China And Smog Problem

China And Its Smog Problem.

Problems involving the environment are occurring everyday, all over the world. Things like Acid Rain, Air Pollution, Global Warming, Hazardous Waste, Ozone Depletion, Smog, Water Pollution, Overpopulation, and Rain Forest Destruction, are some of the many problems faced by our planet today.

China, (People's Republic of China), is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by the Pacific in the east. The capital, Beijing, currently has nearly 15 million inhabitants. There has been a growing environmental problem for China as years progressed, its problem is smog, and the smog has acted like a blanket and has covered most of Beijing. Oil- and especially coal-burning factories are the main culprits of the current smog problem.

The population of china fluctuated between 60-110 million in the past 2000 years. However in the past few years China's population has risen significantly, it is estimated that its population is around 1,284,303,705 (July 2004 EST.). This boom in population has many negative effects on the environment of china, the people of China are consuming more and more, its industries are burning massive quantities of oil and coal, and this in time has caused China to become covered in a blanket of smog. More and more of the Chinese people are buying and using cars, this adds to the use of precious raw materials such as petrol, which also adds to the actual smog problem. Electricity is used at extremely high levels; factories need to therefore burn more coal to produce more electricity. Burning of coal is by far the main cause for the smog in China, "Coal is the traditional fuel for heating and cooking in many Chinese cities. It is low grade substance and high in sulphur. When burned, it coats surrounding surfaces with a noxious grey dust". (Duncan Hewitt, BBC News). Friday, 17 November, 2000, China's environmental challenge, Available at: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/asia_pacific/1027824.stm) [Date viewed 19th April 2005]

The people of China have been affected by the smog in many ways; tourism has declined in china and so those people whose businesses rely on tourism face going bust. The economy of the country will face a decline as less trade takes place between tourists and tourism businesses. This results in the country becoming poorer. Those who are sick or the elderly people will suffer most because of the sulphur in the smog. "The high level of pollution is harmful to the health and can cause respiratory and lung disease, so we propose that everyone make an effort to reduce their outdoor activities," (Zap Watch August 2004), (China's capital smothered in smog, old and weak urged to stay indoors.) Available from :( http://www.zapworld.com/about/news/watch_beijingpollution.asp) [Date viewed 23rd April 2005]

Not only are the people of China affected by the smog, but it's neighboring country Hong Kong has also been affected, "Hong Kong's acclaimed beauty is falling beneath a dense blanket of smog from southern China" (Steven Knipp, The Christian Science Monitor).

Available from: (http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1223/p16s01-sten.html) [Date viewed 23rd April, 2005]

Visibility in parts of the capital were reduced to 500 meters, this can also affect tourist industries in the capital. Some of the people of China may migrate to other countries because of the smog; this could cause a whole new range of problems for other countries. Other residents however were not that bothered with the level of smog "I think the pollution is more or less the same. I can't say I think about it too much," Wong Wai Ming. (Katie Hunt, Climate Ark - Climate Change Portal, China's Energy Crisis Blankets Hong Kong in Smog). Available at: (http://www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=35066) [Date viewed 23rd April, 2005]

China can resort to possible solutions that may help decrease the level of smog. Firstly it has to decrease the