China: Last Hope for a Paradigm Shift

A world of development and advancement, that Americans like to think they dominate, invites other countries to try their chances in creating similar trends. China, the world's most populous country, is now wanting to live our Western style; warranted this trend is not necessarily new, just really obvious nowadays. Though it is not wrong for a country to push themselves into a modern world, the cost that the environment, animals, and people are paying is becoming alarmingly scary.

The sky is gray and the buildings that line streets have now become shadows among the clouds of pollution. Bodies of water are polluted with agriculture runoff and now sport inhospitable pools of algae. In some cities, it's life threatening to step outside of your home without a mask. These are the problems facing modern China. "Last year, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, eight of 74 monitored cities met clean air standards" (Edward Wong and Chris Buckley). Citizens are upset that pollution is continuing to exist at such high levels. The lax control on the environmental policies is a problem the government does not seem quite ready to fix. The policies in place now are not being enforced, which leads to companies dumping chemical waste illegally into water, without real penalty. Everyone is negatively impacted by this situation. The economic gain in this instance needs to be overlooked because destroying the health of millions is not, in any way, justified.

From All-That-Is-Interesting.com:
1. 90% of China's urban groundwater is contaminated.
2. By its own government projections, China will have exploited all of the country's available water supplies by 2030.
3. Every year, 750,000 Chinese die prematurely form pollution.
4. Only 1% of China's 560 million urban residents breathe air that is deemed safe by European Union standards.
5. Air pollution in China has become so severe that it could lead to the equivalent of a nuclear winter across the country.

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/pollution-in-china-photographs#1

Recently a documentary called Under the Dome was leaked online. This documentary takes a startling look into the world of China, the pollution and all. Under the Dome was placed online during a pivotal time in China's race to fix their pollution problem and its relevance was obvious. The movie was quickly banned in China and has caused a stir that cannot be overlooked, seen as the equivalent to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl_zV1deXdM

As the Chinese government changes their tune, looking for a paradigm shift, they are looking to crack down on businesses producing massive amounts of pollution. Sadly, as these regulations continue to be enforced, businesses and their pollution start to move further west in the country, thus only shifting the problems to newer places. The paradigm shift, a move towards environmental connection between humans and the environment, is exactly what China needs to focus on. The push for modernization should be less about keeping up with the West's technological advancements and instead more about their need for safety and preservation for the environment. The outcome of their current agenda is astonishing and truly scary for the whole world. The teachings of Taoism should be taken in to consideration among Chinese, less focus on material needs, who see the need to pollute in order to be a bigger producer. Our material desires, as humans, is overwhelming for the environment and we are killing every aspect we want to keep dear. China, including others places like India and even the USA, need to make a paradigm shift to becoming more environmentally connected or we will kill what's left of our lives. The shift is the last hope for China.

http://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2013/03/paradigm-shift-chinese-environmental-sector-needed-activist-wang-canfa/