China Pollution essay

‘What has caused the pollution in China and how is it

damaging the environment?’

China’s pollution is a problem the world will face for a very long
time. It’s a problem that will take great leadership and the uniting of
the Chinese nation to overcome.
I have faith in humans that they can stop excessive pollution and
global warming. Every generation has faced their own burdens and
have either adapted or overcome. If China and the world can
urgently unite together, we too can beat global warming.
During the course of this essay, I will be discussing the reason
behind the Chinese pollution situation and the impact it has on the
environment.

Why has the pollution problem arisen?

As you may know, China has a large amount of poverty and an
enormous population of humans.
China is experiencing an economic boom. China’s economy is
booming because they can produce goods much cheaper than the
rest of the world. We may not realise but the Chinese are the
people who are putting the cheap goods in our stores. The reason
China can do this is because to make the output of goods, it’s a
combination of inputs. The inputs are made up of:
• Labour – China’s labour is cheap due to poverty and
availability.
• Energy- China is using cheap fuel (i.e. black coal). The
reason why westernised countries don’t use cheap fuel is
because our governments have regulated. The Chinese
government hasn’t regulated fuel because they are
desperate for increased wealth. They have chosen money
over pollution. This is understandable, because people are
desperately poor.
China has the two main inputs cheap. China also hasn’t regulated
their wastage. Big factories producing goods can just dump their
waste into lakes and rivers. Again understandably China has
chosen money over pollution.
“It is a very awkward situation for the country because our greatest
achievement is also our biggest burden,” says Wang Jinnan, one
of China’s leading environmental researchers. “There is pressure

By Rob Wardrop
for change, but many people refuse to accept that we need a new
approach so soon.”1
China is choking on its own success.
The entire western world did the same thing during the industrial
revolution – it’s only when they became rich they could afford the
luxury of cleaning up the environment. “Typically, industrial
countries deal with green problems when they are rich,” said Ren
Yong, a climate expert at the Centre for Environment and Economy
in Beijing. “We have to deal with them while we are still poor. There
is no model for us to follow.” 2

The big difference with other industrialised countries is that China

is enormous. So the amount of pollution they are creating is
enormous. This is in contrast to the industrialised countries whose
population were comparatively small when they where
industrialising. Due to the enormous size to China’s economy, the
amount of pollution that is being created is bigger than anyone has
seen before.
If the amount of pollution is greater than ever before, so is the
impact.

Pollution has a revolting impact on China.

Pollution has made cancer China’s leading causes of death. Air
pollution is blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.
A report in 2005 by Chinese environmental experts estimated that
by 2010 the outdoor air pollution will cause 380,000 deaths
annually and 550,000 in 2020. Other counties predict much more
deaths than that.
Nearly 500 million people lack safe drinking water. Chinese cities
seem wrapped in toxic gray smog. Only 1% of the country’s 560
million urban population breathe air considered safe.
Things that might seem amazing to most western countries, is
everyday life in China; there are cities where people rarely see the
sun; children killed or sickened by led poisoning of other types of
pollution; a coastline so condensed by algal that large sections of
the coastline no longer sustain marine life.
Not only has China been affected by pollution but neighbouring
countries have had a huge impact as well. Acid rain falls on Seoul,
South Korea and Tokyo. Significant pollution in Los Angeles
originates in China.
1
As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes By JOSEPH KAHN and JIM YARDLEY
Published: August 26, 2007 New York Times

2
As above

By Rob Wardrop
China also faces a huge water problem. China has only one fifth
amount of the water as the US. While southern China is relatively
wet, the north, home to about half of China’s population, now
threatens to become the world’s biggest desert. Farmers in
northern China once used shovels to dig their wells, now farmers
must dig half a mile before they reach water.
I could go on and on with these grim statistics. No matter which
way you look at it, things needs to change.

China’s pollution is a problem of a grander scale than ever seen

before in human history. I have sympathy for the Chinese and wish
they could continue to have the opportunity to industrialise their
nation, with all the consequential pollution, just like our nation has
done and the rest of the western world has done. However,
unfortunately time has run out and if the massive problems related
to global warming are to be addressed China has to change
dramatically and urgently.

Words:
849

By Rob Wardrop