China's Been Working in the Coal Mine

      There is no doubt that China is a very large contributor to air pollution. They are developing at a rapid rate, in an attempt to not only emulate the industrialization of the west but perhaps to try and surpass it. The problem is that they have such a large amount of land to develop on, and an alarmingly large population to support. Not only are they attempting to grow at a rapid pace, but most of the methods they incorporate into this process are outdated and have highly negative effects on the environment. With large amounts of production comes large amounts of pollution and waste. China relies mainly on the use of coal for there energy needs, their largest resource. Since 1996 coal has supplied China with about 78% of their energy requirements. They also still utilize diesel as a main fuel for transportation. Their two main energy resources are two of the worst available, and there have been detrimental effects because of this. Respiratory illness has become the leading cause of death in China. When the measurement of sulfur-dioxide in the atmosphere within China is measured, on any given day that it increases the death rate increases that day and the next by up to 10%. This shows evidence that there may be a direct correlation between the amount of sulfur-dioxide in the atmosphere and China's death rate. These issues do not only affect China, Hong Kong has been affected by their pollution outputs as well, with the winds carrying the air pollutants into their cities. Hong Kong can produce a large enough amount of pollution without China's help, with over 6.7 million people living on just over 1000 square kilometers.
     With China set on following the industrialization improvements of the west, I believe it is partly our responsibility to take action to help improve their production methods. We can not only lead by example, but educate them and share some of the methods for production that significantly reduce pollution, while not significantly decreasing production. We can help them develop environmental education programs and curriculums to incorporate into mandatory class sessions within their school systems.  The pollution they are releasing into the environment is not only their problem, we eventually all breathe the same air.