In the recent years, China has been experiencing a paramount boost in their economic development. Its economy has been growing drastically posing a big challenge to grown economies such as that of the United States. The effect of the growth of the economy has been linked a lot with the increase of air pollution in China. There have been many industries that have been put up, and the constructions are still being worked on are one of the major contributors to the pollution in China. The air pollution has been mainly concentrated in the major cities of China that have a positive effect towards the economy of China. It has been the viewpoint of many government officials and other stakeholders that the issue of air pollution is decreasing and that the main contributors are not the industries as they are being controlled. The other viewpoint has been that the growth of the robust industries in China has been a leading factor to China's air pollution. Does the growth of the economy in China contribute to the massive air pollution witnessed in China?
According to health practitioners and researchers across the globe, air pollution is due to the growth of the Chinese economy especially in the major cities in the country. This research has been liaised with effects that were experienced in the already grown economy of the United States. This is the same effect that China is undergoing, and the United States is still undergoing these changes due to the rise of the economy. It is also compared to the conditions that were there before the industries started to be put up in such a high rate and after they had been already put up and started operating. This showed a very big difference proving that the existence of the industries has had a major hand in the issue of air pollution that is affecting China as of now (Harbaugh, Levinson & Wilson, 2012). They are the paramount reason for the high air population that has been on the rise in China for the recent years. The pollution increases day by day and becomes more unbearable as the industries become operational.
A study that was carried out by Chinese Academy of Sciences proved the fact that air pollution and other forms of pollution were being caused by the economic growth that China has been experiencing (Luo et al, 2014). The groups stated that the economy had increased in more than 140 times during the year 1978-2012. This growth led to the deterioration of the quality of atmosphere in China. Just like what had happened to London in the year 1952 a haze that was long-time was experienced in China for three months. It affected large areas in china and called for instant act to be seized on the quality of air in China to be improved drastically. The haze influenced the climate in China and also the human health of the people that lived in these regions.
This kind of pollution was seen to raise a lot of questions in the hosting of the Olympics in the country. It received a lot of criticism that China was in no position to hold the world event as there was massive air pollution, and it would have affected the large number of people who went there. This is was just a show of how the effect of pollution in China can have on its events and how the world can perceive the issue. The pollution of air is very harmful to the larger human population and therefore the need for the people that are involved in ensuring the safety of the people in China should keep this in mind (Zhu, Sarkis & Lai, 2010). Though the event was able to go through, it was through a heated debate that put China and the Olympics organizing body on the spot. The government however promised that it was going to regulate the pollution that was being experienced especially in China’s major cities.
Through the industries, China has come to be known as the largest producer of carbon gas emissions. China has also been identified to be responsible for a third of the pollution that is happening on planet earth. It also has sixteen cities that are rated as the mots air polluted cities in the world. The pollution is seen to be occurring in the cities that are developing and have a large number of industries to support their development. It affects the economy of the country positively while contributes negatively to the life expectancy of the citizens of China. An example is in the north of China where the life expectancy has been seen to reduce by 5.5 years which has been linked to the air pollution that is happening in these areas.
A major boost in the industrial sector has led to the good fruits of a large economy and air pollution to contrast the positive achievement. The air pollution can be a major threat to this economy and cripple it if nothing is done in time to ensure that the people of china are convinced with the government's approach. The government seems to be taking the issue casually, and the people are exhausted at the rate at which the government is taking action on the issue. The sluggish movement has led to the questioning of the political systems in the country and if the leaders qualify to be in this positions. Therefore, the air pollution can even affect the politics of the country too if it’s not taken care of appropriately. It could lead to the rising of other issues that the citizens will have linked to the poor handling of the issue of pollution in China. This might bring down the economy that has been so robust over the years.
(Luo et al., 2014) Argues that the expansion of the economy increases the extraction of the natural resources in the country and also the accumulation of waste. It in the end exceeds the carrying capacity of the biosphere against the waste that is being produced due to the economic expansion. They link this to the history of economic development, and the issue of environmental quality cannot in any way be linked in the path of economic development. When the economic is growing and expanding, the environment quality is put in line and deteriorates at a high speed more than how the economy is developing. This relationship between the expansion of the economy and the deteriorating of the environment was named as Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC).
