The State and Environmental Pollution

Has the Chinese Government Been Responsive to the Challenges Posed by Pollution? Premier Li Keqiang’s 2014 declaration of “war on pollution” was meant to signal to the Chinese people that Beijing recognizes the full scope of the country’s pollution crisis as well as the public’s...

What’s Happening to China’s Air?

How Does China’s Air Pollution Compare with Air Pollution Elsewhere? It depends on who is doing the surveying (e.g., the WHO or World Bank), the metric used (e.g., PM10, PM2.5, or percentage of the country’s population exposed to unhealthy air), and the period covered (one...

Overview

Why Should We Be Interested in China’s Environmental Pollution? Is it China’s problem alone when its particulate matter makes its way downwind to Korea and Japan, blanketing them with hazardous smog? Is it China’s problem alone when its particulate matter, carried by easterly winds, shows...

China’s Pollution and the World

How Has Globalization Contributed to China’s Pollution? As discussed in Chapter 3, globalization has fueled much of the economic growth China has enjoyed since 1980. With its large labor force, low wages, and large supply of cheap energy, the country became the “workshop...

Soil Pollution and Agriculture

How Much of China’s Land Is Contaminated? China’s land area is about 3.7 million square miles (world’s third largest after Russia and Canada). Roughly 11.5% to 15%, depending on the source, is arable (approximately 334 million acres). This represents about 7% to 9% of the...

Pollution and Public Health

What Are the Major Health Consequences of Air, Water, and Soil Pollution? When the smog settles in, coughing, wheezing, watering of the eyes, and shortness of breath are common, but these are relatively benign effects of air pollution. More serious respiratory problems associated with exposure...

Water Contamination and Water Scarcity

What Is Contaminating China’s Water Resources? Viewed in the context of the skyrocketing industrialization, urbanization, and population growth of the past 30 years, the widespread contamination of the water supply that now plagues China would seem almost inevitable. Yet, because the country’s water has been...

China’s new Consumerism

What Are Some of the Consuming Traits of a More Well-to-Do China? As China’s GDP has grown, so has the wealth of its people. In January 2016 China was home to more billionaires than the United States (594 vs. 535). According to PEW Research, average...

Economic Development and the Environment

What Accounts for China’s Economic Growth Since the Late 20th Century? Mao Zedong died in 1976, and two years later Deng Xiaoping became China’s paramount leader. Convinced that the Chinese economy was stagnating, Deng and others introduced a series of reforms meant to improve economic...

The Search for Cleaner Energy

Where Is China’s Coal Consumption Trending? Coal has been the primary energy source driving China’s recent “economic miracle.” In 2000 the country went through 1.5 billion tons of coal, and as energy demands have continued to skyrocket, so too has the consumption of coal. By...