Toxic Pollutants
Has China Crossed the Line?
Water for Life
Water is necessary for all walks of life. Water covers about 70% of the Earth. Only 2% of it is fresh water, and only .5% of it is accessible. Of that .5% most of it is used for crops to feed the world population. We use water for food, goods, drinking, and everyday life. This water is constantly being overused and polluted. If we run out of water we will die.
Toxic Pollution
China is one of the most populated countries in the world. The pollution there is so bad you can see it, feel it, and even choke on it. Pollution has also driven business men from different counties, away. Many people have/are dying from the pollution. Cancer is the number one reason for death. A number of children have died from lack of clean water, and fresh air.
Figure A
The pollution is so bad in china and Asia that they have to wear oxygen mask. If children were not wearing one of these they could suffocate and die.
This doesn't just effect China
China believes that they aren't to be held responsible for the pollution of their country. They think that the U.S and Great Britain are to be blamed, because they are making goods for these countries. If China were to stop making these things it would cause a social unrest. They would also lose millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. Millions of people would most likely move out of the country to find work, which would cause a major economic change.
Figure 2
This is a map of south China. It illustrates the water scarcity. The darkest pink means that there is Extreme scarcity, the slightly lighter pink is scarcity, the pretty pink is stress, the light pink is border line adequate, and the white (very light pink) is adequate. As you can see it is dark pink along the eastern border. This is also the site for many factories.
Is There A Solution?
Some believe there is and others believe there isn't. Many strategies were put into place to help clean up, but all have failed. The amount of coal and oil used is quite alarming. But it is also the cheapest form of energy. One of their strategies that they put into place, was to create wind farms. That has improved some but still too many factories are using coal and oil.
Sources
http://qz.com/158815/chinas-so-bad-at-water-conservation-that-it-had-to-launch-the-most-impressive-water-pipeline-project-ever-built/
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/22/china-air-pollution-government-official
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0