Environmental Issues in China

1
Environmental Issues in China
2
Introduction/Overview
3
(No Transcript)
4
Environmental Consequences

• Chinas environmental problems are among the most
  severe of any major country and are getting
  worse
• Air pollution
• Land Degradation
• Cropland losses
• Desertification
• Disappearing wetlands

• Grassland degradation
• Soil erosion
• Overgrazing
• Salinization
• Water pollution and shortage
• Freshwater
• Groundwater depletion
• Oceans
• Loss of biodiversity increase in invasive
  species

5
Water Shortage
6
Water Shortage

• Unevenly distributed North only 1/3 of South
• 100 cities suffer from severe shortages, halting
  industrial production.
• 300 cities out of Chinas 617 Cities suffer from
  shortage
• 2/3 from groundwater mining salt water
  intrusion in coastal areas and subsidence in some
  cities
• Worlds worst cessation of river flows.
• Yellow River stopped flowing during 20 of the
  years 1972-1997
• Number of days without flow up from 90 in 1980 to
  230 in 1997

7
Water Shortage

• Hard to meet the water needs of the rising
  population, especially when such large numbers of
  people are concentrated in the cities, further
  straining water supplies.
• This water shortage prevents the river from
  flushing its heavy load of pollutants into the
  Yellow Sea.
• Mainland China has only a per-capita share of
  2700 cubic meters per annum, ¼ of the world's
  average water supply per person
• 2/3 of China's 660 largest cities face water
  deficits.
• Beijing is among the cities most affected.

8
Water Shortage

• Competition rural vs
• urban intensifying
• Residential use is rising
• from 31 to 134 bil. tons
• from 1995 to 2003
• Industrial use
• rising from 52 to 269 bil.
• Ton
• Farmers can not
• compete economically
• 1000 ton of water in
• agriculture 200
• In industry it
• 14,000 of profit.
• Virtual water?

The farmer holds a small irrigator used to lift
water out of a canal using small buckets
9
Water Pollution
10
Chinas Water Pollution

• Water Pollution Has Become Chinas Most Urgent
  Environmental Problem Today
• At least 300 million people in China do not have
  access to safe drinking water
• As much as 70 of Chinas lakes, rivers, and
  streams are affected by water pollution
• Although legislation is in place Chinas
  government does not strictly enforce.
• Riverside chemical and power plants, along with
  paper, textile, and food production facilities,
  are a leading source of pollution of China's
  rivers and lakes

11
Water Pollution

• Due to Chinas population being over one billion,
  their water supply is slowly disappearing.
• Their water is also being contaminated by the
  industrial growth with benzene which causes
  cancer.
• For example, on November 24, 2005, there was an
  explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern
  China.
• It spilled 100 tons of benzene in the Songhua
  River.
• Due to this, the city of Harbin was forced to
  shut its water supply to 3.8 million people for a
  week.

12
Water Pollution Waste Water

• Waste water is when raw sewage is dumped into the
  rivers and carries water-borne diseases like
  typhoid, cholera, dysentery and hepatitis
• This leads to health epidemics and deaths
• It also contaminates farmland due to irrgation.

13
Water Pollution

• Second most severe env. health problem
• Sewage, agricultural and industrial waste
  contaminates water supplies and cause many
  deceases
• Much surface and groundwater is declared heavily
  polluted by heavy metals incl. lead, mercury,
  cadmium, arsenic and fluorides.
• Chinas per capita water availability only ¼ of
  world average - shortage

Arsenic contaminated water
Skeletal fluorosis
14
Water Pollution

• Nearly 90 of China's cities and 75 of its lakes
  are impacted by water pollution.
• Coastal waters suffer from urban run-off, red
  tides, and biodiversity loss.
• "Surface water pollution across the country is
  still relatively grave 59.9 percent of rivers
  were grade 3 or better, 23.7 percent of rivers
  were grade 4 or 5 and 16.4 percent failed to meet
  any grade standard.
• (China State of the Environment 2010)

15
Water Pollution

• At the same time, the quantity of wastewater
  dumped into the river from non-industry sources
  has increased, resulting in ever-deteriorating
  conditions (Karasov 2002).
• Some areas are categorized as not even fit to be
  touched by people (Karasov 2002).

