To say that China underwent a rapid economic ascension over the past fifty years is a gross understatement; the nation transformed itself from a largely agrarian society into one of the world’s most successful and powerful industrial giants. Through a series of economic, social, and political reforms, the country launched head first toward modernization and secured its place amongst the most influential world powers. However, a country that affixes its national onus solely upon the process of modernization is bound to ignore various spectrums of society, and in the case of China’s rapid industrial growth, the cost of progress took its largest toll on the environment. One of the more popular jokes during the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the question of whether or not the athletes would even be able to breathe correctly due to China’s air quality, yet this seemingly humorous observation underscores a problem which is hardly a laughing matter. China has become the leading country in terms of its nation-wide level of greenhouse gas emissions, over taking long-time leader, America. This ominous “achievement,” as well as numerous others which further undermine China’s environmental and medical well-being, have caused the government to recently undergo a series of dramatic environmental reforms which hope to undo the deep damage that has been inflicted upon China’s ecosystem. While China successfully completed its journey toward becoming a modern super power, its current goal of mitigating the effects of climate change and nation-wide pollution is perhaps just as important for the country’s future.
To understand the breadth of environmental problems that plague Modern China, it is important to first contextualize and understand China...
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... what has amounted to the largest hydraulics program in world history. Yet center to the nation’s nearly hazardous environment is the nation’s historically unabashed approach to industrialization and expansion. Recently, government officials have begun to warn the nation about the disastrous consequences of expansion without consideration for the environment. Likewise, the nation has made it a stated effort to outpace every other country in the world in terms of green technology that is produced domestically. Each of these government programs and policies is an important step toward China’s environmental recovery, but it must be understood that the nation still has tremendous ground to make up. Indeed, if China intends to continue its impressive trajectory, it is clear that it will need to orient its focus around a different kind of “green” initiative.
In order to understand why China is in such environmental difficulties we need to understand why the lifestyles of people in Europe and the US could be to blame. The first area to consider is the environmental issues that China is currently suffering with. Once this is established I can assert what impact the US and Europe has in relation to these issues and what actually causes them. In linking the events it will be easier to see the chain of events. To do this I am going to work backwards and understand the issues that exist within China and then secondly what they are a result of. This will give me the background of why China’s environmental issues have become so dire.
American writer and political analyst, Michael Auslin argumentative essay “The Filth They Breathe in China” (January 11, 2017) argues China’s air quality is harmful and extremely dangerous to the people of China and their environment. Auslin conveys his argument through logos, pathos and imagery. Auslin’s purpose is to illustrate to his readers China’s economic growth destroying its environment. Auslins strengthens his overall point by adopting a convincing tone for readers with a concern for the environment.
American economist, Rostow through his ‘Stages of Economic Development’ demonstrates that economies may ignore environmental quality in their quest for growth. This notion is true in China, with government and private firms using unsustainable practices in order to maximise globalisation opportunities. China suffers mostly from chronic air and water pollution caused by both the demand for energy (i.e. coal mines) as well as the process of manufacturing. This effect on the Chinese economy is quantified through China’s emissions, which in 2010, was 8,286 million metric tonnes, 35% higher than the next uppermost emitter, the United States. China is also home to 16 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world. Consequences for not cleaning up the environment will not just be a health crisis but an economic one. The Chinese government is now recognising and addressing the environmental problems which have occurred due to both rapid economic growth and industrialisation. It has set targets which aim at reducing pollution levels with $6.6b committed in spending in order to achieve such targets. Such examples include investment in nuclear power instead of coal, hydroelectricity (i.e. Three Gorges Dam) as well as new stringent environmental laws. It is hoped that new regulations and investment will lead the way for renewable energy and a sustainable
Desertification has consistently haunted Chinese climatic history. However, recent evidence suggests that the Chinese might have a little more on their hands than the global climate change experienced by generations before them. While global warming and climate change are a world concern, the Chinese have an invested interest in combating the desert destruction of their capital city. If these methods prove futile and anthropogenic forces accelerate desertification, then Beijing could be the first victim in the battle against global warming.
Just like Klein states, “Protecting and valuing the earth’s ingenious systems of reproducing life and the fertility of all of its inhabitants, may lie at the center of the shift in worldview that must take place if we are to move beyond extractivism” (424). Indeed to build a better world, we must go beyond the capitalism, however, unlike the divestment movement around other countries, it is challenging for people in China to take action to against the air pollution due to the fact that those heavy industries and businesses have Chinese government in their back to support
China has approximately 20% of the world’s population, which is around 1.3 billion people (Morris, 2009, p. 111). Also, China has become one of the worlds biggest manufacturing countries within 30 years (Fawssett, 2009, p. 27). However, such rapid development has come at a cost, which has created various environmental problems. Coincidentally, China has 16 cities on a list of the 20 worst polluted cities in the world (Fawssett, 2009, p. 15). Therefore, this essay will explain the reasons for China’s environmental problems, then evaluate the claim that the Chinese government and people, are tackling these environmental problems. First, crop farming techniques over the last hundred years, and their consequences will be explained. Followed by, how peoples choice in food has changed over the last hundred years, and how this indirectly affects the environment. Then, how a capitalist economy is linked to agriculture, and finally what the Chinese government and people are doing to tackle these problems.
