Feature photo by ksbuehler. Photo above by TimS
1. Water pollution
According to the Worldwatch Institute, the water is not safe to drink in many areas of China.
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Industrialization has polluted many lakes and streams, resulting in chemical pollution and increased algae blooms. Algae blooms also contribute to fish die off by chocking off the oxygen supply that aquatic life needs to survive.
2. Exacerbated dust storms
China is experiencing an increase in dust storms. Dust storms can spread as far as North America from China and these storms can become deadly when they pick up airborne toxins from factories. Lester R. Brown of the Earth Policy Institute cites over-plowing and overgrazing as contributing causes of the desertification process.
3. Coastline swamped by red tides
Untreated sewage is being dumped into surrounding estuaries, creating a surplus of red phytoplankton. Red tides are becoming a common ocurrence in China, killing off marine life and adversely affecting the surrounding coastal communities. Toxins from this algal growth make seafood unsafe to eat.
4. Thermal insulation rare in Chinese buildings
Because of poor (or no) usage of insulation, Chinese buildings require twice as much energy to heat or cool as those in similar climates in the US or Europe. The World Bank states that 95% of these buildings do not meet meet China’s own codes for energy efficiency.
According to Wang Tiehong, chief engineer of The Ministry of Construction, 30% of China’s total energy consumption is used for building infrastructure, such as new residential or shopping areas.
Photo by pdvos
5. All new buildings require China to build new power plants.
Chinese infrastructure is increasing at an astronomical rate of growth. China added 66 gigawatts of electricity to its power grid in 2005, according to the The New York Times. That’s about as much power as Great Britain generates in an entire year.
6. Heavy industry plants do not operate efficiently or control pollution as adequately as factories in other parts of the world.
On average Chinese steelmakers use one-fifth more energy per ton than the estimated international average. The World Bank says that cement manufacturers need 45% more power and ethylene producers need 70% more power than producers elsewhere.
Another study done by the World Bank in conjunction with the State Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, the national environmental Agency, concluded that 350,000 to 400,000 premature deaths are a direct result of outdoor air pollution.
7. Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is triggering landslides.
With the degradation of the Yangtze River, entire ecosystems may are altered or destroyed. The Times Online reports that geologists have found banks are weakening as a result of water seeping out of the reservoir and the huge pressure changes that occurs during drawdowns of the dam.
A Chinese official noted that the reservoir shore had collapsed in 91 places, affecting a total area of 22 miles. Algal blooms are accumulating downstream from the Yangtze.
Photo by hleung
8. China’s emissions growth is 2-4 times greater than expected
The International Energy Agency predicted that China’s carbon emissions would not reach those of the United States until 2020.
The agency now states that China overtook the US in emissions growth in 2007. China is the world’s second-largest consumer of oil after the US, and uses more coal than the US, the European Union, and Japan combined.
9. Extinction of Yangtze river dolphin is confirmed.
After an extensive six week survey of the mammal’s habitat, scientists now believe that the 20 million year old Yangtze river dolphin is now extinct. The BBC News stated that the team of scientists thinks that unregulated fishing was the main reason for its extinction.
10. US firms are driving pollution in China.
According to Jane Spencer of the Wall Street Journal, US firms are helping to drive the current environmental degradation in China. By demanding lower prices on products, manufacturers are forced to reduce environmental safeguards in order to compete internationally.
As an example, she states that prices on fabrics and clothing imported from China to the US have fallen 25% since 1995.
What You Can Do/ Community Connection
Support local and international organizations promoting awareness of and remedies for the current industrial environmental degradation of China. Matador is affiliated with The Green Camel Bell, a non-profit located in Lanzhou, China, which focuses its efforts on environmental conservation, activism, youth development, and education. On an international level, Oxfam International works to fight poverty and injustice.
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14 Comments... join the discussion!
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You were doing OK, until you fell for the "Blame America" gambit, at the end. You don't think Chinese greed, has anything to do, with it? Just because, a company is listed on the NYSE, and Wall Street is located in the USA, doesn't mean it's an American firm. Capitalism flys no flag. They don't sell their products, only to Americans. Americans would love to have the jobs back, but the mindless, buy low, sell high Borg of capitalism, will have none of it.
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It's sickening really how many people care so much more about money than anything else. how much is enough?
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On top of that, China is screwing with the natural ecology with their huge dams and by converting fishing towns into massive cities. They should have planned things a lot better!
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Enough is enough when we don't have trees and fresh water anymore. I thought we all wanted to wear masks everyday. Really though, the West needs to help China and India tremendously. We should be helping them into more energy efficient factories through most sophisticated technology. It seems that they are using some primitive (but probably cheap) tech for all the pollution they produce.
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I visited China during the nineties and was warned against drinking water. I knew the air was heavily polluted but wasn't aware of the rest.
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Hope more people find this and get a better idea of the problems. @Carlos: She never said China's greed didn't also contribute. But if american business weren't demanding unrealistically low cost on items they put insane markups on the need to ditch all environmental and worker safeguards wouldn't be needed. To get a better picture of how our greed causes environmental and social hardships other places I'd suggest checking out http://www.storyofstuff.com/they do a good job of explaining it simply.
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Great post, albeit quite disturbing. I dugg it. We need to get the word out there! At first I was on the side of the people who said boycott the Olympics, but now I'm wondering if by China hosting the Olympics, more attention might be brought to their shoddy environmental practices.
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Must be very disturbing, unhealthy,all in the name of greed and competition. Soon there will remain nothing to be greedy for.
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i am doing a resarch project on chinas enviromental issues and i was wondering if it is possible to get numbers of people that have died from some pollution of some sort!! thanks!
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Are the Yangtze dolphins the same as the finless porpoises that live in the Yangtze? If so, I saw them in 2002 when I spent some time living and working on a cruise ship on the Yangtze. It was amazing to see them gliding through the water in their natural habitat and I felt really lucky since they are rarely sighted. I am very sad to hear that they are now extinct.
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instead of sitting and comeenting we must look for solutions. any ancient civilization
is bound to face this problem. help is needed from all around.
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I love the info. I just want to know if there a solution to thermal insulation being rare in chinese building. I writing a resreach paper on environmental issues in china and u.s.,and i am using this info.
thank you for reading↵
