ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN ASIA

AREA OF FOCUS

CAUSES AND EFFECT OF POLLUTION

Yangtze River-

Ganges River-

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF

AIR POLLUTION/FLOODING

India-

China-

POLLUTION

The introduction of harmful substances or

products into the environment.

YANGTZE RIVER

Begins in a glacier in the Dangla Mountains East of the Tibetan

Plateau and empties into the East China Sea.

YANGTZE RIVER HISTORY

Also known as the Chang Jiang River.

Important to the cultural origins of Southern

China.

Known as the boundary between north China

and south China.

This boundary caused many battles to take place

on the river.

Flows through a mild climate, which makes it

suitable for agriculture.

YANGTZE RIVER TODAY

Plays a large role in the area’s economic growth.

Has become a vital link for international

shipping.

Named one of the world’s busiest waterways.

Luxury cruises lasting several days are popular

along the river.

POLLUTION ON THE YANGTZE RIVER

Heavy Shipping

Traffic

Industrial waste

Agricultural waste

Human waste

Lack of environmental

reform by the Chinese

government

Two species have become critically endangered (Chinese Alligator & Chinese Paddlefish).

Lack of drinking water in 26 cities including Shanghai.

Soil pollution- agricultural issues

Cancer

Deformed children

Causes Effects

Chemical waste from Jiangsu Taixing Chemical Industrial District

dumped on top of the Yangtze River bank. May 15, 2009

In Ma’anshan, Anhui province, along the Yangtze River there are many

small-scaled Iron selection factories and plastic processing plants. Large

amounts of sewage discharged into the Yangtze River June 18, 2009

Jiangsu province Changshu City Fluorine Chemical industry land

sewage treatment plant was responsible for collection and processing

of the industrial sewage. However they did not, the sewage pipe was

extended 1500 meters under the Yangtze River and releasing the

sewage there. 2009 June 11

Soil by Yangtze River, was polluted by Anhui Province Ma’anshan

Chemical Industrial District. June 26, 2009

A Large amount of the chemical wastewater discharged into Yangtze

River from Zhenjiang Titanium mill every day. Less than 1,000 meters

away downstream is where the water department of Danyang City gets

its water from. June 10, 2009

In Haimen city, Jiangsu province Chemical Industrial District

sewage treatment Plant discharged wastewater into Yangtze River.

June 5, 2009

Jiangxi Province Hu Ko County Chemical Industry district is by the

Yangtze River. Chemical factory landfill the Yangtze River bank to

expand the scale of the factory without authorization.

Anhui Province Cihu Chemical Industry District built a underground

pipe to discharge wastewater into the Yangtze River. The wastewater

sometimes is black, gray, dark red, or yellow, wastewater from different

chemical factories has different colors. June 18, 2009

Shanxi Province is the most polluted areas of China. It is also the province with the

highest rate of birth defects.

“In Some areas of China people’s lives were threatened because of the environmental

pollution. Residents suffering from all kinds of obscured diseases, the cancer villages,

increase of deformed babies, these were the results of sacrificing environment and blindly

seeking economical gain.”

- Lu Guang

Xuanwei in Yunnan province is a cancer village. Every year there are

more than 20 people die of cancer. 11-year-old student Xu Li is

suffering from bone cancer. May 8, 2007

GANGES RIVER

Begins in the Himalayans and ends in the Bay of Bengal.

GANGES RIVER HISTORY

During the early Veda Ages, the Indus and the

Sarasvati Rivers were the major rivers, not the

Ganges River.

Later, three Vedas gave more importance to the

Ganges River.

What are the Vedas???

GANGES RIVER TODAY

The Ganges and it’s tributaries provide a large

source of irrigation to a large area of Northern

India.

Many fishing opportunities though it is highly

polluted.

Millions of Hindus take a pilgrimage to the river

to bathe and “cleanse” themselves from sin.

River rapids are also popular for “river rafting”

which attracts hundreds of tourists during the

summer months.

POLLUTION ON THE GANGES RIVER

Leather industry-

leaks chromium into

river.

Untreated raw sewage

Inadequate cremation

procedures

Lack of drinking water

Unusable for agriculture

Decline of aquatic creatures One stretch of the river

has been free of aquatic creatures for over a decade.

In Varanasi, the bacterial count in the water is 3,000 times higher than the standard establish by the United Nations.

Causes Effects

INDIA

AIR POLLUTION IN INDIA

Vehicles and industry

emissions

Road dust

Old diesel engines-

lack of emissions

Cremations- use of

butter ghee

Lack of pollution

standards

50% of children suffer

from Asthma.

Respiratory and

cardiovascular

problems

Premature death

Lung disease

Causes Effects

FLOODING IN INDIA

Deforestation

Poor urban drainage

Building of dams

Monsoons

Inadequate town

planning

Overpopulation

FLOODING!!!!

When you alter the

land the water is not

able to go where it is

supposed to go, which

in turn develops into a

flood!

Causes Effects

AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA

Coal burning

Few environmental

standards enforced

HUGE numbers of

cars on the roads

Acid Rain

Cancer- leading cause

of death

1% of air is classified

as safe to breathe by

European Standards

Dissolving of

limestone buildings

Causes Effects

“At the junction of Ningxia province and Inner Mongolia province, I

saw a tall chimney puffing out golden smoke covering the blue sky,

large tracts of the grassland have become industrial waste dumps;

unbearable foul smell made people want to cough; Surging

industrial sewage flowed into the Yellow River…”

Fan Jai Zhuang in Anyang City, Henan province, there is only one wall

separating this village from the steelmaking furnaces. The villagers live

in this heavily polluted environment where the village is under the iron

rain every day. March 24, 2008

Shizuishan Industrial district in Ningxia province, the tall chimneys

spitted out smoke and dust. Residents took preventive measure for

the falling dust from the sky when going outside. April 22, 2006

In Inner Mongolia there were 2 “black dragons” from the Lasengmiao

Power Plant covering the nearby villages. July 26, 2005

Zhaozhuang village by the Hong River in Wugang City, Henan

province, 66-year-old Zhao Bingkun suffering from esophageal cancer

since 2004, after the second surgery, treatment cost already have

reached over 200,000 yuan. His condition is in late stage, he is having

fever everyday, waiting for death. April 7, 2009

People form Fanjiazhuang are ready to submit a complain filled with

their fingerprints, to seek compensation for pollution damages.

March 19, 2008

FLOODING IN CHINA

Deforestation

Erosion

Ice blockage

Breaking of the levees

Monsoons

Towns established in

flood plains

FLOODING!!!!

Causes Effects

ASIAN BROWN CLOUD

Affects all nations of South, Southeast and East

Asia.

Brown haze that has many effects on the places it

travels above.

ASIAN BROWN CLOUD

Effects:

Alters monsoon patterns

Reduces photosynthesis

Increases human

respiratory problems

Reduces solar radiation

to the Earth’s surface

Contributors:

Toxic waste from

factories

Motor vehicles

Improper cooking fuels

Forest fires