Having been environment caring since a young age, I have always had a large appreciation for the world resources that are essential for living. I always follow my dad and uncle conducting research about the environment since they are both faculties in the field of environment science, read articles about controversies and I am fascinated with the problem that affects everyone in the world. I have always considered it the far and wide most important resource in the world, and I feel as though China has a pretty lacking appreciation for it, whereas many other countries, as a whole, are constantly trying to come up with new solutions to solve the problem.
China’s economy is one very large indicator of its role in globalization. “In 2010 China became the world’s largest exporter” (CIA World Factbook). Without China many places such as the United States of America would be without billions of goods imported from China annually. An influx of companies moving their manufacturing to China has allowed people to flock to cities and find jobs. China’s economy has grown exponentially over the last few decades. In the last three years China’s economy has grown by nearly ten percent every year. Despite this influx of money to China it has also resulted in many drawbacks. For example, China’s environment has been obliterated. China burns more coal than every country in the world combined. Beijing has been so badly polluted that there are actually companies that sell cans of fresh air to people, and gas masks are a common sight. On January 12th 2013 Beijing’s air pollution reached a record setting 775 PPM. To put that into perspective, the scale for measuring pollution is 0-500 PPM. This set an all-time recorded high. In Los Angeles a high ...
China has made some improvements in environmental protection during recent years. According to the World Bank, China is one of a few countries in the world that have been rapidly increasing their forest cover. It is managing to reduce air and water
However, China accounts for 33% of the worlds Greenhouse gas emissions, mainly arising as a result of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, and the deforestation that occurs in its wake. China is also suffering from desertification, coastal reclamation and severe climate change as are result of their long time blasé attitude towards environmental issues. While the Chinese Government now do acknowledge that environmental oversight has occurred, strict censorship within China deprives outsiders of receiving the full story of the environmental calamity that is occurring within China. Citizens within China are becoming increasingly concerned with governmental policy that regards further unnecessary degradation of the environment. A retired party official revealed that there had been 50,000 environmental protests within China in 2012 alone. China has amended numerous government acts and implemented strict new regulations in an attempt to curb pollution and Greenhouse gas production. However, the problem China faces cannot be swept under the 'bureaucratic rug' so to speak. The problem rests with the lack of an alternative clean energy to the fossil fuels currently used to fuel China's resource hungry industry. China has implemented numerous 'real world' measures to reduce environmental impact. Perhaps the most well known of these projects is 'Green Wall of China', which is a 4,500 km green strip of
It’s become a common sight to behold. In other cities, popular must have fashion items include scarves, sunglasses and perhaps a striking pair of shoes. In Beijing however, surgeon masks have been “in style” for years and more recently more people have been sporting a can of fresh air; from Canada. The pollution has gotten so bad that people are willing to pay as much as 22.95 U.S dollars for a 10-liter bottle of “Pure Premium Oxygen’. “[The] first shipment of 500 bottles of fresh air were sold in four days,” said co-founder Moses Lam to the Telegraph. The government has faced increased domestic and international pressure to address the situation. Throughout the years, China’s industrialization and economic boom has brought millions of people out of poverty and skyrocketed their economy to first place, but in doing so, their environment has been seriously damaged. A new poll done by Gallup shows that 57% of Chinese adults believed that protection of the environment should be given top priority even at risk of slowing economic growth.
As China has industrialised, it has brought various environmental challenges into people’s life. The biggest one being air pollution, which has led to Beijing being addressed as the pollution capital of the world.
By comparing China to the rest of the world, China has one of the largest energy consumptions and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. The global primary energy consumption graph shows that China was the leading energy consumer in the world from 2010 to present and predicted to increase until 2040. China’s energy consumption more than 100 quadrillion British thermal in 2014 and predicted to increase to close to 200 quadrillion British thermal in 2040. By looking at the global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, China is predicted to have more than 10,000 million metric tons by 2040.
The environment is far from protected in countries like India and China. Pollution which is a commonly large factor in both the countries is present in every aspect of nature and the main concern being the change in mentality about urbanisation and industrialisation in people’s minds. To add to the pollution issue both these countries deal with several environmental problems which caused pollution problem in their regions. The three main problems faced by India and China are Deforestation, Industrial Air Pollution and Industrial Water Pollution. The common factor causing these problems are industries in their respective country. Both countries produce goods on a large scale which determine and explain the pollution problem.
"China Plans to Regulate Some of Its Carbon Emissions for the First Time Ever." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.