There I was in Shanghai, China, staring at the sun as if I were trying to look at a lamp behind a curtain. The rise of pollution levels in China has intrigued the minds of people who never even cared about the environment before. The People’s Republic of China is now the largest emitter of CO2 in the world. But of course, this a global phenomenon: a global phenomenon that in no way started with China as Alanna Mitchell would agree to. By the end of the 19th century, the powerful duo that was industrialization and imperialism spread industrial growth from Great Britain to Southeast Asia. From the opium wars in the mid 19th century to the economic reforms of 1970s, China has been incorporated into the global economy as the world’s manufacturer. And as we know, modern manufacturing is heavily reliant on fossil fuels. This has put an immense amount of international pressure on the Chinese to improve their environmental footprint. But sustainable development needs to start not just with China, but with all major players in the global economy. Mitchell’s statement, “the idea that the planet’s future might come down to China’s choices is hard for the West to fathom”(102) is not only ironic, but a dangerous idea to accept. An historical context of China’s industrialization and urbanization will show you that Western interests in China led to its massive carbon emission. Further, the root of the problem must be solved the way it started, with help from the West.
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 belt
Fears of polluted air and water, and the extinction of wildlife species due to contamination have overtaken the western world. In an excerpt, titled “The Filth They Breathe in China,” taken from American historian, Michael Auslin’s book, the author focuses on the nation where, due to its rapid industrial growth, these effects of pollution are most prominent, China. In his article, Auslin, uses anecdotes, uses strong diction, and uses appeals to logic and credibility in order to capture the enormity of China’s pollution problem.
Arizona is on the rise as one of the fastest metropolitan areas in the United States of America. In fact, in 2015 Forbes Magazine ranks Phoenix, Arizona as the 11th fastest growing city in the U.S.1 This growth is due the unprecedented resources and growing opportunities in the state of Arizona. With all of these opportunities come more production, which means more emissions from various industries and cars, more fossil fuels burned, and household and farming chemicals added to the sky. All of these are examples of pollution; which is one the sacrifices that comes with being a large city that is emerging. Pollution is defined as the action or process of making land, water, air, etc., dirty and not safe or suitable to use.2 We understand that Phoenix is a rapidly growing city, but they should be able to grow without being a detriment to the environment and health of their citizens. The purpose of my report is to examine the problem of air pollution in Phoenix, Arizona and look at solutions to fix this problem.
The author states, “It has pledged that its greenhouse gas-emissions will peak by 2030. This is significant because China is the biggest emitter of such gases” (para. 15). This quote doesn’t really make sense within the article. If greenhouse gases will peak by 2030, that would give China fourteen more years to increase the already devastating pollution levels. It is crucial for the sake of China’s environment and citizens that a solution is created soon. Brown’s argument is not solid, in fact, he presents his information as if he doesn’t think pollution is an urgent
I visited China about a year ago, however everything I saw was discussed by Magdoff and Foster in what Every Environmentalist Needs to Know about Capitalism. The intense pollution is enough to make the citizens stay inside for the day, as we here in Colorado might for a snow day. The sights witnessed there is sound evidence that support Magdoff and Fosters argument that capitalism is the primary driving force behind environmental degradation. An explorative journalistic piece by NBC’s 60 minutes Lesley Stahl, revealed that there are currently multi-billion dollar cities being built in China that are completely vacant. China’s massive economic growth can be attributed to policies set forth by the Chinese government some years ago. The Chinese wanted to, ‘catch up with the world, “20 years in a day.” Their ability to actually live up to this goal shows that their government highly values economic growth and will do anything to support it, even at the cost of the environment. This example of the Chinese government is reflective of how most of the world values economic growth, though extreme. Because, no country wants to be in a recession, it is bad for the people causing deep strife in the balance between the environment and economic growth. This paper will utilize the writings of Magdoff and Foster to contend that the way we think about economic growth is harmful to our environment. Additionally this paper will argue that violence is the often necessary for an ideal
“Cleaning up China” written by Rana Foroohar, informed Americans about environmentalist Ma Jun’s efforts to reduce pollution in China. Foroohar is an assistant managing editor for Time magazine. She also speaks to millions of television news watchers across the world for CNN. Foroohar recently traveled to Beijing and had the opportunity to extensively interview Ma, who has developed the strategy of publishing some of the polluting companies’ environmental data online. Using the Internet, he planned to expose to the entire world how foreign companies and their suppliers are polluting China, using that exposure to persuade those businesses to change their policies. Those records quickly went viral, producing a substantial impact. “ A 2011 report on Apple, for instance resulted in a major effort to clean up environmental violation in the company’s supply chain” (Foroohar, par. 4). Apple is just one of the many companies trying to change their environmental impact on China, principally because they care about the image they project to the world. However, Ma Jun’s strategic plan is not limited only to major corporations but to convince the entire world to jump on the environmental bandwagon. Foroohar wrote, “The initial goal is to coax the SOEs to grab the low-hanging fruit—retrofitting coal-fired power plants to reduce the worst emissions or stopping overproduction of steel” (Foroohar, par. 6). However, according to the news reports on CNN as late as October
The IPAT Model for estimating our environmental impact is Impact (I) = Population (P) X Affluence (A) X Technology (T). More developed countries impact can be measured by taking everything (most importantly Affluence (A)) into account while most less developed countries impact can be measured through the population (mostly). Affluence could be a major player in countries whose economies are increasingly growing. Due to China’s affluent consumers, China contained 2/3 of the world’s most polluted cities. Its rivers are infested with waste and pollution. Some of its coastlines are devoid of marine life. If China continues to prosper at such speeds, by 2025, it will require 2/3 of world’s current grain harvest, twice the amount of paper consumed in the world, and more than all the oil currently produced in the world.
