History
Rapid and extensive urbanization and industrialization within China are largely to blame for the negative environmental factors that now burden the Chinese people. The urbanization and industrialization of this nation can be traced back to the The Great Leap Forward that was initiated by Mao and lasted from 1958-1961. During this era, Mao saw the importance of industrialism in the developing world, and the lack of industry in the country of China and decided to take action. As a result, Mao Zedong ordered an end to agriculture, and instead insisted that people must melt steel to outpace the British production of steel. This steel could then be used to bolster the military and aid in construction, thus increasing Chinese power and presence in the global sphere (Uno, 2015). However, since the citizens were untrained in steel melting, the steel was not of good enough quality to use, and around 30 million citizens died of starvation, thus ending this movement. However, the 1960s still became an era of rural industrialization. People and factories were forced to move from urban areas to rural areas to alleviate the problem of over crowding in some cities. This also led to the urbanization of the country (Uno, 2015). The 1970s became an important time for the re-creation of farmland and centers of agriculture as many of these areas were destroyed by Mao's Great Leap Forward. The 1980s were focused on the construction of many factories, and the 1990s were characterized by the construction of new cities (Uno, 2015). The urbanization and industrialization that occurred primarily over three decades has led to many grave environment consequences.
Air Pollution
Air pollution has become very problematic in China in recent years. With the rapid economic growth of the country has come the rise in pollution, and thus pollution related illnesses and deaths. Air pollution comes in many forms within China. One very prevalent type of air pollutant is sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide is a mixture of ozone and nitrogen dioxide, this particular compound is problematic as it causes acid rain, decreases visibility, and acidifies things like lakes, rivers, ground water, and soil. Sulfur dioxide is a product of ore mining, the burning of coal, and the burning of many fossil fuels (Holden, 2007). China's global leadership in ore mining, abundance of factories and plants which burn fossil fuels, and their large population cause them to contribute many of these pollutants- in fact China alone contributes 1/3 of all pollutants globally. (Holden, 2007). The abundance of pollution has begun to harm and kill many Chinese residents.
The capital of China, Beijing, is the worst city in China in terms of air quality. According to the United States Embassy located in the city, of the 365 calendar days in a year the air quality was considered hazardous 200 days, while only 10 days were considered good (Gao, 2015). However, while Beijing leads the country in terms of poor air quality, unfortunately the reality for the other cities is seldom better. Below is an interactive map showing how air quality and pollution varies by city within China.
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"Daily average air quailty in U.S. Embassy in Beijing" graph found in "As smog hangs over Beijing, Chinese cite air pollution as major concern." by George Gao
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The health implications of this environmental negligence are grave. The World Health Organization reported in 2007 that diseases related to air pollution kill 656,000 Chinese citizens annually (Holden, 2007). Thus, making China the leader in air quality related pre-mature deaths worldwide. Astounding as this number is, it does not even account for other illnesses related to things like water pollution. The extremely poor and polluted air of many cities in China has been known to cause strokes, heart disease, and lung cancer. These three environment related illnesses are responsible for the death of 55% of all Chinese people (Domínguez, 2015). The pollution accounts for 4,400 deaths daily. While these statistics are known and ominous, in the nation of China economics often times comes before environmental and health concerns. (Domínguez, 2015).
Water Pollution
Water is very important to China as it uses 13% of the world's supply of freshwater (Sekiguchi, 2006). The country not only relies on an ample source of fresh water for their large population, but also for their large agricultural base. However, global warming, as a result of pollution and other causes, has begun to shrink important glaciers and shorten rainy seasons. Thus leaving less water for China to use. As a result, there is a battle between agriculture and factories for the available water, but the Chinese government has begun to side with factories in an attempt to create more jobs (Sekiguchi, 2006). One problem with agriculture is that farmers often times use pesticides and fertilizers which runoff into ground water. While agriculture takes its toll on the environment, factories are the worst in terms of pollution. According to authorities an instance of pollution from factories into major waterways happens every other day. Factories often times dump untreated waste and chemicals into rivers and waterways. While some of this pollution is intentional, it happens on accident frequently as well. For example, one chemical plant has dumbed 150 tons of cancer causing pollutants into the Songhua River since it was built (Sekiguchi, 2006). Incidents like this have lasting repercussions. The photo above is a picture of the Jiaozhou Bay River after an oil pipeline exploded. Thus highlighting the problem of contamination in the Chinese water ways. Around 1/4th of China's total population drinks contaminated water everyday. China's poor water quality has also been known to cause cancer, birth defects, miscarriages, low IQs, and stunted growth. Similarly, another 30,000 individuals die every year from diarrhea due to the contaminated water (Sekiguchi, 2006). While many of these instances and illnesses could be prevented with large scale clean up initiatives and stricter regulations of factories and agriculture. Little attempts are being made, and the attempts that have been made seem to be futile. Only time will tell what happens to the water ways of China.
