“Over the last three decades, China has experienced breakneck growth, changing from a poor, agricultural country to one of the leading industrial powers of the 21st century. Yet water scarcity has the potential to undermine China’s transformation.”, BGE DBQ Online 2017. Water is a very important natural resource that the United States thankfully has access to everyday. In China, however, the economy is being plagued with an extreme growing crisis of water scarcity which has major complications on daily life. Three major factors that impact and make the situation in China worse is the growth in water pollution(document E), global warming and its effect on the water supply(document A), and lastly the way water is used throughout China( Document …show more content…
C). These three factors is only some of the main issues that China faces that affect their water supply in a negative aspect. In China, the water is as dangerous and the air you breath. Cities are swept with mass amounts of pollution in which the water that does exist is unable to be used for any manner. This water has been ruled unusable for agricultural, industrial and even decorative purposes due to the state it is in. In Document E of BGE DBQ Online 2017, it states how water pollution has increased drastically making the water deemed unusable. “With lagging growth in wastewater treatment facilities, including sewerage, about 20 billion of untreated wastewater is directly discharged into water bodies.” Because of this, the already unsanitary water is being mixed in with bodies of water that are safe for people making the water crisis even more. The only water that is safe to use is being contaminated by the other bodies of water which are polluted, almost like a spreading disease. The natural environment is also a cause for the extreme pollution in China’s water sources. “Nonpoint pollution, primarily related to agricultural activities such as fertilizer and pesticide runoff from farmland and infiltration of livestock waste, has long been out of control” This meaning that the waste left from farmland including fertilizer, pesticide, animal feces and ect, are also being dumped in clean bodies making them unsafe for people. Pollution is a major factor in China's water crisis because, the water that does exist is unsafe and cannot be used so it's almost as if there was no water at all. Water pollution drives scarcity because of the sole fact that the water that does exist is being contaminated in mass amounts. Higher temperatures, manic weather, and ect, are all result of global warming.
Global warming on its own is its own crisis but it also has major negative effects on China’s scarcity in water and their resources. Document A of BGE DBQ Online 2017 states, “glaciers covering China’s Qinghai-Tibet plateau are shrinking 7% a year due to global warming and the environment consequences may be dire.” With the glaciers shrinking, that means less water. Every season the glaciers keeps the rivers flowing during the dry season since it's such a major resource of water, but as the glaciers melt and retreat more and more every year, there will be less water during the dry season in where people need the water the most during the year. According to Doc A, “The melting could cause massive flooding, followed by severe drought and an ultimate long-term decrease in water supply that is irreplaceable. This warming has not only caused glacial retreat but also the drying up of numerous lakes that feed the region’s rivers.” Global warming is ruining China’s water supply not only because of the glaciers but also since there now is higher temperatures in seasons in which it would be surprising to see, and because of this drastic change in weather that means some of the animals that help preserve the waters cleanliness are gone making different kind of bacteria to form without any way of natural removal. Global warming is extremely impactful on China’s water supply and is just making the crisis even worse. The water will come to a point in which there just isn’t any left at
all. Even with the scarcity of China’s water supply, the water that does exist and is safe to use, is being used for the wrong purposes. China is consuming major amounts of water for resources that they barely even need. In a graph shown in Document C of the DBQ, it shows how the water is not being evenly spread throughout the agricultural, domestic, and industrial aspects. Through the years 1980 and an estimated 2030 the amount of water spent on agriculture always has out reached the other aspects. Barely any water is being used in the Industry sector even though its is the most important. Industry is extremely important when it comes to production. The background essay of the DBQ states, “ When China builds dams on whereas the Yangtze and the Pearl Rivers flow into these rivers, it limits the water supply for countries southern China. Precipitation and, to a lesser degree, downstream.” This does not let the water flow in mass amounts and if anything is limiting the existing amount. Instead of investing in ideas which will preserve the water, they don’t. And when they do it never really helps the crisis that they are stuck in. No matter what they try, their water shortage has no easy answers on how to fix. China and its economy is being plagued with an extreme growing crisis of water scarcity which has major complications on daily life. Only some reasons for its crisis includes the terrible amount of pollution, effects from global warming, and the overall wrong use of the existing water. If China’s water crisis isn't fixed sooner, who knows how it will end up or if it will even survive. According to the background essay of the DBQ, “China’s water scarcity crisis is complex, caused by a mix of geographic, political, economic, and social factors” and that is sincerely true. China’s survival relies on if they can find a end to their crisis.
China economy has been falling for many years. Part of this downfall is lack of clean water. You know this, but know one in this world can’t live without water ,so that means water is very important. Climate change, Industrialization, and Government policy all contribute to the chinese water crisis. Of these, the biggest driver is the government policy. The government in China has a strict policy that does not allow the people to have water because China is not using enough money for their water.
