We have all heard that air pollution is a big problem, but Beijing
China takes it to a whole new level. Air
pollution in Beijing China is at a dangerously high level because of the immense
factories burning coal. The article China’s Plan to Curb Air Pollution Sets
Limits on Coal Use and Vehicles by Edward Wong, published September 12th
2013 describes this problem and what China’s ways are to approach it. In China “the
concentration of fine particulate matter in Beijing reached 40 times the
exposure limit recommended by the World Health Organization.” This problem is
spinning out of control and China needs to find a way to decrease it.
There are a lot of ‘coal-dependent’ industries in Chinas
industrial structure. These factories burn a large amount of coal and release
the waste back into the air, making the air think and hard to see, almost
looking like a foggy day. China burns half of the coal consumed in the world,
which means China produces a lot of air pollution that is very harmful to not
only the people who live there but the environment.
The Chinese have a lot of talks and debates about this topic
but nothing seems to actually get done. What it seems the decision is to take
high polluting vehicles off the roads and limit the burning of coal. The plan
is that by 2017 all high pollutant vehicles are to be off the roads. So far
this is the only major documented action China has taken.
I believe that this is a very weak idea to help solve this
crisis. Vehicles are not the main source to this problem, and getting rid of
them would only help very little. The big source of air pollution is the
factories in China. Chinese official should
have spent more time focusing on what to do with the factories instead of worrying
about pointless vehicles.
The author of this
article seems to have a similar view as mine. Wong uses quotes from another
people and organizations in his article that ridicule Chinas way of handling
this matter. There is no positive reinforcement, no “Hey good job for trying
China!” type of attitude but mostly hint at how China is not taking this
seriously enough. I completely agree
with Wong.
Reading this article and learning about the extent of Chinas
air pollution made me immediately think about the movie The Lorax we have
watched in biology class. In the movie the Onceler comes into a beautiful forest
and sets up factories. As the number and size of factories grows so does the
pollution. Soon the sky has turned a permit gray with thick fog instead of the
once clear blue sky. The polluted sky in
the movie looks very similar to the ones in China.
Chinas air problem also reminds me of other movies. In a
movie, after there is a big explosion or a city is destroyed the air is all
cloudy with debris flying everywhere. This image is what some places in China
look like. The air is very thick with pollution that you can barely see.
All in all China is in a big predicament. Air pollution is at a very unhealthy level and
people’s lives are in jeopardy. China claims to be constantly taking about this
issue but they have only taken basic actions. I believe that China needs to
look more deeply into where most of the coal burning pollution is coming from
(the factories) and try to decrease it at the core. They need to realize that their
air pollution is not just affecting China but the rest of the environment.
picture source: http://guardianlv.com/2013/10/dutch-artist-daan-roosegaarde-plans-to-vacuum-up-beijings-air-pollution/
Great job Celina! I completely agree with you as well as the author that limiting use of high pollutant vehicles is a very weak idea to decrease pollution in the atmosphere. In my perspective, I think China officials are trying to find the easy way out because especially for a huge industrial country like China, it will be easier to get rid of vehicles rather than the huge factories that have a significant affect on their atmosphere. I really liked how you tied this problem in with The Lorax, because what happens in the movie, is actually happening in China as well. You said that Chinese officials should spend more time finding a solution to the factories, so what are some things that they could do to resolve this problem? All in all this was a very interesting blog post and had great connections!
ReplyDeleteGood job! Your post was very well written and you explained things in detail. I agree with you that getting ride of vehicles is not the strongest idea. It is not the main cause to all the air pollution in china. The factories are the main cause to the air pollution so China should try to fix that problem instead. When you connected this issue to the Lorax it really helped me picture what China's environment looks like. Besides the factories, what else is causing the air pollution?
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Celina! Your article was very well written! I agree with you and the author that China isn't taking air pollution seriously. The Chinese should cut down on factory pollution but at the same time he factories make the most money for China. I think that your connection to the Lorax was very strong. I also liked the connection you made between pollution and explosions because it made a great visual! Great Job Celina!
ReplyDeleteCelina,
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a really great job summarizing your article so that someone who hasn't read it could fully understand what it was about. You also met all of the criteria on the rubric very well. I enjoyed reading your connection to The Lorax and also when you put your opinion in. I thought you did really well explaining what you thought the author's point of view on this was when you said "There is no positive reinforcement, no “Hey good job for trying China!” type of attitude but mostly hint at how China is not taking this seriously enough." So aside from a few grammatical errors, I thought this post was excellent! Great Job!
Great job Celina! I found your blog very interesting and it was very well written! I agree with you that China doesn’t really seem to be trying to stop the pollution. The connection you made to the Lorax was a very good connection. It was exactly like what happened in the story! I can’t believe that Beijing reached 40 times the exposure limit recommended by the World Health Organization. That is crazy. I also really liked the picture that you included!
ReplyDeleteThe title was good, but fog suggests water vapor rather than pollution. Smog may be a good alternative, though fog is sufficient. I am not surprised that China has overwhelming amounts of air pollution, but the way you analyzed the article and information within said article was quite clear and concise. I disagree with your opinion. l don't know if you've ever been to China, but if you have, you would've seen that there very, very, very many vehicles, and most of them do let out quite a lot of pollutants. Of course, other steps will have to be taken, considering that China's economy runs on coal dependent factories. Your connection to the Lorax was solid, but your connection to movies is a bit far-stretched. Rather than connecting the air pollution to debris, you could have connected it to the air pollution in Wall-E, or another post-apocalyptic setting in fiction. Overall, good writing, and interesting insights. Also, good use of an image to reinforce previously stated facts, and fully covey the volume of air pollution.
ReplyDelete