The Reasons for Environmental Damages in China - Essay Example

Running header: The reasons for environmental damages in China and its social effects in the recent decades The reasons for environmental damages in China and its social effects in the recent decades Course Name Professor’s Name Institutional Affiliation City and State Where Institution is Located Date The reasons for China’s environmental damages and its social effects in recent decades Introduction: In the recent decades, China has experienced environmental crisis that has become one of its most pressing challenges that has been largely attributed to its rapid industrialization. It is worth noting that China’s GDP has been growing at an average of 10 percent annually in the recent decades a growth which unfortunately has been at the expense of its environment and hence public health. China’s environmental damages in the recent decades could be attributed to a number of reasons including its rapid population growth, the rapid industrialization and urbanization as stated above and the country’s lax environmental oversight resulting to numerous environmental pollution and hence damages. For instance, owing to the rapid industrialization, China is now the world’s largest source of carbon emissions. The effect of this environmental damage has been its air failing to meet international health standards resulting in numerous adverse social effects including declining life expectancy, land deterioration and diseases. It has also resulted in increased scrutiny and discontent from the public as people demand for increased environmental accountability. This essay analyzes in detail the reasons for China’s environmental damages as well as its social effects in recent decades with an aim of increasing awareness regarding what ought to be done in order to reduce the damages and hence its social effects. The reasons for China’s environmental damages Though many reasons have been cited for China’s environmental damages, its rapid industrialization is clearly the greatest cause of all. The Chinese industries are largely coal dependent which has made the country air deadly, the industrialization has also made China’s waterways filthy with solid being contaminated from industrial wastes. At the same time, forests are disappearing thanks to industrial pollution. As China has continued to industrialize, it has become the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases after it overtook the USA in 2007 when it was estimated to be responsible for 27% of global emission of greenhouse gases. The rapid industrialization has also led to its consumption of energy ballooning and by 2015, China was estimated to have increased its coal consumption by 17%. The country has also been experiencing prolonged bouts of smog such as was experienced in 2013 when citizens named it airpocalypse with the concentration of hazardous particles in the air being forty times the level deemed safe by world health organization1. The rapid industrialization and hence environmental damage also saw Beijing issue red alerts for severe pollution with the municipal government closing schools, limited road traffic, paused factory manufacturing and halted outdoor construction. It should be noted that as a result of rapid industrialization, China is now the world’s largest coal producer and also accounts for a half of global coal consumption. This together with other harmful industrial emissions are to blame for degradation of China’s air quality. The establishment of industries along China’s major water sources has also led to the water supplies being polluted. For instance, in 2014 China’s ground water sources in its more than 60 percent of its major cities were rated as either bad or very bad with more than a quarter of the country’s key rivers being considered as unfit for human contact owing to industrial effluents into the rivers. Another major reason for China’s environmental damages is its rapid population growth as well as urbanization. It is to be noted that increased urbanization is as a result of increased industrialization which has led to increased middleclass and hence development of urban areas. Increased urbanization means increased emissions and hence environmental degradation. For instance, China had a record of 17 million new cars on the road in 2014 in its urban areas which further contributed to its high emissions. The country’s car ownership is estimated at 154 million while it was only 27 million in 2004. The country’s staggering pace of urbanization that had been part of China’s policy where the government aims at having 60 percent of China’s population live in urban areas by 2020 as compared to just 36 percent in 2000 is also to blame for China’s environmental damages. This is because the rapid urbanization has increased energy demands to power the urban centers including the new manufacturing and industrial centers. Increasing Chinese population has also led to china’s environment damages in a number of ways2. For instance, it has led to rapid soil pollution with massive lands being polluted partly owing to use of contaminated water in irrigation. On the other hand, the increased population has led to soil pollution with about 2 million miles in China being covered or destroyed by solid waste both from industries and homes. Increased population has also led to increased waste production and without adequate recycling systems, this has resulted in immense environmental damages. Such wastes include plastic bags. For instance, supermarkets have now been banned from giving free plastic bags to customers and customers are now encouraged to use alternative means owing to the environmental degradation associated to using plastic bags once they are discarded as garbage. Another cause of China’s environmental damages associated with increased population is electronic waste. China produces millions of tons of electronic waste domestically with equal amounts being imported from overseas. Lack of proper disposal of such waste has certainly led to China’s environmental damages over the recent decades. China’s lack of strong policies against environmental pollution has also led to many of the environmental damages China is experiencing today. The challenges of environmental damages in china stretch back centuries and hence have been there for a long time. For instance, it is worth noting that the leaders who started the modern china and developed its economy exploited its natural resources in a manner that contributed to great environmental damages. As such, China’s current environmental damages are seen as a result of policy choices of today as well as of yester years3. They are also as a result of poor attitudes, approaches as well as institutions which date back centuries. China only started to develop environmental policies and institutions after the 1972 United Nations Conference on Human Environment. However, its economic policies of the late 1970s also acted to the detriment of its environment since it encouraged development of rural industries with no strong policies aimed at preserving the environment. Even today, China’s economy that is mainly characterized by large state owned enterprises has environmental policies that are difficult to enforce since local leaders prioritize hitting economic