Main contributors:
– Large scale working of coal and other minerals
– Coal fired power stations which discharge huge amounts of pollutants into the air
– Heavy industry, creates other forms of pollution
- The World Bank says that Chinese steel makers, on average, use 1/5 more energy per tonne than the international average.
- China aluminium industry alone consumes as much energy as the country’s commercial sector
- China’s economic growth mirrors its environmental problems. It’s set to get much worse due to reliance on heavily dependent industry. Politicians are reluctant to do anything that’ll curve their economic growth.
Most obvious impact as the health of the Chinese people
- 300,000 people die per year from air pollution
- Mostly from heart disease and lung cancer
geography case studies 