Header Photo: City in Pollution by Leniners used under Creative Commons BY-NC 2.0
Sources
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The World Air Quality Index project. (2016). Air Pollution in China: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map. Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://aqicn.org/map/china/
Dowley, Peter. (2008). Shanghai bloom and gloom. [Digital Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/pedronet/2796213369/in/photolist-5g6jPk-p3oBUZ-fKsx1f-9oD4ck-dDn5p2-2iGM4t-jS21w8-dDdKsB-i7tDYn-dCyDcm-gHpQZY-ee6kY1-i6BJq1-kaBM4V-dDj8Hb-i6BDfk-nXKGJn-4phcjR-jHbjSW-dDn5jM-pR8wRv-5a12eD-a889T4-7r1tTm-5dEYHd-8PrLkk-8LYcA1-6yei6a-7Tcwgq-aSRKmn-8LVasB-7PL9LB-fyVXtT-iJgqq1-9SqrXX-bYZ4zb-bqBZzs-qY9G8y-BKjMcT-5tPhCc-bViQQN-qUzQix-fKaZog-e3iKm5-5nJ7ta-iJerno-gCQZtm-2otKmv-pDRTu-dAPMVz. Available under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
Gao, G. (2015, December 10). As smog hangs over Beijing, Chinese cite air pollution as major concern. Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/10/as-smog-hangs-over-beijing-chinese-cite-air-pollution-as-major-concern/
Globovisión. (2013, November 23). China- Accident-Energy. [Digital Image]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/globovision/11115695164/in/photolist-hWfQUC-6fkB6Q-hWgdVk-4nNspU-abvNQP-4nNqn3-ELS9m-7wGGrS-9RbfPw-7GYdYz-q8roRA-7xnYbj-7xaunh-4rZDMS-jJ5AcP-cyjnNd-eij7fu-dFmeH1-4nBerA-4nJoLt-6nrpSH-7xNxB9-faYACD-8738SV-58rb8X-8RVDyh-7ysFnj-4nJmKi-7svb3M-2hDvsB-aejxoB-5uba1u-9iLUn1-q5e9Kh-iaWeEw-2fk2ME-aenjjL-6CYG7e-owFiQ4-xQYZH-e3zLyo-4nJoQH-aejyuv-7xwjtH-c61ZQL-fnByxb-9jfDnP-7wfNmQ-4JLC5d-hCiV91. Available under Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial 2.0
Holden, K. (2007, July 09). Chinese Air Pollution Deadliest in World, Report Says. Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070709-china-pollution_2.html
Leniners. (2013, December 05). City in Pollution. [Digital Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/leniners/15994462194/in/photolist-qnnNny-aZvRBp-ikzZsL-6KxwYo-5DZZ79-jS1CrM-35J1pH-qUtHYw-qEckMG-n8K5or-okk1QX-n8LSvf-9MzV6X-p8fRcS-b3BVE-7iU8z-dreQ72-i7Zfav-r2wMBr-ohXcnP-4u9J11-9MCGnJ-p8eYwz-jS1hdT-edLrtk-9Mjv9Z-khwrQc-7rSyMB-7cZW4U-jS2P2o-kktZQ3-8oEJig-bgGiGH-eHs2qe-qUtJ53-brBy7-8dHoAj-wMhko-Bn7-5xqcd5-4BCMny-dFXh9r-4Gwx6C-qMJKGp-n9Lce-i6rwF9-e2DZ2Y-wMf3G-q5Fhc9-dMMixj. Available under Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial 2.0
Sekiguchi, R. (2006, September). Water Issues in China. Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/water_issues_in_china
Uno, R. (2015, February 05). Spring 2015 The Rising of China Its industrialization Urbanization and its consequences. Retrieved December 01, 2016, from https://history105.libraries.wsu.edu/spring2015/2015/02/05/humans-and-the-environment-the-history-of-air-pollution-and-the-effects-on-china-today/
The World Air Quality Index project. (2016). Air Pollution in China: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map. Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://aqicn.org/map/china/