...Water Woes: A Tug of Water Between Economic Growth & Sustainable Development China’s Water Woes: A Tug of Water Between Economic Growth & Sustainable Development When we think about water, we never think of it in finite terms like we do with oil and other valuable resources we consume. After all, why should we think of water as a limited supply? Our entire planet is covered with 75 percent water. It is implausible to believe that countries would go to war over water as they have for oil. Due to rapid economic growth, China is increasingly becoming a water stressed country as it faces two major problems with its water resource management: water pollution and water shortage. The water crises needs to be examined in finite terms as its quantity and quality continues to have a strangle hold on China. “China’s economic boom has, in a ruthless symmetry, fueled an equal and opposite environmental collapse. In its race to become the world’s next superpower, China is not only draining its rivers and aquifers with abandon; it is also polluting what’s left so irreversibly that the World Bank warns of catastrophic consequences for future generations.” (Larmer 2008, 153) Rapid economic growth and along with an increase in population is fueling environmental degradation and is becoming increasingly detrimental to its current and future economic growth in China. The gap between economic growth and environmental degradation...
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...EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTIONS ON AIR POLLUTION Lu Li, Zhaowei Liu ECON508: Applied econometrics May 10, 2013 Abstract In China, many environmental problems have been ignored when it mainly focused on a higher pace of economic growth for a long time. In this paper, we aim at finding the relationship between air pollutions and its potential contributor—industrial development. And we are also interested in finding out which department in industry contributes most to air pollution. With these questions, it is essential for us to bring our analysis into a practical and comprehensive content. In this paper, we choose air pollution indicators and industry output in provincial level, thus we would like to test it based on different regions. We use the fixed effect model to construct the data and use hypothesis testing to testify our model through three characteristics: normality, heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation. After the regression and test, we come to the conclusion that basically our model is an appropriate one although several data and time series problems limit its further accuracy. And what is more, the result is quite accordance with our assumption that industrial sectors do effect the environment to some extent and among all the sectors we discuss, mining is the most overarching element. In order to obtain a better and more convincing result, we still need more information about air quality in our further study and research. Keywords: air pollution; industrial...
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...Ecological impact of international business on China In the last decade, China has undergone veritable economic expansion, but with great cost to its environment. Unregulated production and pollution have resulted in the existence of over 400 cancer villages in China, concentrated around areas of high economic development (Florcruz, 2013). According to the Chinese media, cancer villages are defined as villages where the number of cancer patients is extraordinarily high due to levels of water pollution from industrial activities. Outside of China, the scientific community identifies "cancer clusters" as regions where cancer is more common as a result of the density of cancer-causing pollutants. The proliferation of cancer clusters in China is higher than anywhere else in the world. Cancer is the number one cause of death in urban China, with lung cancer being the most deadly (Liu, 2010).This essay will analyse the rise of China's economy, the environmental effects it has had on present day China, and how it will continue to effect China in the future. It will also discuss several environmental, economic, and legal policies the government of China are currently looking at and changes they need to consider in the future. "China's economic transformation is one of the most dramatic economic developments of recent decades" (Greene, Dihel, Kowalski & Lippoldt, 2006, p. 5). In 2001, the Chinese economy overtook Japan to become the second largest economy in the world behind...
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...The China Cancer Villages Shuiman Di Introduction In the modern world, cancer has become a common ailment and cause of death for millions of people worldwide, but it is frightening when human settlements are identified with the disease due to the high magnitude at which it strikes the populations. Cancer villages may appear like any other human settlements and people go on with their daily lives as if life was just in its normal state. However, upon scrutiny, these villages have striking characteristics that lead towards the indication that life in these areas may not be normal. In some of these villages, the water from rivers and wells is polluted to the extent that people have to rely on bottled drinking water. In others, some sections that are close to major sources of pollution have been vacated, while other areas are no longer agriculturally productive. In some of these villages, the villagers have turned to dumping garbage into ponds or rivers that are considered ruined by pollution. The level of pollution around the cancer villages has been so rampant that crops die off, fish, shrimp and other water creatures vanish from the rivers, animals become infertile or deformed and children suffer extensively from respiratory diseases. Most of China’s cancer villages have been turned into death pots by the effects of industrial pollution that have increased since 1990s. Therefore, the emergence of China’s cancer villages can be attributed to the rampant industrialization...
