Pollution in the yellow river

China's sick, Yellow River

The Yellow River (known as the Huang He in China) is China's second longest river, and the sixth longest river in the world at a length of nearly 5,500km.

What's wrong with the Yellow River?

33.8 per cent of the river's water is unfit for drinking, aquaculture, industrial use and even agriculture, according to the UN Environmental Program.

4.35 billion tons of effluent was dumped in the river in 2007 with Industry and manufacturing making up 70 percent.

In 2008 pollution turned part of the river red and foamy, forcing authorities to cut water supplies to as many as 200,000 people.

POLLUTION

needs to stop

because...

China NEEDS water

China, has the same amount of water as the United States but nearly five times the population. Nearly half of China's population lives on only 15 percent of its water.

Premier Wen Jiabao said "the shortage of clean water threatens the survival of the Chinese nation."

... and the Chinese nation makes up nearly 20% of the world's human population.

If China don't clean out their rivers the population will suffer

... and that's not just the human population

30% of fish species in the Yellow River are believed to have become extinct and the river's fish catch has declined by 40%.

So why has nothing been done about it?

Perspectives

With China racing to become the next superpower, companies have been producing at higher rates than ever before. This has had devastating consequences on the natural environment, and especially the Yellow River.

So what CAN they do about it?

Option 1: Put a limit on factory emmissions

The easiest way to stop the long term effects of pollution in the Yellow River is to reduce the amount of pollution from factories.

The way this can happen is through the Chinese Government, who have a mixed perspective on river pollution.

If they did put restrictions in place the rate of pollution would be slowed down.

However pollution would still occur, and their would be no short term environmental benefits.

Also, it would have a negative impact on the Chinese economy through less production. It is unlikely that the Chinese Government would compromise economic gain for environmental gain.

Option 2: Invest into creating a Chinese environmental organization

The aims of this organization would be to clean out immediate pollution from the Yellow River, and inform the Chinese public about the pollution that is occurring to raise awareness.

This would require donations from the Chinese public to help raise awareness about pollution in Chinese River but it would benefit the Yellow River in both the short term and long term.

If the organization is successful, later on the rate of pollution could be slowed down and hopefully stopped eventually.

The main problem associated with this option is that it requires many volunteers, not only to raise awareness but also to help clean out pollution in the river.

So which option is better?

2

Option 2 helps the environmental issues associated with the Yellow River in both the short term and long term.

It is likely that it will make a huge difference not only to the Yellow River, but hopefully China's rivers as a whole. It does this without any needed investment from the Chinese Government.

With help from international organizations such as the WWF, hopefully this new organization could finally sort out the mess that the Yellow River has become, and help China become sustainable for farmers like Shen who's lives depend on it.

Continuum showing individual/group's perspectives on the Yellow River

Chinese Government

WWF (World Wildlife Fund)

The WWF have had a longstanding perspective to help the natural environment remain natural. They have made strong recomendations to the Chinese Government to clean out their rivers. Donations have helped them to clean out some of the river and inform the Chinese locals of the dangers of pollution. The WWF have a goal that by 2050 we can live in a world that is sustainable with natural places such as the Yellow River being conserved.

The Chinese Government has a changing perspective. As they have been pushing for global power, they have encouraged the rapid production growth that has been occurring around China. More recently, however, they have had a slight change of their perspective. Specifically, the Ministry of Water Resources have been investing billions into cleaning out their rivers since 2009, but the problems are still huge and some scientists predict that the water problems will continue to rise until 2030. The Chinese Government will try to change that.

For income

Neutral

For the environment

Shen

Owners of Factories that pollute the Yellow River

Owners of Chinese Factories aim to produce goods as quickly as possible. They don't care at the long term issues that are associated with the emissions, but rather just want the income. Hopefully these owners will be forced by the Government to restrict their emissions otherwise the problem will only continue to worsen with more and more pollution occurring every year.

Shen, a farmer in Shizuishan, which is now one of the most polluted cities in the world has been heavily damaged by the Yellow River. Once a successful farmer, he can no longer even use the water for irrigation, and his goats died within hours of drinking from the river. "We are slowly poisoning ourselves," Shen told a journalist shaking with anger. "How can they let this happen to our Mother River?" Shen cried out to the public to raise awareness of what has happened to his beloved river.

The Yellow River