Environmental%20Issues%20in%20Asia

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Environmental Issues in Asia
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• Several people sit on the edge of stone steps
  leading down to the Ganges River in Varanasi,
  India. Two wade in and splash water on
  themselves. Two others prepare food. A man and a
  woman wash clothes and sheets. Further up the
  steps, two other people change out of their
  clothes in preparation for bathing.
• For Hindus, the Ganges River is the
  personification of the goddess Ganga and is
  therefore sacred. They bathe in it, wash their
  clothes and cooking dishes in it, and even drink
  from it. However, high levels of contaminants in
  the river including sewage, trash, and even
  half-cremated corpses make the Ganges one of the
  most polluted rivers in the world and a potential
  health hazard to those who come in contact with
  it.

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• A building near the Ganges River overflows with
  wood and tinder to be used in cremation. Several
  sets of stairs wind up the bank and around the
  huge piles of wood. A cow eats hay near the shore
  where a boat is docked. A few men are scattered
  across the shore.
• Cremation along the Ganges River is common
  practice for Hindus. Hindus regularly bathe in
  it, wash their clothes in it, and even drink from
  it. Their dead are often cremated and thrown into
  the river. Because some cannot afford enough wood
  to fully burn a body, the corpses that are thrown
  into the river are often partially-burnt or
  unburnt. This, along with sewage, trash, and
  other contamination, make the Ganges one of the
  most polluted rivers in the world.

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• The pollution of the Ganges River is becoming
  increasingly worse as time goes on. Pollution
  that is found in the Ganges include cremated
  corpses, livestock carcasses, raw sewage, waste
  from factories, and the used water from peoples'
  daily lives. There have been many attempts to
  clean up the Ganges, but they have either failed
  or made the problem worse. India's government has
  already spent over 33 million to address the
  overwhelming sewage problem.

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People wash laundry in the Ganges River.
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China

• 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

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• 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.

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The Songhua River, despite its pollution and
trash, is a popular playground for Harbin
residents in the summertime.
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Lanzhou, Gansu province A resident takes a water
sample from the polluted Yellow River.
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Water pollution of the Ao River in Zhejiang
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Effects of Monsoons

• The torrential rainstorms often cause violent
  landslides in India and cause flooding of the
  rivers which drowns crops.
• Entire villages have been swept away during
  monsoon rains, people are left homeless, and
  people have died because of the severe floods
• Despite the potential for destruction, the summer
  monsoons are welcomed in India. Farmers depend on
  the rains to irrigate their land.

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China and Flooding

• In the Northern Plain region of China is where
  much of Chinas food production occurs.
• This area is fertile because of the Yellow (Huang
  He) River.
• The Huang He has been called "China's Sorrow"
  because of its frequent and catastrophic floods
• To combat this problem the government has
  instituted large irrigation and flood control
  projects.

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• Excessive summer rainfall in central and southern
  China has leads to annual flooding in the Yangtze
  River valley
• Because of annual flooding crops such as cotton
  and rice can grow in China.
• However, when the flooding is too excessive crops
  can actually be destroyed.

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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

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Satellite pictures over much of Asia and the
Indian Ocean show an enormous brown stain
hanging in the air
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• 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

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Population

• Population in Asia is one of the major reasons
  why Asia has problems with pollution
• China holds the worlds largest population at
  over a billion and Indias population is growing
  and expected to surpass China one day.
• Such a large number of people put a strain on the
  environment and increased pollution.
• 7 of the worlds most populated cities exist in
  China.

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• Because of the large populations of these
  countries flooding is devastating because crops
  are destroyed.
• The government of China has also tried to control
  their population by instituting a one child
  policy in 1979.