Comparitive studies of enviormental policies in China & USA - Essay Example

Because of the relation between such acts of environmental degradation and economic development, there are often national policies on environment control that are enacted and implemented on national basis. This paper therefore seeks to examine the differences and similarities between China and the United States in terms of their environmental policies as well as compare them economically and then having overview of other countries with similar environmental policies as China. Similarities in Environmental Policies between China and the United States Two areas of environmental policy of which the United States and China has a lot of similarities has to do with the area of resource energy and recycling.

Both countries have policies that are channeled towards the need to reserve the environment by avoiding the use of non-renewable sources of energy such as hydro electricity. To this end, there has over the years being a policy to fade off the use of non-renewable energy sources in powering major industries in both countries (Vesper, 2000). In the United States for instance, the use of wind energy has become a widely promoted source of energy for major industries, especially those into manufacturing.

China has also been known to take a giant lead in the use of solar energy in powering most its industries such as those in manufacturing (Waddell, 2003). Almost the same story is true in the case of recycling as industries in both countries have had to follow national policies that enshrine them to recycle waste product and channel them into other areas of energy generation rather than dumping the waste into the environment. In the United States, this policy is championed by the Environment Protection Agency.

Differences in Environmental Policies between China and the United States As much as there are similarities in policies, there are also areas between China and the United States that there are several differences in developmental ideologies. These ideologies differences have actually resulted in differences in environmental policies. For example in China, there is the ideology of the need to reduce the country’ population sharply as the country is currently the most populated country in the world.

Though the United States is heavily populated, its demand for population reduction is not as intensive as that of China. Because of this, China has a policy known as one-baby-per family that seeks to enforce the reduction of number of births in homes. United States on the other hand only uses public advocacy to appeal for birth control. In the area of pollution also, there are differences between the two countries. For instance, whereas China has a more liberal approach to industrialization as a way widening it up its industrial growth in global economy, the United States as a more stringent approach to new entrants into industrialization.

Subsequently, the United States is more concerned about checking acts of pollution among industries than China is (Rotter, 2001). This is because the government of China sees policies that force industry players to stick to certain rules as a means of intimidating their operation. Economic impact of Environmental Policies for China and the United States Industrial economists hold very interesting views on the economic impact of environmental pol