China, one of the worlds largest industrial powers, is now facing a difficult situation. China’s industries rely largely on coal power which emits harmful gases, causing intense air pollution. The Chinese government, in fear that the country would fall in a recession, has not done much to stop these industries, so China has become the second largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. The types of pollution created by this include air pollution and water pollution, both of which are harmful to people and wildlife. China’s problem has become the world’s problem. Nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides disgorged by coal-fired power plants fall as acid rain on Seoul and Tokyo, and much of the particulate pollution in Los Angeles comes from China. Due to China’s modernization and economic development, the country is now struggling to fix a burdensome pollution problem.
Over recent years, China’s economy has been rapidly growing, and it has done wonders for the country, as described by the CIA Factbook. China has become much more modernized and industrialized, and it has turned into the world’s second largest economy, which is quite remarkble in comparison to what the country was like a mere thirty to forty years ago. But there are side effects to its success. As the CIA Factbook puts it, “Deterioration in the environment - notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table - is a long-term problem”, yet the Chinese government is still concentrating on energy development and production. No country in history has ever come out as a large industrial power without causing a signifigant amount of damage to the enviroment that takes decades and large amounts of public wealth to fix. So just as the speed and scale of China’s growth has no parallel in the past, the pollution the country has created has exceeded all precedents. China relies on coal power for approximately 70-80% of its energy, and from this reliance comes a lot