This shows that the quality that the environment will have to deteriorate so that the country can achieve its economic goals. It has happened to many different nations and is now affecting China as it develops it robust economy day by day. The large population that is coming to the city can also be seen as another factor that is triggering the air pollution in the major cities of China. Dumping of waste material and plastics in the cities leads to the poor health conditions which can be seen as the air pollution. They come into the cities as they have more jobs that they can offer as the economy keeps on growing. They, therefore, would rather come and live in the city than look for jobs that might not benefit them in terms of payment. Therefore more and more people come into the cities every day so that they can be able to earn a living, and the results of this can be seen through air pollution.
Data collected in 31 provincial capitals that are in mainland china which the main representatives of the condition are proved that air pollution was becoming a menace in china (Luo et al., 2014). The main items that were being investigated in the 31 provinces were the GRP, their populations, their primary industry output, secondary output from industries, and tertiary output. The data that was collected had a concentration of PM10, SO2 and NO2. This is the most important pollutants that are present in China. They were all found to be present in the areas that they were tested in all the 31 provinces.
The same team also did a research whereby three industries were tested to see whether they had these substances in all the 31 provinces majorly in their capital cities. They were all found to be positive and had high quantities of all the substances they were feared to have. This proved industrialization which is boosting the economic development is the main cause of the results that were found in the industries. They show that the industries are promoting the economy positively and in a huge way while they are destroying the environment together with the air. This makes the cities that they are located in inhabitable due to the dangers that the chemicals pose. This plus more minor chemicals cause a hazard, and people get infected by these chemicals which leads to negative results. People might even die due to the impact that these chemicals have on their bodies (Shao, Tang, Zhang & Li, 2006). The economy growth which is dependable to the industry sector, cannot flourish without it. The industrialization has mainly focused in the new technology which needs toxic materials. Materials when exposed to the air cause air pollution and also affect the water and the land.
In conclusion, the rise in the economy of China has been in the expense of the environment. The environment has deteriorated as the economy of China continues to boom and become stronger day by day. The main contributor of air effluence is the industrialization which is very paramount for ensuring that the economy grows as it is expected. Many developed countries have undergone this, and the issues are addressed to affect each other in a way. If the government of china chooses to preserve the environment, then their economy will not be able to grow as it is supposed to. Just like what had happened to London in the year 1952 a haze that was long-time was experienced in China for three months. It affected large areas in china and called for an improvement of the quality of air to the people of china and tourists. The haze influenced the climate in China and also the human health of the people that lived in these regions. China is, therefore, not an exception, but they can still work hard enough to ensure that the situation is controlled effectively as its effects cannot be compared to a robust economy.
References
Luo Y, Chen H, Zhu Q, Peng C, Yang G, et al. (2014) Relationship between Air Pollutants and Economic Development of the Provincial Capital Cities in China during the Past Decade. PLoS ONE 9(8): e104013. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104013
Selden, T. M., & Song, D. (2014). Environmental quality and development is there a Kuznets curve for air pollution emissions?. Journal of Environmental Economics and management, 27(2), 147-162.
Harbaugh, W. T., Levinson, A., & Wilson, D. M. (2012). Reexamining the empirical evidence for an environmental Kuznets curve. Review of Economics and Statistics, 84(3), 541-551.
Shao, M., Tang, X., Zhang, Y., & Li, W. (2006). City clusters in China: air and surface water pollution. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 4(7), 353-361.
Wheeler, D. (2010). Racing to the bottom? Foreign investment and air pollution in developing countries. The Journal of Environment & Development, 10(3), 225-245.
Zhu, Q., Sarkis, J., & Lai, K. H. (2010). Green supply chain management: pressures, practices and performance within the Chinese automobile industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 15(11), 1041-1052.
