Environmental Effects of Energy Usage in China

China’s astounding advance into the realm of the global economic superpowers over the past decades has had immeasurably far reaching implications for China’s own citizens and for the rest of the world. And their sustained economic vibrancy continues to shape numerous facets of today’s global society. In only thirty years, China has witnessed a tenfold increase in its GDP. Between the years of 2003 and 2004, the already-expanding value of China’s industrial enterprises was enlarged by an impressive 16.7 percent. (AllCountries.Org) Climbing alongside China’s impressive industrial growth is its population growth. The country currently boasts approximately one©fifth of the world’s population. While there are certainly many benefits stemming from China’s growth in the realms of both economy and population, there are just as many or more negative consequences to be noted. One of the most critical is energy usage, and the host of environmental problems that are caused by its abuse.

There are several characteristics of China’s energy usage that cause it to be problematic. First of all, China’s main source of energy is coal. As coal is a fossil fuel, it emits greenhouse gases when it is burned. Many of these gases are oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, and hydrocarbons. When particles of these gases interact with light from the sun, they create ozone, a gas which then becomes trapped within the earth’s biosphere. All fossil fuels produce greenhouse gases when they are burned, but coal is the “dirtiest” of the fossil fuels; it contributes the greatest emission of ozone. Ozone has adverse effects on human health, specifically respiratory health. Already, many Chinese suffer from respiratory ailments. In higher concentrations, ozone can even hinder many of the processes associated with plant growth, and subsequently agricultural production. Clearly, both of these scenarios would be devastating for China. Widespread physical maladies and agricultural degradation are certainly not conducive to maintaining a healthy population and a healthy economic growth rate.

If the only issue at hand were the fact that China’s main source of energy is coal, the situation would probably be far less urgent. But the crux of the problem lies within the fact that China’s usage of coal is overall extremely inefficient, and extremely liberal. Beginning in the Mao period, China began its rapid ascent into the industrialized realm, and it hasn’t really slowed down since. In the early days of China’s industrialization, the market was heavily controlled by the government. The main objectives of the government/the communist party were to increase output and expand industrial growth. They basically exploited every available resource to achieve these goals. And they used whatever they needed in excessive quantities. The environment, ergo the resources being used, were viewed as things placed there for the benefit of humans–things to be harnessed and exploited. Therefore, no real infrastructure was ever developed by the government to replace or conserve any of the resources that were taken. This lack of infrastructure remains today, despite the fact that the government is markedly less involved in the economy.