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...look at the impact of economic globalisation on China while focusing on China’s ecological environment. To start off, the essay will look at the definitions of globalisation and economy, followed by China’s change from being an agriculturally farming intensive country towards rapid industrialisation. Because of this activity pollution, emissions as well as environmental degradation resulted in serious ecological problems. International bodies such as the Kyoto Protocol, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Environment Programme, have stressed the importance or reducing pollution and emissions in developing countries in order to maintain sustainability. Cancer villages are becoming a major concern in China and that was enough to make the Chinese political party to take responsibility and change their views on the ecological environment. The question here is can China implement these changes to maintain sustainability for future generations, and if so what methods are they using to achieved this by? According to Morrison (2011), globalisation is the “process by which products, people, companies, money and information are able to move quickly around the world.” (p. 43). The definition of economy is “the system of activity connected with the production, trade, and consumption of goods and services of a region, country, or other (not necessarily geography) area” (The Oxford Dictionary of Economics, 2009). In simple terms economic...
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... However, development also has some negative impact on society. In addition, the negative impact of development is becoming more serious, especially in developing counties. In this essay, the term ‘the social cost of development’ refers to damage to society caused by activities aimed at achieving the goals of society. The concept of the ‘development’ is considered to include the development goals and all systems and legal measures used to achieve development. Further to this the concept that social cost is‘too high’ is considered to mean that too much damage is caused to society before it is possible to achieve the development goals. In view of the above this essay will argue that the social cost of development is too high. This will be demonstrated by analysing of the impact of the social cost of development on the environmental pollution and health. Developing countries will cost the environment to develop the economy. A major reason for this is that it is commonly that in older to solve the poverty, developing countries will cost the environment to develop the economy. Firstly, during economic growth, environmental degradation will increase. According to the result of research by Dinda, “When a country achieves a sufficiently high standard of living, people attach increasing value to environmental amenities”. It shows that as people are rich enough to consider their environmental conditions and they have more clout to impact governments to take measures to change the environmental...
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...Course : Environmental Science The primary air pollutants in China Associate Professor : XU Bin Student: Dragan Cigoja Student number: 1593686 Mentor: Lecturer WU Bing The primary air pollutants in China API Air Pollution Index China State Environment protection Agency started with daily pollution monitoring from 2008 and it was covered 86 most important cities. Its purpouse is to check daily air quality by measuring the level of six atmospheric pollutants (table 1). Air pollutant Particle pollution Formula Source Health implication PM2.5 Particular matters of 2,5 micrometers or smaller. motor vehicles, power plants, residential wood burning, forest fires, agricultural burning Bring toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the body and with them risk of cancer as well as heart and lung diseases Particular matters larger than 2,5 micrometers and smaller tha 10 micrometers in diametar. Near roads and dusty industries irritation of the eyes, nose and throat coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath,reduced lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks,heart attacks, premature death in people with heart or lung diseas. Short term exposures result with an multiplicity of harmful effects including bronchoconstriction and increased asthma symptoms. These effects are partialy important during the exercising or playing. long-term exposure to NO2 levels currently observed in Europe may decrease lung function and increase the risk of respiratory symptoms such as acute...
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...2007 Forum: China’s Rapid Economic Growth and Resultant Negative Externalities 867 CHINA’S RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH AND RESULTANT NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES PATRICIA BLAZEY* I INTRODUCTION China’s economic growth over the past fifteen years has turned it into the world’s major manufacturing base, making it one of the world’s four largest economies.1 During this period, China’s average annual real Gross Domestic Product (‘GDP’) grew by 9.7 per cent peaking at 11.9 per cent up to the second quarter in 2007, the highest growth rate over that period of time.2 At the same time the negative environmental externalities of economic growth have escalated and are causing concern not only within China itself but also globally. China has suffered severe ecological destruction and serious environmental problems which threaten both its economy and the health of its people. Apart from air and water pollution, unprecedented growth in household and industrial waste, loss of biodiversity, felling of rain rainforests and overfishing has occurred. On a global level, China’s air pollution levels have contributed substantially to the negative effects of climate change. China’s rapid growth has been accelerated through its membership of the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’)3 and policies of trade liberalisation. Foreign investment has escalated due to preferential tax treatment and the relaxation of bureaucratic obstacles which in the past had slowed down the process of getting projects...