Discuss the impact of globalisation on China, with reference to economic development and environmental consequences
This article describes the threat coal burning possesses towards China by vastly increasing air pollution, leading to many deaths. Furthermore, the article details both how effective the Chinese government’s response has been towards the increasing dangers of air pollution and the effect of heavy air pollution. The author, Edward Wong, a former TIME news foreign correspondent, has written many unbiased articles related to global crises for NY Times and TIMES News. Published by the somewhat reliable news source New York Times, the credibility of the author compensates for any issues. Covering many important issues around the world such as the Iraq war, the author’s credibility is vastly justified. This article provides detail into the damage
One of China’s best successes has in turn been one of its biggest downfalls. One of the main problems is China’s greatest success which has been its phenomenal economic growth. This is one of the main drivers of the current environmental problems that the country faces. Factories dump pollutants into the air and water. It is difficult to see the Chinese government making the significant sacrifices required to improve their environment if it means slowing down their economic growth.
China's fast-growing economy has attracted worldwide attention; However, what followed was a series of serious environmental problems. For example, since 2014, haze has polluted most big cities in China, especially in the north. Beijing with full of haze lets people associate with London fog of 1952. As the earliest industrialized country, London is one of the first cities in the world that suffer from fog problems. Wifely used of coal for manufactories and families is the main reason to cause the London fog and stimulated the spread of air pollution. China repeats the same mistake that London made. After decades of governance, the environment in London has greatly improved, the UK’s successful experience is worth learning from China. Blindly
China’s increasingly steady growth has impacted the environment negatively as economic growth is normally at the expense of environmental sustainability. Environmental sustainability is the maintenance of renewable resource, pollution creation and non-renewable resource depletion that contributes to the quality of environment on a long-term basis. The environmental performance index ranked Australia 3rd whereas China is far behind on the list, being ranked 188th out of 195 countries. China being ranked heavily low is due to the massive produce of carbon dioxide emissions and pollution from factories, which eventually reduces the production of inputs into the natural environment, and thus represents waste and inefficiency. China does not have
China, home to more than 1.35 billion inhabitants, is the most populated country and largest developing nation in the world. China’s economy is thriving and continues to grow at a rapid pace, but that economic development comes with high costs as China is now biggest polluter in the entire world (“China Biodiversity Threat”). Additionally, China’s rapid industrial growth has increased greenhouse emissions, increased the need of foreign resources and produced environmental destruction. China has doubled the amount of coal-fired power stations being built from one a week to
Think about all the bodies of water on our planet. Every river, lake, stream, and is essential to the way our world functions. Unfortunately, our society has done very little to preserve these water sources and as a result, our rivers, lakes, streams, and oceans are suffering from many forms of pollution. Every oil spill, discarded water bottle, and obstructive dam continually add to our already-polluted waters, and very little is being done to reverse this problem. The most prominent issue being studied today is stormwater runoff. The collection of fine sediments, chemicals, and debris, are a serious pollution concern. Many solutions and technologies have already been developed, but the number one
The population on China is constantly increasing and it is increasing quickly. Because of the population increase there are more and more carbon emission, which is causing a lot of pollution in China. “While China’s economic boom has greatly accelerated the devastation of its land and resources, the roots of its environmental problem stretch back centuries” (Albert and Xu, 2016). China’s environment is becoming more and more polluted and it is also causing harm to the plants, animals and ecosystem there. China’s population began booming and has increased by about 10% every year for the last decade (Albert and Xu, 2016). While the population increases so does the industrialization of the country which in turn increases the carbon emissions and pollution. The water is also becoming increasingly