16
Water Pollution

• More than 700 mio people consume drinking water
  contaminated with levels of animal and human
  excreta that exceed maximum permissible levels by
  as much as 86 in rural areas and 28 in urban
  areas
• By 1996 only 5 of industrial and 17 of domestic
  waste received any treatment before being
  discharged in rivers, lakes, oceans etc. However
  these percentages are increasing
• Also dramatic increase in fresh water aquaculture

17
Water Pollution

• Substances such as cadmium, lead, DDT, coliform
  bacteria, and arsenic have been found in the
  rivers (Some Polluted Outlets 2004).
• The decline in water conditions across China is
  directly related to China's population growth,
  strong economic growth, and uncontrolled
  urbanization and semi-urbanization (Karasov
  2002).
• In 1996, governmental officials in the country
  reported that 40 of the sections of the Huang
  and Yangtze rivers near major cities did not even
  fulfill the minimum standards of water quality
  (Environmental Health Perspectives 2002).

18

• http//www.abc.net.au/reslib/200708/r171792_646585
  .jpg

19
Chinas Water Pollution

• Pollution has often led to the temporary shut
  down of tap water in areas along Chinas rivers.
  
• Hundreds of thousands of farmers must use filthy
  water for drinking and irrigation.
• The economies of entire farming and fishing
  villages have been destroyed because of
  pollution.
• 1/3 of all fish species in the Yellow River have
  become extinct because of pollution and various
  other factors.

20
The Polluted Yellow River!
21
Migrant worker, shoveling extremely polluted
water and mud from a nearly dried
river. (Johnson,Tim. China's Environmental Woes
are so Large They've Begun to Generate Social
Instability. http//earthhopenetwork.net/economic_
boom_batters_chinas_climate.htm)  
22
Cancer mortality from water pollution - TVE

                                                                                                                                                     

• Increase in cancer mortality over time in control
  area, polluted and most polluted townships
• Show that increased pollution results in
  increased mortality
• steady increase in cancer mortality over time in
  polluted areas

Liver and stomach cancer deaths doubled since
the 1970s. China has Highest liver cancer dead
rate in the world
23
Cancer mortality and birth defects changes to
agriculture
Impact of new practice of using industrial
wastewater for irrigation 70 km long canal build
in 1960, daily received 400,000 m3 of untreated
wastewater from coalmines and petrochemical,
power and chemical plants increasing cancer
mortality and birth defect
24
Ocean Pollution
25
(No Transcript)
26
The Songhua River, despite its pollution and
trash, is a popular playground for Harbin
residents in the summertime.
27
Lanzhou, Gansu province A resident takes a water
sample from the polluted Yellow river".
28
Water pollution of the Ao River in Zhejiang
29
Air Pollution
30
Air Pollutants

• 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in
  China.
• China is the worlds leading source of
  respiratory and cardiovascular disease and acid
  rain
• 25.5 million tons each year
• Many different pollutants in the air
• sulfur dioxide
• Iron, steel and chemical factories spew sot, fly
  ash and into the air
• Black carbon
• produced by cars, stoves, factories and crop
  burning
• Desert dust
• from sand and dust storms in the Gobi Desert
• Mercury

31
Air Pollution

• Air pollution is mostly human made
• As many as five million deaths are caused by air
  pollution every year in India
• Cities in India, such as Bombay and Calcutta, are
  below safety limits for pollutants
• Much of Indias pollution come from motor
  vehicles

32
Air pollution

• Most severe enviormental health problem
• 3/4 city dwellers live below Chinas air-quality
  standards
• Acid rain fell on a quarter of cities for more
  than 60 of rainy days

33
(No Transcript)
34
Air Pollution

• "Overall urban air quality is good with
  relatively heavy pollution in some cities. Among
  471 cities, 3.6 percent met grade 1 air quality
  standard, 79.2 percent met grade 2, 15.5 percent
  met grade 3 and 1.7 percent failed to met grade
  3."
• Interpretation Almost one in five cities still
  fails to meet the low passing grade set by the
  government on an annual basis.

Photograph Guang Niu/Getty Images
35
China Air Pollution
36
Air Pollution Causes

• Fossil fuels
• Coal
• For industry and heating homes.
• Coal is cheap but pollutes the air.
• Factories
• Vehicles

37
Coal and Air Pollution

• Coal is the number one source of air pollution in
  China
• China gets 80 of its electricity and 70 of its
  total power from coal
• Around 6 million tons of coal is burned everyday
  to power factories, heat homes, cook meals

38
Coal

• 70 of energy is from coal, used for electricity
  and forging steel.
• Most homes and businesses use coal.
• Coal is cheap and extremely dirty, releasing
  sulfur and other chemicals when burned.
• Some businesses in big cities have switched over
  to fossil fuels, but most still rely heavily on
  coal.
• Previously the government had claimed that the
  cost of solving the problem by building cleaner
  factories was too high.
• Governmental leaders are starting to order
  businesses to clean up, and some of the worst
  polluting factories to shut-down.