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...The documentary: “China Revs Up” talks about the quick industrialization of China, and the problems that tag along such an aggressive industrial program in a short period. China once had over a billion poor people, but now it has the world’s fastest growing economy. China’s economy has been growing at an amazing rate of 8% per year for more than 20 years. While the economy is growing, the need for energy is growing at a faster rate. The documentary mentions that China could match the carbon emissions of the US projected by 2030. China’s energy is mainly supplied by coal, and 7 of the world’s 10 most polluted cities come from China. The major problems are due to overpopulation and present economic thinking, and also globalization. As documented in the film, The United States has set the benchmark for high living, high energy use. The US is one of the most consumptive countries in the world and China has really taken western consumerism as its model. Since the capitalist economic reform in China in the 1980s, the Chinese economy has been rising significantly, and the typical income has multiplied by 4 in the past 2 decade. People are leaving their traditions and their villages and farm lands to move to the city. As more and more shopping malls are build all over the country, and as a result energy consumption has risen drastically. China burned 25% more coal than the US in 2001. China’s economy grew incredibly quickly and with no concurrent development in environmental policy. The...
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...Problems of Chinese Economic Growth? Since 1978 the Chinese economy has maintained economic growth at an average of nearly 8%. By western standards this is remarkable. The UK, by contrast, has grown at an average rate of 2.5%. However, despite the impressive figures there are many serious economic problems resulting from economic growth. In particular, the growth rate combined with a population of over 1 billion has caused serious environmental problems. These are a good example of negative externalities of growth. A negative externality is a cost imposed on the rest of society as a result of receiving the benefits from growth. Problems of Chinese Economic Growth. 1.Pollution. Pollution is a major problem in many industrialised cities. Increased car ownership has led to problems of smog and worsening air quality. Pollution also occurs from China’s vast industrial sector. Often regulation of pollution is very limited with untreated sewage often been poured directly into rivers. 2. Shortage of Power. The growing demand of the Chinese economy has placed great demands on China’s creaking power infrastructure. This has led to the creation of projects like the Three Gorges Dam. This has been criticised for creating environmental and social problems. Environmentalists fear that the dam will severely impact on the natural habitats of many species. 3. Growing Income Inequality China’s economic growth has benefited the south and eastern regions more than anywhere...
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...1037–1045 www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro On the industrial ecology potential in Asian Developing Countries Anthony S.F. Chiu a,Ã, Geng Yong b a b Graduate School of Business, De La Salle University, Tatt Avenue, Manila, Philippines Institute for Eco-planning and Development, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China Abstract This paper focuses on the current situation in the adaptation and adoption of industrial ecology in Asian Developing Countries (ADCs). The objective of this paper is to consider the possibilities to develop an eco-industrial development (EID) strategy for these developing countries. We review the regional indigenous resources of ADCs and use the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) grouping to classify the preconditions of industrial ecology in ADCs. The authors of this paper argue that unlike the usual way of applying industrial ecology as a technical tool or a practical instrument, ADCs need to adopt industrial ecology as a strategic vision and as a strategic approach to plan the economic, social and ecological development of their national economies. In this way, it can be possible for the ADCs to avoid the same problems that occurred when the developed countries experienced industrialization and rapid economic growth, and move toward more sustainable development. # 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: Industrial ecology; Eco-industrial development; Eco-industrial park; Sustainable development; Strategic planning ...
