During the 19th century, Thomas Malthus predicted that there wouldn’t be sufficient natural resources to sustain the growing population in the near future with the rate of consumption by humans. This is very much evident in the development of the one of the fast rising country, China. China’s pace of development is assaulting the natural world at an alarming rate. Craig Simons’ The Devouring Dragons: How China’s rise threatens our natural world highlights numerous ways in which China has contributed immensely to the world’s natural environmental degradation. These includes; species exploitation to extinction, pollution, deforestation. Simons started the book with his study of the history of global environmental change in China. In the first …show more content…
Simons did a great job to touch base with every aspect. He made the book quite relaxing to read by blending personal stories, reports and scientific and historical background. However, the themes of the book are carbon emissions, which have accelerated climate change and destruction of natural world to satisfy growing need for resources. One of the most challenging problems in the world driven by capitalism is climate change. In 1976, when China’s rise to industrialization began, it consumed only 550 million tonnes of coal. “By 1997, its demand had exceeded that of the United States, but it still used what now looks like a quaint number: 1.4 billion tons…from 1997 to 2009- China added over 2 billion tons of annual coal demand, the equivalent of two new nations as voracious as the United States…” (Simons, 2013). The appetite for high standard of living is raising temperature and melting glaciers. As the world’s temperature increases, there would be rise in sea level resulting to floods and some land areas plagued with drought. The Global Carbon Project carried out by scientists found out that emission from fossil fuel rose in 2010 beating the record in 2003. The average Chinese urban resident consumes 71 percent more energy than those in the rural areas. Wealthy Chinese who want to be recognized as Westners own motor vehicles that contributes to greenhouse gases emission. China’s demand for energy to run its vehicles is …show more content…
In January 2013, smog settled in Beijing which resulted to warm air in the atmosphere. The giant vacuum cleaner China has become was triggered by capitalism therefore the western nations should come together and share the blame. Most of the products produced in China are consumed by foreigners at incredibly low prices. In 2008, China produced more greenhouse gases than the United States but the United States is the biggest consumer of energy and greenhouse gases emitter per capita. Environmental problems were more severe during the Industrial Revolution between the seventeenth and nineteenth century in some European countries. The insatiable demand of individuals for luxurious goods has created a cause and effect. The last sentence of Simons’ book says “we need to decide what matters. And then we need to act”. Simons failed to recount that his encounter with a local while in Chongqing gave him an insight that the Chinese or any other developing country’s idea of “what matters”
In his article, “from King Coal: Reigning the China”, George Will developed the counterargument that America exports a large amount of global warming. Will’s rebuttal to this argument was that all over the world different counties are exporting just as much global warming. He supports this argument by appealing to logos and bringing up specific facts. For instance, Will mentions that several Australian companies were supplying Chinese power plants that are also a cause to global warming. However, he doesn’t fail to make an attempt to justify why these countries export so much global warming. Will mentions that it is more economical for America and Australia to import coal due to china enormous coal reserves; one of the biggest causes
Beowulf is a poem about strength and courage. This is illustrated in the eighth section of the story called “Beowulf and the Dragon.” A slave, a hero and a dragon play a big role in this section. The characters are well developed, as is the setup for the conclusion of the poem.
The way Smaug looked, was based upon many other dragons like Fafnir, and Beowulf’s dragon. Beowulf’s Dragon, a story of an incredibly deadly dragon, had much influence to what Smaug looked like. While the authors are explaining what the Beowulf’s dragon looks like, they say this, “Batlike wings attached to the torso by robust muscles lift the dragon in flight.” (Gerrie McCall & Kieron Connolly 8). When Bilbo enters the dragon's lair, Tolkien explains what the dragon looks like in this quote, “Smaug lay, with wings folded like an immeasurable bat, turned partly on one side…” (Tolkien 87). This shows some similarities, and influence, between these two dragons. Another dragon named Fafnir, also had very similar looks to Smaug, in fact in
In order to understand why China is in such environmental difficulties we need to understand why the lifestyles of people in Europe and the US could be to blame. The first area to consider is the environmental issues that China is currently suffering with. Once this is established I can assert what impact the US and Europe has in relation to these issues and what actually causes them. In linking the events it will be easier to see the chain of events. To do this I am going to work backwards and understand the issues that exist within China and then secondly what they are a result of. This will give me the background of why China’s environmental issues have become so dire.
In the Book of the Apocalypse, Rome is represented by several allegories: the beast of the land, the beast from the sea, the harlot, Babylon, and the dragon. The Beowulf-poet also manipulates the dragon allegory to represent Rome, but his dragon represents not Rome, pure and simple, but a hostile area of the (former) Roman empire, the Romanized Britain or the Roman-British .
China’s economy is one very large indicator of its role in globalization. “In 2010 China became the world’s largest exporter” (CIA World Factbook). Without China many places such as the United States of America would be without billions of goods imported from China annually. An influx of companies moving their manufacturing to China has allowed people to flock to cities and find jobs. China’s economy has grown exponentially over the last few decades. In the last three years China’s economy has grown by nearly ten percent every year. Despite this influx of money to China it has also resulted in many drawbacks. For example, China’s environment has been obliterated. China burns more coal than every country in the world combined. Beijing has been so badly polluted that there are actually companies that sell cans of fresh air to people, and gas masks are a common sight. On January 12th 2013 Beijing’s air pollution reached a record setting 775 PPM. To put that into perspective, the scale for measuring pollution is 0-500 PPM. This set an all-time recorded high. In Los Angeles a high ...
