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HumanOverpopulationinChina.pptx
Human Overpopulation in China
And Its Affect on the Environment
Introduction
The Earth’s human population sits at approximately 7.7 billion
China’s population accounts for 18% of this population
China’s square mileage is only 3.705 million mi2
The ratio of the amount of people to the environment has been skewed
Poor Air Quality
Of the top 20 most polluted cities, China has 16 in those rankings.
In 2015, Beijing witnessed an immense skyrocket in population due to newfound wealth
This led to more motor vehicles being used.
In addition, coal burning factories became more widely used to catch up with the increasing number.
Poor Air Quality (Cont.)
With the combination of the two, Beijing soon found itself covered in smog.
To make matters worse, Beijing’s topography helps seal in the toxins since it is surrounded by a mountainous terrain.
This causes the air quality to be one of the absolute worst in the world
Depletion of Basic Resources
As China’s population continues to increase, so does the need for resources.
China farmers have resorted to farming called intensive farming.
Intensive farming helped farmers produce greater yields to fight hunger and starvation but it causes extensive damage on the environment.
This is due to the use of pesticides and insecticides on crops and the heavy duty machinery used to take care of the crops
Depletion of Resources (Cont.)
Agriculture, human/animal life, and plant life all depend on water
China is home to almost 50,000 rivers
Due to pollution and increased water necessity, 28,000 of the rivers have dried up
This forces China to bring water from its southern territory up north
Opposing Views
Many say that China’s booming economy is due to the mass amount of people
According to Amadeo, this growth has helped reduce the poverty rate tremendously
This means more working class people in China live more comfortably but at the cost of rapid degradation of the land they call home
Solutions
To reduce the damage, China has implemented many environmental regulations that target major companies and farmers
To further help reverse the collateral damage, China could:
Convert from coal powered plants to solar powered plants
Rid of intensive farming practices and practice organic farming
Create better ways of transportation in major cities
Discussion Questions
What can be done to restore the dried rivers in China?
Organic farming can be more expensive, but it can also be more caring on the environment. Are the pros and cons for organic farming worth saving the environment?
Works Cited
Davies, Paul A. and R. Andrew Westgate. Latham & Watkins LLP. 6 June 2018. 20 November 2019.
Femsom, Anthony. The National Interest. 16 September 2019. 20 November 2019.
Green Match. GreenMatch. 4 October 2019. 6 November 2019.
Harvey, Fiona. The Guardian. 28 January 2019. 20 November 2019.
Khan, Mehran Idris and Yen-Chiang Chang. "Environmental Challenges and Current Practices in." 20 July 2018. 5. 20 November 2019.
Renewable Resources Co. Renewable Resources Coalition. 6 December 2016. 2019 November 2019.
Ye, Mason F. Pressbooks. 2015. 20 November 2019.
Yu, Jialing and Jian Wu. "The Sustainability of Agricultural Development in China: The Agriculture-Environment Nexus." 29 May 2018. 10. 20 November 2019.
Works Cited (Cont.)
Amadeo, Kimberly. China's Economic Growth, Its Causes, Pros, Cons, and Future. 25 June 2019. 3 December 2019.
BBC News. Beijing releases air pollution data. 21 January 2012. 3 December 2019.
China Briefing. Is China's Population Really 1.3 Billion? 1 September 2008. 3 December 2019.
Kennedy, Merrit. Smog Police: New Beijing Force Created To Tackle Air Pollution. 9 January 2017. 3 December 2019.
Porterfield, Andrew. Sustainability advantage: ‘High-yield’ intensive agriculture outpaces organic farming, large study shows. 1 October 2018. 3 December 2019.
Qin, Liu. Source of Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze Rivers Drying Up. 3 August 2017. 3 December 2019.
Wall Street Journal. Here's How Much Poverty Has Declined in China. 18 April 2013. 3 December 2019.
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