我周围的环境 中国正在做的毁掉自己环境的十种事情(下)

中国正在做的毁掉自己环境的十种事情(下)  

operly Designed Garbage Incinerators Are Polluting The Atmosphere
China is struggling to contain the insane amounts of waste the country produces. Landfills are quickly overfilling
leaving them with nothing to do but simply destroy the garbage if they can. In many situations
this has led to a strategy of garbage incineration
with the fumes vented straight into the atmosphere. While this probably doesn't sound like a great idea even in the best of situations
there are some incinerator plants in China that are having a serious environmental impact. Regulations aren't well designed and there are a plethora of incinerator facilities that aren't even close to standard
belching nasty smoke into the air with mercury and every other poison you could imagine. The horrible toxic fumes that spew forth have caused protests by everyone near them
and they're an obvious threat to everyone's health for miles.
's Bee The Largest Dumping Ground For E-Waste
4.中国正在成为最大电子垃圾倾倒场
E-waste is an increasingly vexing problem for the world. When old electronics are tossed out they often aren't properly recycled because it's too time consuming
unsafe or expensive. In many cases
a venue that recycles old cell phones and puters may just take all that junk and send it to another country to pick over as they please. This is technically illegal
but there's little deterrent. Using both the guise of donations and straight up smuggling
China has being the leading importer of e-waste to the point that 70% of the world's e-waste is ending up there.
One town called Guiyu has bee a hot zone for the stuff
and many entrepreneurs have risen up around mining old electronic garbage for valuable metals and other useful scrap. Unfortunately
this is terrible for their health and the environment. The process often involves burning plastic or using hydrochloric acid
neither of which is good for the user or the atmosphere. To make matters worse
this pollution has also affected the town's water supply and rice crops. While the local government is trying to stop the flood of e-waste into the town
they face resistance from some residents because it's the only way they know how to make a living.
utants Are Making The Food Supply Unsafe
It stands to reason that if China's air and water isn't doing well
their soil probably isn't faring much better. The problem with the soil may actually be more serious than any others. While many farmers are worried about the constant pollution levels they're exposed to
most of the country is worried about the safety of their food supply — a supply they're increasingly unable to trust.
The soil problem has been one of the most carefully guarded secrets in China. In fact
a few years ago the Chinese government conducted a study of the soil in order to assess environmental concerns. The results have never been released
which led to speculation that they're worse than anyone could have imagined. To give you some idea
a group of Chinese officials found levels of cadmium beyond what's remended as safe in 155 samples of rice. One official mented that eight million acres of Chinese farmland was so poisoned with heavy metal contamination that it should no longer be used to grow crops. The worst part is that it's almost impossible for Chinese consumers to know whether or not their food is contaminated.
er Villages
Since the late 1990s
international activists and groups in China have been working on the problem of cancer villages. A cancer village is a small town of 100 or so residents that's extremely close to industrial plants. These plants are constantly producing some of the nastiest pollutants on earth. People from the villages describe it as a nigare
with chemically tainted water that can't be purified and clouds of toxic ash floating through the air.
The Chinese government doesn't want to address or acknowledge the issue
but like the smog the problem has bee bad enough that no amount of covering up can hide it. Unfortunately
these villages are unlikely to go away anytime soon. As it turns out
the richer citizens of China don't like pollution when it affects them
so they've been pressuring the government to move industrial plants. The government obliges and moves them near poor villages that lacks the political influence to do anything about it.
Affects The Entire World
While it's important for China to help its own country
the problem affects more than just China. The massive amount of pollution is starting to affect the rest of the world
and the results aren't pretty. Scientists at Texas A&M University ran climate simulations both with and without China's current air pollution and found troubling results. According to their simulations
cyclones in the Pacific Ocean are being strengthened by the pollution levels
and there's an increase in ocean storms in general. If that wasn't bad enough
tracing the pollutants led to the conclusion that some of it's reaching the western United States
and much of the pollution levels in those states could be blamed on China.
As the study points out
this is massively ironic because the United States — and other developed countries — rely on China for cheap consumer goods. While many countries have outlawed practices that are bad for the environment
they turn around and buy massive amounts of goods from countries that continue to poison the environment. Countries like China fill a void by allowing us to get things for cheap while feeling like we're taking the high road by enacting tougher pollution laws at home. These countries' economies quickly bee based on manufacturing
and the cycle bees hard to break. While China may need to change
it's a problem of more than just their making. If we want China to stop polluting
the rest of the world needs to find a more environmentally sustainable way to produce the goods that drive our economies.
审校：玛格 编辑：旭旭 来源：前十网