39
CO2 Emission

• CO2 emission, largely a by-product of energy
  production and use
• Low and middle income countries have seen a
  relatively much higher increase in CO2 emission

40
Car Emissions

• Huge shift recently towards driving cars and in
  some areas of the cities, bicycles are no longer
  allowed (Global Refining 2004).
• Most cars built by foreign companies, because
  leaders wanted foreign investors.
• Cars sold in China have much older equipment to
  control emissions than cars sold in Europe or the
  United States
• Emissions standards in China are much lower than
  in Europe and the U.S.

Statistics in this slide are from China Revs Up
2004 unless otherwise labeled.
41
Lack of Industrial Controls

• Great economic development during the 1980s led
  to increased pollution.
• Demand has risen over time in China and
  industries have met this with increased output
• They have not added any controls to the air
  released from smokestacks, though.
• By 2020, Chinas carbon dioxide emissions will
  surpass the U.S., and the United States and China
  would contribute more to global warming than all
  other nations combined.

Statistics in this slide are from China Revs Up
2004 unless otherwise labeled.
42
(No Transcript)
43
Impacts Air Pollution

• Astronauts can see the smog in China from space
• Smog is so bad in Beijing and Shanghai that the
  airports are often shut down due to poor
  visibility
• This just happened on January 29, 2013
• In January 2013, more than 150 flights to and
  from Beijing were canceled due to smog
• Highways have been closed due to smog
• The air quality in Beijing is 16 times worse than
  NYC
• Sometimes you cannot see the building a few
  blocks away
• A blue sky is rare
• In Shanghai, you often cannot see the street from
  the 5th floor window

44
A picture of downtown Hangzhou, China hazy with
smog (Skiba, Tom. Smog in downtown Hangzhou
China, http//cai.blogware.com/blog/Photos/China/
_archives/2005/4/27/625887.htm)
45
Impacts Air Pollution

• Nearly 30 of respiratory disease in China is
  attributed to air pollution.
• 500 major cities in China exceed safe air quality
  levels.
• Acid rain affects more than 30 of the country.

• Over 75 of Chinas SO2 pollution, acid rain, and
  CO2 emissions come from coal combustion.

46
Air Pollution

• In Nov 2010, Chinas EPA published a report that
  said 1/3 of 113 cities had failed to meet the
  national air standards
• According to the Chinese government, 1/5 of
  Chinas urban population breathe heavily polluted
  air
• Many places smell like high-sulfur coal and
  leaded gasoline

47
China has the most deaths from urban air
pollution in the world. (Worldwatch Institute.
Coal, China, and India A Deadly Combination for
Air Pollution?, http//www.worldwatch.org/features
/vsow/2005/12/14)
48
Effects of Air Pollution

• Evan Osnos lived in Beijing and in The New Yorker
  he wrote,
• After four years in Beijing, I have learned how
  to gauge the pollution before I open the
  curtains by dawn on the smoggiest days, the
  lungs ache.
• The US Embassy in Beijing installed an air
  monitor on its roof and every hour on Twitter it
  posts the score from 1 being the cleanest to 500
  the dirtiest
• It is normally around 500 and public health
  notices are constantly posted that you should
  avoid all physical activity outside.
• The only time any American city ever reached 300
  was in the midst of a forest fire

49
Effects of Air Pollution

• Up to 656,000 premature deaths each year
• China has the worlds highest number of deaths
  attributed to air pollution
• In 2007, the WHO estimated that 656,000 Chinese
  died prematurely due to indoor and outdoor air
  pollution
• Lung cancer is the number one cause of death in
  China
• it causes premature babies, low-birth weight
  babies, and depresses lung functions in healthy
  people
• Crop damage
• Reduced crop production because the smog blocks
  sunlight over 2/3 of eastern China where rice and
  wheat are harvested
• Climate change

50
Different Air Pollution

• Different colored smog
• Gray comes from iron deposits blown from steel
  mills
• White comes from the chemical factories
• Black comes form the coal mines and plants

51
Impact The Asian Brown Cloud

• The Asian Brown cloud is a brown blanket of smog
  that affects all nations of Asia India, China,
  Japan, Thailand, etc.
• It can alter the patterns of the Monsoons, reduce
  photosynthesis, increase respiratory problems,
  and reduce solar radiation.
• Toxic waste, motor vehicles, cooking fuels, and
  forest fires contribute to this air pollution

52
Satellite pictures over much of Asia and the
Indian Ocean show an enormous brown stain
hanging in the air
53
Deforestation
54
Deforestation

• Forests and Deforestation
• Little conservation of forests in China much
  more in Japan
• Reforestation programs have been unsuccessful
• Substantial forests found in the far north and
  along Tibetan border
• China may need to import wood products for
  development