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...Potential economic growth is the expansion of the productive capacity of an economy. An outwards shift in the PPF represents economic growth. Economic growth enables a society to produce more goods and services in any given period as a result of expansion in its resources. Actual economic growth is measured by the rate of growth of GDP. Actual economic growth may also reflect a movement towards the frontier; for example when an economy is recovering from a period of recession. The AD/AS model can show economic growth. For example, in the diagram below, an increase in the skills of the workforce will enable firms to produce more output at any given price so that the aggregate supply curve will shift outwards from AS1 to AS2. This entails an increase in full employment output (or capacity output). China is the world’s fastest growing major economy, with growth rates averaging 10% over the past 30 years. China is also the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods in the work. China is the largest manufacturing economy in the world. In the past two decades, China’s economy has been developed very rapidly. The growth of China’s income per capita is much faster than that of any other region in the world. Economic growth in China has had a number of economic and social benefits. The first benefit of economic growth is the improvement in standards of living. There is also the easing of poverty in developing countries, as absolute poverty can...
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...People's Republic of China ranks since 2010 as the world's second largest economy after the United States. It has been the world's fastest-growing major economy, with consistent growth rates of around 10% over the past 30 years. China is also the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods in the world. The country's per capita GDP (PPP) was $7,544 (International Monetary Fund, 94th in the world) in 2010. The provinces in the coastal regions of China tend to be more industrialized, while regions in the hinterland are less developed. As China's economic importance has grown, so has attention to the structure and health of that economy. China’s population can be divided into roughly 3 parts: farmers (about 700-800 million), rural migrants (150-250 million) and urban residents (250-350 million). Demographically and politically, China’s rural sector is the most important. The Chinese Communist Party owes its initial success to rural residents; Mao Zedong depended heavily on soldiers from rural areas in his battles against both the Chinese Nationalists (Kuomintang) and invading Japanese soldiers. Biggest Challenges to China’s economy Since 1978 the Chinese economy has maintained economic growth at an average of nearly 8%. By western standards this is remarkable. The UK, by contrast, has grown at an average rate of 2.5%. However, despite the impressive figures there are many serious economic problems resulting from economic growth. 1. Pollution/ Environmental...
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...India Story March 23, 2009 1 Table of Contents Summary Global Water Situation – A Snapshot Water in India Innovative Water Management Initiatives 2 Freshwater rich regions across the globe are projected to face water scarcity if current reserves are not managed effectively Global Freshwater Scenario Global Freshwater reserves are rapidly depleting and this is expected to significantly impact many densely populated areas of the world Low to middle income developing regions as well as highly developed countries will face water stress in the future, unless existing water reserves are managed effectively • Although low and middle income developing countries currently have low per capita water consumption, rapid growth in population and inefficient use of water across sectors is expected to lead to a water shortage in the future • Developed countries traditionally have high per capita water consumption and need to focus on reducing their consumption through improved water management techniques and practices By 2025, India, China and select countries in Europe and Africa will face water scarcity if adequate and sustainable water management initiatives are not implemented Freshwater Situation in India Traditionally, India has been well endowed with large Freshwater reserves, but the increasing population and overexploitation of surface and groundwater over the past few decades has resulted in water scarcity in some regions Growth...
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... China’s tremendous growth in GDP over the years has indeed shocked the world. With the implementation of the Chinese Economic Reform, China’s GDP has seen a tenfold increase and has even overtaken Japan to be the second largest economy after the United States. However, there is always a downside to economic progress in a country. Pollution. Not only is pollution is a huge problem in China, it is in fact a problem in many industrialised cities. China is saturated with heavy industry, metal smelters, and coal-fired power plants which are all paramount in maintaining the fast-paced economic growth it is currently experiencing; even as they generate tons of hazardous gases and soot into the air. The air pollution and smog in two of China’s biggest cities -Beijing and Shanghai- are sometimes so bad, airports are forced to shut down due to of poor visibility. That is not all, the air quality of Beijing is said to be 16 times worse than New York City. Blue skies are a rare sight and buildings several blocks away are difficult to locate, visually. Apart from that, sometimes you can't see the street from the 5th floor window in Shanghai....
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