Examine, The World May Have Hit Peak Carbon Emission, document E, which talks about how there is a chance that we may be on our way to lowering carbon dioxide emissions, but the future of climate change lies in the hands of China’s and India’s growth and how they plan on fueling their growth. It also depends on the national leaders that signed the Paris climate agreement and whether they plan on upholding their part of the agreement through the years. The author of the paper Fast Company describes the unpredictable future by saying “Even if emissions were to peak soon, global emissions would still take years to decline substantively. An acceleration in the transformation of energy use and production is needed.” This shows that even though nations are finally coming to the reality of climate change and are planning on taking action with the treaty,
During the 1600s, the Dutch were the only ones trading with Japan. Not only did they trade goods, but they also spread ideas, including machines that would allow an industrial revolution to occur. While Britain and Japan were major contributors, the biggest contributor, and still today, is China. China’s industrial revolution didn’t occur till much later, starting in the 1960s. Before this, they had very steady production of goods and a fair amount of innovations. Many of their inventions mirrored European technology, such as the water wheel. People didn’t realize how big of an issue this was at the time. Big manufacturers only cared about making money. To them, the pollution was only a minor inconvenience. Only when it would become a big problem is when they started to care. And the signs that it was becoming a big problem were very apparent. Dumping of waste into rivers cause constant outbreaks of cholera and typhoid. These disease weren;t only caused by water but also by the air. All of the smog got into people’s lung, giving way to lung cancer. The smog also created acid rain, which is a very dangerous precipitation that can cause buildings to
Reliance on major non-renewable resources has had, and continues to have detrimental effects on the environment. These resources found in the earth are mined and drilled so that people around the world can benefit from their use. For example, the majority of Americans, and most of the world’s population, uses gasoline to fuel their vehicles in order to commute back and forth from one place to another and gas to heat the homes in which they spend the bulk of their time. With the world’s population consistently growing, the amount of vehicles on the roadways increases therefore causing the amount of fuel being used to increase. The same goes for planes and ships that transport people greater distances, whether it be from Virginia to California, or the United States to China. The carbon emissions released pose a threat to the global climate (“Fossil”). Not only does the emission of fossil fuels hinder earth’s atmosphere, but the availability of the non-renewable resources used daily is also shrinking. Though the United States may not be greatly affected by the environmental dangers, other countries continuously struggle with locating drinkable water, maintaining consistent levels of agricultural produce and...
China has approximately 20% of the world’s population, which is around 1.3 billion people (Morris, 2009, p. 111). Also, China has become one of the worlds biggest manufacturing countries within 30 years (Fawssett, 2009, p. 27). However, such rapid development has come at a cost, which has created various environmental problems. Coincidentally, China has 16 cities on a list of the 20 worst polluted cities in the world (Fawssett, 2009, p. 15). Therefore, this essay will explain the reasons for China’s environmental problems, then evaluate the claim that the Chinese government and people, are tackling these environmental problems. First, crop farming techniques over the last hundred years, and their consequences will be explained. Followed by, how peoples choice in food has changed over the last hundred years, and how this indirectly affects the environment. Then, how a capitalist economy is linked to agriculture, and finally what the Chinese government and people are doing to tackle these problems.
Global warming is an extremely important and troubling aspect of the world’s current situation. This is due to the fact that the majority of the world’s energy production is from non-renewable energy sources, which are energy sources that either can not be naturally replenished or require thousands of years to be restored. Based on our current energy usage growth rates, there are an estimated 100 years left before our natural resource reserves are exhausted. (Non Renewable Natural Resources: How Much Is Left, Environmental Thinker) China alone consumes nearly as much coal as the combined usage of coal from the rest of the world. (US Energy Information Administration, China Consumes Nearly as Much Coal as the Rest of the World Combined) There is visible evidence of this happening with the increasing pollution levels. Carbon Dioxide and Methane pollution levels in the world reached a record high in 2012 and are 260% higher than the pre-industrial levels. (UN: CO2 Pollution Levels at a Record High, John Heilprin) Converting our world into a more renewable energy dependent society is the most advantageous and likely method for preserving our dwindling fossil fuel supply while also protecting the world that we call home.
There is an estimate of 1.3 million cars in the world, in the United States alone the ration from person to cars is 1.3. That 's almost 255 million cars in the roads every single day. Just imagine, “Burning one gallon of gas creates 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, and the average car emits about six tons of carbon dioxide every year”(Global Warming And Your Car).Imagine how many tons of Carbon dioxide are emitted into the air by everyone in the world. The carbon that gets emitted into the air doesn 't just affect the climate it also affects us by polluting the very air that we breath. Air pollution causes around 3.3 million deaths worldwide every year. One of the biggest places with contamination is China, the main reason for that is because of all of the factories that they have and all the carbon dioxide that gets let out.People and their decisions are the main reason for climate change, they only think about the present and never about the
Economic growth and social development are complementary and they have a close but complex relationship. With the economic growth, it is clear that there are many environmental concerns in today’s society. Air, water, and land pollution have worsened; the environment of wild animals and plants has been seriously damaged; many species are threatened with extinction, deforestation and over-exploitation of mineral resources.
"China Plans to Regulate Some of Its Carbon Emissions for the First Time Ever." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
Vidal, J., & Adam, D. (2007, June 19). China overtakes US as world's biggest CO2 emitter. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/jun/19/china.usnews