55
Deforestation

• Chinas natural forests have been declining over
  the last 50 years
• Deserts are forming quickly due to this
• A desert in China will bury an area the size of
  New Jersey every five years
• Since 1949, the area that was covered by trees in
  China was about 14.4 million Mha
• A few years ago, the forested area in China was
  only .7 Mha
• Lumber production has grown to accommodate the
  demands for the growing population to make
  furniture
• Despite a logging ban passed in 1999, the damage
  has already been done
• China suffers from soil erosion and flooding

56
Impacts 2/3 of Chinas Forests Lost, Leading to
Floods and Deserts
57
Desertification
58
Desertification

• This is common in China
• During 2003, Chinas EPA reported that the Gobi
  Desert had grown by 52, 400 km
• About 900 square miles of land each year become
  desert in China
• This is due to drought, overgrazing, incorrect
  use of ground water, and logging
• Due to this, dust storms and sandstorms are more
  common
• Expanding deserts cause China to lose about 1
  million acres of land each year

59
Desertification

• Every time the desert grows by 2,500 km, China
  loses about 2 to 3 billion dollars annually
• In 2001, a new law was passed to try to control
  desertification
• It asked that land occupants plant trees in areas
  where deforestation had already occurred
• And this has begun to slowly help

60
Over grazing- increase in number of goat, sheep
and cattle
Increasing desertification, the Gobi desert
expanded by 52,400 km2 from 1994 to 1999 Winter
storms create enormous dust storms affecting
Korea and Japan
61
Soil Erosion

• Affects 19 of land
• As a result of human activity, such as
• Deforestation for agriculture and logging
• Destruction of vegetation (grassland)
• Cultivation on steep slopes
• Drying out of wetlands for agriculture and city
  develop
• Consequences
• Deposition of sediment in the river bed causing
  more frequent flooding leading to the deposition
  of coarse sediment particles and secondary
  alkalization
• In one area more than doubling the area of eroded
  land from the 1960s to 80s

62
Severity of Human Induced Soil Degradation
The destruction of agricultural land poses a big
problem for Chinas food security
63
Impacts 25 of Chinas Land Becoming Desert
64
Cars are now taking over the roads  (Engler, Yves
Mugyenyi Bianca. Chinas Cars on Road to Ruin.
http//www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id2484)
Bicycles once filled the streets of China
(Wayne, J. Pen. Go Go Speed Racer.
http//www.evolvingtype.com/disabusing/webpage/wor
ds3.htm)
65
Effects/Impact of All These Environmental
Problems on China
66
Consequences Of Environmental Problems for
Chinas people

• Socio-economic losses
• 72 mil per year is spend to control just one
  weed imported from Brazil for pig forage
• 250 mil in annual loss arising from factory
  closure due to shortage of water just in one city
• Sand storm damage app 540 mil/year
• Acid rain damage to crop and forest 730 mil/year
• 6 bil cost of green wall to protect Beijing
• 7 bil/year losses due to desertification
• 7 bil/year due to losses from other alien
  species
• 27 bil loss due to flood in 1998
• 54 bil/year losses due to water and air pollution

67
Consequences Of Environmental Problems for
Chinas people

• Health cost
• 1996 to 2001 spending on public health incr. by
  80
• App 300,000 death/year due to air pollution
• Lead blood level in cities twice the level
  considered to be dangerous
• Natural disasters
• AD300 to 1949 dust storms once every 31 years.
  Since 1990 almost one every year soil erosion
• Drought damage about 160,000 km2 of cropland
  every year double the area in 1950s
• Increasing flood frequency

68
China in the Global Village

• The shear size of Chinas population, its
  landmass and economy guarantee that its
  environmental problems will spread to the rest of
  the world
• Beneficial and harmful imports
• China importing natural gas and oil reduces
  environmental damage from the use of coal
• Countries transferring pollution-intensive
  industries to China using technology often
  prohibited in the exporting country
• China paid to accept toxic trash from developed
  countries (increased from 1 mio to 11 mio t/p.a.
  1990-1997)
• Exports causing damage at home
• Products go abroad but pollution stays at home

69
China in the Global Village

• Invasive spices exported (chestnut blight, Dutch
  elm disease, Asian long-horned beetle)
• Exports air pollution into the atmosphere
• Exports deforestation. Chinas import of wood has
  increased 6 fold mainly from Malaysia, Papa New
  Guinea and Brazil

70
A Global Issue

• Dust and aerial pollutants already impact
  neighboring countries
• Leading importer of tropical rainforest timber
  a driving force behind tropical deforestation
• What will happen if China achieves 1st world
  standard of living with 1st world environmental
  impact per capita