Beijing's Pollution Crisis
Beijing is ranked second among the worst cities to live in. The city's skyscrapers may make China's high levels of pollution more visible. In 2014, a large portion of the northern metropolis was blanketed in deadly amounts of smog for nearly a week. The dense smoke delayed transportation, schools, and airlines, and forced the shutdown of companies (Simpson, 2014). Several inspectors were on the scene to enforce the temporary bans on automobiles with unusual license plates and barbecues. As the need for power and heating rises, the falling temperatures encourage pollution. The absolute volume of contamination is mostly linked to coal output (Simpson, 2014). One million six hundred thousand deaths are linked to pollution in China. The essay shall elucidate the costs that are related to how human beings interact with the environment.
The Impact on China's Progress
China has grown up the ladder of development more especially in the last three decades. The expectation is that the Chinese economy will expand further. The continued growth poses a challenge to the government, the concern is that the progress and development affect the environment negatively. Scientist in China noted with a lot of concern the levels of air pollution and its impact. The state resembles a nuclear winter, it slows down photosynthesis in the plants, and it shall cause havoc in the food supply to the country. The air pollutants follow the greenhouse exteriors, thus cutting the amount of light that there is up to fifty percent and impeding the process of photosynthesis, the process by which the plants convert light into food that can sustain life. The farmer is caught up in the dilemma of smog (Kaiman, 2014).
Agitations and Lawsuits
There were some agitations to the concerned government bodies to address the issue. In fact, one of the citizens had to sue the local environmental protection bureau for its failure to rid the smog. Further, the citizen sought for compensation following the pollution as it affected his health and as well resulted in economic losses (Simpson, 2014). The citizens could feel it from the various senses. The case would expose the polluted cities in China inclusive of Beijing and give the authorities the necessary momentum to deal with the problems that were at hand on air pollution (Gu et al, 2015).
The Health Impact
The air pollution in the city is so dense that there is a significant concentration of the particle matter of less than two point five micrometers regarding the size. The particles are small enough that they can penetrate deep into the lungs and at times be assimilated into the blood streams then deposited in the brain. The micrograms hit a high of five hundred and five micrograms per cubic meter in contrast to the recommended rate of twenty-five by the world health organization. The particles cause cancer to the individual patients. The air pollution in China is the leading cause of the lung cancer. The China lung cancer patients account for a thirty-two percent of the total patients infected with lung cancer (Gu et al, 2015).
A Call for Action
In conclusion, air pollution in China is very dangerous that a multifaceted approach needs to be taken to arrest the problem. There are various sources of the contamination like the yellow dust, lead, coal, persistent organic pollution with coal being the chief. The migration from the usage of coal in Chinese cities is quite slow and at a snail speed. The state of air pollution in the different local authorities in China affects the health of the citizens negatively that some are reconsidering their stay more specifically in Beijing. There has been a great increase in case of lung cancer among the Chinese people. The government needs to balance between development and its environmental effect a fact that is a challenge.
References
Simpson, P. (February 28, 2014). "A nation suffocating in a toxic fog: China is again engulfed by smog with millions forced to wear face masks to protect themselves." Daily Mail Online. Retrieved June 12, 2017 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2569824/A-nation-suffocating-toxic-fog-China-engulfed-smog-millions-forced-wear-face-masks-protect-themselves.html#v-3261280655001
Kaiman, J. (February 25, 2014). "China's toxic air pollution resembles nuclear winter, say scientists." The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2017 from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/25/china-toxic-air-pollution-nuclear-winter-scientists
Gu, B., Ju, X., Chang, J., Ge, Y., & Vitousek, P. M. (2015). "Integrated reactive nitrogen
budgets and future trends in China." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(28), 8792-8797.
