This is continued (sort of) from the population thread. Grimly brought up the topic of the consequences of the fantastic economic growth in China. I won't post an article like most do (frankly there are too many), but I wrote my thesis on this topic and I'll give some quotes from my research... I will gladly provide sources for any individual fact if asked.

 

Water Pollution: China’s Minister of Water Resources released a statement claiming that 300 million Chinese drink contaminated water, 190 million of them are sick and 30,000 die per year of diarrhea as a result . However, some sources claim that over 600 million Chinese drink contaminated water daily . The World Bank reported in 1997 that as many as 500,000 annual infant deaths were the result of poor water quality . Residents along Chinese rivers suffer “high rates of cancer, stunted growth, diminished IQs and other pollution-related maladies.†China’s Ministry of Health's Women's Health Division has found 25% increases in cancer and attributed them to the water pollution. Most of the rivers are polluted to some degree and up to 90% of urban bodies of water are highly polluted. As many as 30 million Chinese will be forced to migrate to find new sources of water in the next 15 years.

 

Air Pollution: Chinese cities, which make up six of the world’s most polluted ten cities , are visibly smoggy and residents suffer enormous rates of bronchitis and other respiratory diseases; 300,000 die every year as a result of these diseases. Acid rain falls on up to 30% of China, further polluting clean water sources .

 

Deforestation and Desertification: A total of over 292,000 hectares of forest destroyed annually, desertification affects 28% of China's land mass.

 

Of course Beijing has done very little. Only 1.2% of its GDP is spent on ecological sustainability measures (experts claim it must be at least 2% to even curb the pollution, much less reduce it). If current trends continue... China will consume 2/3 the world's harvest grain in a mere TWENTY YEARS. The world's supply of forest, crude oil, and even iron will be seriously strained in only a matter of a FEW YEARS. It's tricky because you can't say China's 1.5 billion inhabitants don't DESERVE the level of development and prosperity we enjoy in the west but... the planet simply cannot HANDLE that.

 

Of course China is saying "development is dirty, the west did it too" and we DID. The West meanwhile is saying "there are more responsible and cleaner ways to go about it" but of course we're not giving away those techniques cheap (they're almost all developed in Europe and VERY expensive) so China isn't buying it. They're burning filthy coal to supply the energy in most of the country. Meanwhile the secretive government doesn't help... they cover up the almost DAILY spills and leaks which kill tens of thousands per year. And guess what happens when the population protest over the horrendous environmental state? The military is sent in to quiet the protest and of course this reportedly leads to violence much of the time

 

Okay so I'm rambled enough. Any thoughts?

 

 

every developing country cuts corners in order to progress economically, rich countries are built upon the backs of the downtrodden population and at the expense of the environment..

 

environmental sustainability coupled with a decent standard of living in a wealthy country is hard to acheive if not impossible.

 

situations like this will always be happening, what the answer is ... i dont know. boycotting goods from offending countries? maybe, but that doesnt help the poor...

And yet their population continues to expand at an enormous level, I though they were resticted to one child, if so it doesn't seem to be working.

And yet their population continues to expand at an enormous level, I though they were resticted to one child, if so it doesn't seem to be working.

 

Erm, it actually has worked in a sense, the population of China would be about TWICE the size it is now had that particular policy not been implemented... If one looks at population growth trends since the end of WW2, China's slowed down in the years since the 'one-child' policy was introduced, whereas India's - where no such policy exists - has accelerated...

 

Believe me, things could be a hell of a lot WORSE in China as far as population growth goes without the one child policy.....