targets as opposed to addressing environmental concerns. Social effects of China’s environmental damages in the recent decades China’s environmental damages have resulted in many social costs the effect of which has been migrations, deterioration in public health and social unrest. Millions of Chinese have been forced to migrate owing to environmental degradation. In 1990s, over twenty million peasants are said have been displaced owing to environmental degradation. By 2025, it is estimated that more than thirty million more people will need to relocate. Unfortunately, the migration will continue worsening the environmental damage problem by placing stress on the cities4. The forced migrations which also result from large scale public works projects including river diversions and dams have also been a great source of social disquietude. For instance, the Three Gorges Dam resulted in resettlement that provoked demonstrations by many farmers. Perhaps the greatest social effect of China’s environmental damage is the great public health crises that the Chinese population has been exposed to. For instance in 2000, almost 20% of China’s agricultural and poultry products in the country’s major industrial and mining areas that use contaminated water for irrigation had been greatly contaminated. It is to be noted that such water is polluted with mercury, arsenic and cadmium from industrial effluents and these are linked to the rise in cancer, birth defects and bone and kidney disorders among those living near the country’s major rivers and lakes. Thousands of premature deaths in China could be attributed to environmental damages which result in such diseases as serious respiratory illnesses as a result of exposure to harmful industrial effluents. The effluents include polluted air as well as contaminated industrial discharges in to the rivers and other water ways. As a result of environmental pollution, China’s health ministry ranks industrial pollution related cancers as the leading cause of deaths in China. Furthermore, thousands of Chinese have lost their lives thanks to ambient air pollution5.in this regard, it is estimated that more than 300,000 people dies annually as a result of ambient air pollution that results in such diseases as lung cancer and heart diseases. It was estimated that more than 380,000 people were likely to die prematurely owing to outdoor air pollution with the number hitting 550,000 people in the year 2020. Apart from the deaths caused by outdoor air pollution, it is also estimated that almost a similar number of people die annually owing to indoor air that is of poor quality. On the other hand, many Chinese children are killed annually owing to lead poisoning. In addition, only 1 percent of those who live in Chinese cities breathe safe air given that the cities are frequently covered in toxic grey fog. It is also worth noting that 500 million Chinese don’t have clean and safe drinking water owing to polluted water ways. It is estimated that close to 100,000 Chinese people die prematurely every year owing to consuming poor quality water. The environmental damages have also resulted in a lot of social costs that have massive financial costs implications. Economists estimate that environmental degradation in China is about 8-12% of the country’s annual GDP. As stated above, the greatest cost is in terms of health and productivity that is greatly affected by environmental pollution. The air pollution is estimated to cost over $ 20 billion to the economy while water scarcity and pollution is estimated to cost the economy $ 14 billion annually. On the other hand, it should be noted that water pollution and scarcity also cost farmers about $24 billion annually owing to crop loss. The health cost to the economy and to the families is far greater than this. As a result of the above social challenges resulting from environmental damage in China, there has been increased social unrest in a bid to compel the government to be more environmentally accountable. This is because the public has increasingly felt the heat of water scarcity or water that is highly polluted, damages to crops and polluted air thus affecting social stability. In 1990s, there were numerous incidents that resulted from disputes over grasslands, forests as well as mineral resources increased showing the increasing social instability owing to environmental damages in China6. More often than not, there will be protests by farmers groups whose agricultural produce or water sources have been poisoned by local factories as they have little recourse apart from engaging in such protests. Environmental damages have meant resource scarcity that often provoke violence or violent protests. For instance, 1000 villagers in Anqui violently demonstrated for two days owing to the police attempting to close their access to the makeshift culverts they used to irrigate their crops. This resulted in one policeman dying, 100 injuries and twenty detentions. Thus, it is worth noting that the environmental damages witnessed in China has led to increased protests by various citizens either fighting for declining resources or calling for more environmental accountability from the government. Conclusion This essay has analyzed in details the reasons for China environmental damages as well as the social effects this has had. The rapid industrialization as well as population increase have been cited as the greatest causes of environmental degradation in China resulting in air, soil and water pollution owing to releasing of harmful gases into the atmosphere and releasing toxic wastes in the environment. The Chinese government has also been faulted for having weak environmental policies while concentrating more on economic development at the expense of environmental conservation. On the other hand, the greatest social effect this has had on the country has been cited as deteriorating public health where thousands of people are noted to be dying prematurely as a result of pollution related diseases such as cancer among others. Thus, the essay concludes that the Chinese government needs to come up with sound environmental policies aimed at reducing the environmental damages witnessed over the last few decades while at the same time pursuing the country’s economic growth. References: Goelz, D2009, China’s environmental problems: Is a specialized court the solution? Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal, vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 156-158. Shinn, D2016, The environmental impact of China’s investment in Africa, Cornell International Law Journal, vol. 49, no. vol.25, pp. 25-60. Hutchison, P2009, Environmental sustainability in China: A historical perspective, Inquiries Journal, vol. 1, no1, pp.1. Qu, T, Yun, Z& Dong, M2009, Social effect of environmental pollution on valley-cities in western China, Chinese Geographical Science, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 9-15. Tanaka, S2014, Environmental regulations on air pollution in China and their impact on infant mortality, Journal of Health Economics, vol. 42, pp. 90-103. Wang, X&, Denise, L2006, Evaluating impacts of air pollution in China on public health: Implications for future air pollution and energy policies, Atmospheric Environment, vol. 40, pp. 1706-1721. Read More