It is true that there are factors contributing to China’s water scarcity, such as a bad government policy. However, the three biggest causes of China’s water-scarcity crisis are population growth, global warming, and especially industry. It is important because
Power and Powerlessness of Individuals in Brighton Rock and The Third Man by Graham Greene
Water is the foundational basis of life on Earth. Ecosystems, society and humans are completely dependent on it, and as the world population continues to grow, there will be more mouths to feed, and those people will need water to continue their daily lives. However, shortages and poor management leads to the destruction of natural habitats and human suffering. Desertification of land in China is ever-increasing, turning green, lush land into desert. However, this is due mainly in part, because of human activity, and global warming (Wang, Yang, Dong, & Zhang, 2009). The United States could experience a crisis similarly to China’s, but for now they have averted such a catastrophe, because of heavy regulation of water. Though there are water shortages in many parts of the world, it is unwise to export water from the Great Lakes to those regions. Two major reasons why diverting the Great Lakes is a terrible idea, one: it allows for waters wars to start on the basis of who is allowed to access it and for commodification purposes. Two, diverting water on such large scales could have cataclysmic effects on the local residents as well as the environment.
Water shortage is a growing problem for most countries in the world. For China, which has 20% of world’s population and only 7% of available water resources, this problem may become catastrophic (Hofstedt 2010, 72). Therefore some actions and measures should be performed to avoid or at least to weaken future water crisis in China. In this work the following three solutions will be proposed and analyzed in terms of efficiency and applicability: water usage efficiency improvement; adopting the local agencies on controlling water resources; reasonable water pricing.
Due to industrial waste ,domestic wastes and agriculture wastes entering into water source, Chinese government reporting that nearly 60 percent of China’s groundwater is polluted. It also leads the decrease in water quality. A large amount of water cannot be used and thus foster the water scarcity problem in China.
Hong Kong nowadays has a major problem on global warming due to climate change. Climate problems may not take up any awareness among people in today’s society. Humans are responsible for many of the climate problems we are facing. Climate changes naturally and the current trend of global warming started before the industrial revolution. Before the climate change the climate was a lot warmer. Weather and temperature could be one of the major issues that affects global warming and climate change.
The audience of this paper would be anyone interested in an in-depth look at the importance of the water situation in China caused by the pollution and the construction of damns like the Three Gorges Project and its impact on the progression of international water resource. It will go on to analyze this year’s water problems in major cities, bringing to light the health problems.
The human race needs three things to survive; air to breathe, food to eat, and water to drink. A large majority of the public thinks these resources are infinite and plentiful. What they fail to realize is that they are not infinite, air can become polluted, food can carry pesticides, and water can transmit diseases very easily. In order to keep these necessities safe, many companies are taking the initiative by trying to cut down on pollution and stop using harmful pesticides. Water, however is not getting enough attention, especially in urban areas. Framework exists for these urban areas to be able to have successful water management, but some countries cannot afford these ideas or simply do not want
Developing our national economy, especially industry, requires a great amount of natural resources, such as land, water, oil, coal, gas and iron. However, the natural resources are limited and decline very quickly when a large population exploits them everyday. Take fresh water as an example, in 1990, 58% of Chinese cities (http://www.cass.net.cn/y_sjr/y_cn_sjr_334.htm) suffered from the insufficiency of water. It not only brings great disadvantages to people's daily life, but also has a passive influence on the economic development. Released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the economic loss caused by the insufficiency of water is 250 billion RMB per year, including 230 billion lost industrial output and 20 billion agricultural losses.
Freshwater in the world makes up only a small portion of the water on the planet. While the percentage of water in the world is nearly 70%, only 2.5% is consumable. Even further, only 1% is easily accessible to basic human needs. According to National Geographic, “by 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.” With this current trend, water will become more immersed in environmental, economic, political, and social changes.
There is a global shortage of drinking water. A person might wonder how this can be if seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Most of the Earth’s water is unsuitable for human consuption. Ocean water is salt water, which makes up 97.5% of all water on the planet. Freshwater is only 3.5% of all the water on Earth. Drinking water is sourced from bodies of freshwater.
The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.
Global warming is a serious problem with two major effects: increasing sea level and degradation of wildlife. Increase in sea level affects the entire landmass of the earth. According to NASA, the polar ice cap is melting at the alarming rate of nine percent per decade. Arctic ice thickness has decreased 40 percent since the 1960s (Oskin). The amount of water is more than the land on our planet.
Cherain, T., Unni, K., and Sophie, L. 2010. China – India water shortage. Bloomberg News. http://www.grailresearch.com/pdf/ContenPodsPdf/Water-The_India_Story.pdf (accessed November 1, 2010).