towards environmental protection need to be intensified if china is to successfully curb the environmental problems it currently faces. More funds needs to be allocated towards environmental protection while developers need to be educated on the need for sustainable development. This way, china will limit the harmful impacts that have resulted from its rapid development. References: Liu, J. Y., & Jordan, N. M. (2008). China’s environmental problems in a globalizing world. Nature 43(4), 1179-1186. Shunsuke, M. S. (2010). Chinese economic development and the environment. Oxford: Oxford university press. Cole, M.A. & Shimamoto, K (2005). Industrial characteristics, environmental regulation and air pollution: an analysis of China’s manufacturing sector. Journal of environmental economics and management, 50, 121-143. Elizabeth, L.E (2007). Scorched earth: will environmental risks in china overwhelm its opportunities? Harvard business review, June, 88-96. Chan, C.K., & Yao, K (2008). Air pollution in mega cities in china. Atmospheric environment, 42 (1), 1-42. Chow, G.C (2007). China’s economic transformation. Oxford: Blackwell publishing company. Committee on energy futures and air pollution in urban china and United States. (2007). Energy futures and urban air pollution: challenges for China and the United States. Washington D.C: The national academic press. World Bank (2001). China development report in MacBean, A (2007) China’s environmental problems and policies. The world economy, 30 (2), 292-307. Lu, W.S (2007). A closer look at the economic environmental disparities for regional development in china. European Journal of operational research. 183 ( 2), 882-894. Lindsay, J.M. (2001). Global warming heats up: Uncertainties, both scientific and political, lie ahead. Gale: University of Washington Press. Crutzen, P.J (2001). Concept paper on Asian brown clouds, centre for clouds, chemistry and climate: A closer look at the economic environmental disparities for regional development in china. European Journal of operational research. 184 (2), 885-900. Economy, E.C. (2004). The river runs black: The environmental challenge to china’s future. Newyork: Cornell University press. Brownell, S. (2007). The Beijing effect. Olympic review, 55-62. Wang, M. (2008). Rural industries and water pollution in china. Journal of environmental management, 86 (4), 648-659. MacBean, A. (2008). China’s environment problems and policies. The world economy, 30 (2), 292-307. Read More

According to the State environmental management authority-SEPA, the water quality in most rivers and seas in china is gradually deteriorating. For example, the water quality in Hai, Liao, Huaihe Rivers, yellow sea and Bohai Sea is greatly deteriorated. The causes of water pollution in china are attributed to industrial development on industries such as agriculture, brewing, paper, textile and chemical industries (Elizabeth, 2007). This is due to the fact that the industries use large amounts of water for their production processes such as cooling and electric sources.

Most of the industries do not have hazardous waste treatment facilities and hence the waste is discharged directly into the river systems. This greatly contributes to their pollution. Industrial activities in china have greatly contributed to water pollution. Mercury released into the air by coal fired factories is capture by rain drops and transferred to the soil, surface water and ground water. Surface water affects fish consumed. Groundwater is polluted by runoff from factories and then used by farmers downstream for irrigating their crops.

Increased use of fertilizers also pollutes water as fertilizers in china contain high levels of metals especially cadmium which is harmful. Waste disposal in china has also greatly contributed to water pollution. There is an increased deposit of organic and toxic waste from household, agriculture and industry (Chan and Yao, 2008). Increased deforestation has caused the flow of bud along the rivers and affected both quality and quantity of water supply. For example, Lake Taihu was covered by foul smelling algae in 2007.

This blocked fresh water for more than two million people in Wuxi owing to the algae infestation. China also experiences the problem of water shortage. Water beds for several important cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are low causing shortage of supply of well water. Supply of water from rivers such as Yellow river as well as Yangtze River is running short owing to diversions to agriculture production as well as electricity generation along the rivers. Furthermore, untreated sewerage damped into surrounding rivers is creating a surplus of red phytoplankton (Chow, 2007).

As a result, red tides have become a common occurrence in china, killing off sea life while adversely affecting the surrounding coastal communities. The toxins from the algal also make sea food unsafe to eat. Air pollution Chinese air especially in the urban area is among the most polluted globally. No wonder air pollution was among the most vital considerations in approving Beijing as the official venue for Olympics in 2008. It is believed that the high energy consuming industries contribute the majority of industrial air pollution within china.

According to the world health organisation estimates, sixteen of the twenty most polluted cities in the world are in china and most of them fall under air pollution category. In Beijing for example, cars are the major cause of air pollution (Committee on energy futures and air pollution in urban china and United States, 2007). Weakly enforced regulations, traffic congestion, poor quality fuel, badly maintained engines as well as large numbers of older cars which are unlikely to be scrapped also add to carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants including particulates and carbon dioxide resulting to local air pollution.

The World Bank identifies the major air pollutants in china as soot, dust and sulfur dioxide which may possibly affect not only china but also the neighboring countries. Sulfur dioxide and snoot resulting from coal combustion are the air pollutants which give rise to formation of acidic rain which now falls over about thirty percent of china’s total area. The acid rains threaten land resources such as forest s and agricultural regions. Industrial boilers and furnaces consume half of china’s coal and are hence the largest sources of urban air pollution.

The use of oil and gasoline in the transportation sector also greatly contribute to air pollution in china (World Bank, 2001).

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