The Causes And Effects Of Air Pollution In China

Air. It’s all around us, literally. We breathe the air of the Earth without paying attention to the damage that has been made to it in the last couple of years. The air we know and need has been polluted and in certain areas, the air is harmful. Places like China and Los Angeles have experienced first hand the results of air pollution. We are unaware at this point what we’re breathing in and how it’s affecting us directly and indirectly. China is famous for it’s economic growth and recently the country’s air quality has been called to attention. The citizens of China wear face masks to avoid breathing in the polluted air. What seems like foggy skies are actually polluted air. Vaughan stated in his article, “China is the world’s deadliest

Chan, and Xiaohong Yao (2009), “China is transitioning from an agricultural base into an industrial base; however, even now, 60% of the population remains farmers(p.79-86).” So, what does this have to do with the quality of the air? Since China is shifting itself from being an agricultural to industrial society, the heavy use of coal for energy has lead to the results of “serious atmospheric particulate pollution (Fang, Ming, Chak K. Chan, and Xiaohong Yao; 2009, p.79-86).” Air pollution can affect plants and crops in different ways, but it all leads to bad crops or dead ones. Breathing in polluted air is obviously not healthy and that applies to crops, that need air to live, as well. On the topic of air pollution and how it affects plants; Griffith stated, “There may be a reduction in growth of various portions of a plant. Plants may be killed outright, but they usually do not succumb until they have suffered recurrent injury (Effects of Air Pollution on Agricultural Crops, 2003).” It has been reported that 90% of U.S. crop losses were a result of air pollution (Tong, D., Mathur, R., Schere, K., Kang, D., & Yu, S., 2007). Now if 90% of crop losses were a result of polluted air in the U.S, we can assume the heavily polluted air in China could affect their crops in a negative way. Since 60% of the population of China are farmers, bad air means bad crops and that’s not want a farmer wants to

Those who are uneducated are unaware that smog is harming us through the air. How does smog affect us though? Smog is a mix of “nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds—that combine with sunlight to form ozone (What is Smog? Causes and Effects, 2016).” Ozone getting trapped near the ground because of high temperatures and heat is the cause of health problems for people. “The term "smog" was first used in London during the early 1900 's to describe the combination of smoke and fog that often blanketed the city. According to several sources, the term was first coined by Dr. Henry Antoine des Voeux in his paper...The type of smog described by Dr. des Voeux was a combination of smoke and sulfur dioxide, which resulted from the heavy use of coal to heat homes and businesses and to run factories in Victorian England. (West, 2016).” Smog in the 1900s was a result of the use of coals in homes, but in our present day society smog is coming from our car fuel. China, however, is still using coal to energize their power plants which is a factor to their smog problem. In a society that is constantly on the go, smog is caused by the buses and cars.“Major smog occurrences often are linked to heavy motor vehicle traffic (West, 2016).” Los Angeles, including China, is known for heavy traffic so it’s safe to say that their heavy traffic is one of the leading causes of smog in the city. Does air