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The Second Industrial Revolution In 19th Century China

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Through past, present, and future, the actions we take can affect us for better or for worse. The interactions that occur between humans and the environment have a significant impact on the earth. Examining the interactions between humans and the environment throughout history can explain how modern environmental issues have come to be. This paper argues that the second industrial revolution in 19th century Europe led to the environmental issues we see in modern China. The second Industrial revolution contributed heavily to Europe’s domination in world politics and in turn, pushed China to work towards its own industrial revolution. Unfortunately, in working towards its own industrial revolution, China had acquired practices and policies that, …show more content…

The driving force behind the second industrial revolution was the desire for technique and efficiency. The second revolution saw the transformation of technology and machinery work over manual industrial laborers. This of course had its pros and cons. While hard labor was not demanded of overworked individuals, the domination of machinery in the workforce produced more pollution. Furthermore, while the First Industrial Revolution saw the growth of industries through coal, iron, and textiles, the Second Industrial Revolution witnessed the expansion of electricity and chemicals. As with the first industrial revolution, industries were still emitting air pollution and using the environment to dispose of non-biodegradable waste, however, the introduction of electricity and chemicals made this behavior much more lethal. Electricity allowed for factories to be run not only during the day, but at night as well. The increase in the amount of time the factories were running meant that more pollution was being produced in a shorter amount of time than before. And, the newfound presence of toxic chemicals with little to no scientific research or legal restrictions behind them meant that toxic substances were being dumped into rivers without heed alongside other non-biodegradable waste. With the issues from the first …show more content…

Its economic rise has come with a deadly cost. China is the world’s largest source of carbon emissions, and the air quality of many of its major cities fails to meet international health standards. Coal is largely to blame for the degradation of chinese air quality, as China is the world’s largest coal producer and accounts for about half of global consumption. There were also a record 17 million new cars on the road in 2014, further contributing to China’s high emissions. In addition to poor air quality, serious water contamination and scarcity have increased land degradation. Industries along China’s rivers have polluted water supplies and lack of proper waste removal has worsened problems. Consequently, overuse and contamination have produced serious water shortages. Water scarcity, pollution, and desertification are reducing China’s ability to sustain its industrial output and produce enough materials to support its large population. China’s current environmental situation is the result of not only policy choices made today but of the policies and practices that have developed over centuries. Today, with a transforming Chinese economy fueled by state-owned enterprises, environmental policies remain difficult to enforce at the local level, where officials often prioritize meeting economic goals over environmental concerns. While the government has

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