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19 December 2016

Chinas Pollution Dilemma


Chinas pollution and economy are both pressing concerns, but
which one is more dire? There are two major issues in China that are
currently, or will eventually, affect nearly every other country in the
world: their pollution and economy. One can not exist without the other
so there is a major dilemma. In order to make noticeable change on
either front, China needs to primarily focus on improving a single
option. So a choice is present in which we must identify the
predominant change that is to occur. Neither choice is without its fair
share of faults, but it is a crucial decision that will not only decide the
fate of China, but of the world. Chinas economy isnt a problem; its a
subject in which they wish to continue to improve, a change that would
lead to a statistically, not visually, better looking country. Due to record
lows of water and air quality along with hundreds of thousands of dead
animals, pollution will most definitely take priority in this situation.
The first crisis in china is all about their water. China has the
lowest water quality in the world with only 4.6% of groundwater being
drinkable. (Knowles) This is owed to factories constantly and seemingly
unconsciously dumping their waste into nearby rivers. Thousands of
people die every year in China alone due to dehydration and
poisoning. Just touching the water can cause violent rashes and
bathing in it is often fatal. In fact, an average of 60,000 premature
deaths occur annually due to the poisonous chemicals and algae
blooms plaguing the country. There are also upwards of 1,700 water
pollution accidents annually according to the Ministry of Supervision.
(Economy)
In addition to the thousands of dead people as a result of the
horrible water quality, dead animals have also started popping up in
rivers and lakes all over China. Not only is this visually unpleasant, its
also poisonous to the 1.357 billion Chinese people who depend
on the water to live. There were 220,000lbs of dead fish found in the
Hubei province along with 1,000 dead ducks in the Nanhe River in
2014. Chinese officials also found 16,000 pig carcasses in rivers
running into Shanghai and another 500 dead pigs are removed from a
Sichuan reservoir every month. (Ruble)
Although the water pollution is wiping out massive amounts of
the population, the air pollution is even worse. In 2015, Beijings
pollution was upwards of 600 on a pollution scale going from 0 to
300+. As a result, millions of people die in China, and in its
surrounding countries, every year. Thats more deaths by
population than any other country in the world. In addition to that,
according to the guardian, there have been 3 million deaths in India
and China in 2013 alone due to pollution. (Yuhas) These death rates
are only increasing every year and will eventually result in a negative
population growth rate.
Despite the horrible environmental conditions in China, there are
still those who wish to focus on the continued escalation of the
economy. They often state that focusing on the economy would provide
immediate change, pollution-free energy sources, on the other hand,
are currently only going to be up an estimated 5.4 percent by 2020.
(Wong) Although all of that is valid and backed by science but it
explains exactly why we need to take action now. The longer we wait to
fix the problem, the worse it gets. You can ask any successful
professor, teacher, student, or quite frankly and person and they will
tell you that procrastination is anything but a good idea.
Ultimately, taking care of our earth will always need to be put
first, as it is crucial to literally every function humans serve. This kind
of change would wreak havoc on nearly every other country except
China; their economy is in the unique position to do some real good
here and help fix one of the most devastating world crises in history, a
crisis caused by them. In the end, pollution may not bring forth the
most immediate change, but it will cause the most important. And it is
up to you to decide whether or not its going to be good.
Works Cited
Economy, Elizabeth C. "China's Water Pollution Crisis." The Diplomat. The
Diplomat, 22 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.

Knowles, Adelaide. "Managing Water Pollution in China with Social Media -


Future Directions International." Future Directions International. N.p., 09 June
2016. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.

Ruble, Kayla. "China's Toxic Soil, Air Pollution, and Dead Animals Prompt
Environmental Reform." VICE News. N.p., 23 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.

Wong, Edward. "Chinas Climate Change Plan Raises Questions." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 12 Nov. 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.

Yuhas, Alan. "Scientists: air pollution led to more than 5.5 million premature
deaths in 2013." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 12 Feb. 2016. Web.
19 Dec. 2016.

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