Good Example Of Research Essay

Pollution in U.S. vis-à-vis pollution in China
Pollution has been attributed to increasing industrial activities due the advancement in technological inventions and innovations across the globe. Major industrial development takes place in countries such as the United and China. In this regard, the United States and China are leading contributors to pollution. This pollution is due to emission of toxic gases (air pollution), release of industrial wastes into rivers and streams (water pollution) and electronic and solid industrial wastes (waste pollution). The three forms of pollution have taken place against the backdrop of international interventions aimed at reducing the level of pollution. This paper is developed as a comparative study between pollution activities in United States and China. The policies regarding sustainable environmental practices have been analyzed. In particular, the paper explores efforts by both countries to reduce pollution. The differences in efforts aimed at combating emerging environmental issues have been explored. It emerges that the United States environmental policies are strictly followed with the help of agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while in China; environmental policies are relaxed due to inadequate supervisory intervention.

Organization/Strategy

The essay relies on a top-down strategy in the development of logic and organization of the thesis. Top-down strategy entails looking at the bigger picture and analyzing it in details. This means that the essay will explore the wider perspective on environmental pollution and narrows it to the specific issues in the United and China. The essay is developed from a general worldview to a specific worldview. It explores how the two countries fit into the global environmental challenge, their roles and position in the global environment perspective.

Variety of literature has been used in the development of this essay. Issues regarding the three forms of pollution have been tackled relative to the two countries. For example, the United States regulations of air pollution have been separately analyzed alongside China’s response to environmental degradation. The use of varied literature for research helps in developing a conclusion on whether the two countries are taking initiatives to combat pollution or merely abetting the phenomenon.

Introduction

The subject of pollution has been a sensitive issue in various local and international forums. In light of international treaties regulating pollution, various countries have taken the necessary steps to reduce their amount of waste. These countries use environmental laws to enforce various regulations among manufacturing industries and corporations. Part of the issues that these laws address include sustainable waste disposal mechanisms, enhanced gaseous emission systems and proper disposal of solid waste. This initiative is meant to limit the amount of wastes that get into the rivers and which might cause pollution of water bodies and affect human lives downstream. The focus of this paper is to examine if the two leading industrial powers, the United States and China, are making efforts to promote this global initiative by assessing their implementation of environmental policies.

Air pollution

Air pollution in China
Quotation: “Out of the seventy four cities in China, only eight have complied with regulations by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.” Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental issues in China. Due to increasing air pollution, various health and environmental problems have emerged. The combustion of coal is said to be the major cause factor to air pollution in the United States. Chinese City of Beijing is experiencing a particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers. These particles are responsible for diseases such as asthma, respiratory problems, bronchitis and may eventually lead to early death. Against this backdrop, it is indubitable that unless various initiatives are enhanced to combat this vice, the lives of the people of China will be put at risk. It consequently follows that the lives of people in the neighboring countries will be endangered if China continues to relax its environmental laws. The Ministry of Environmental Protection has failed to implement its regulations governing the level of emissions. Unless various interventions are explored to limit the danger presented by environmental degradation, the success of achieving a cleaner environment would be thrown into jeopardy.

Air pollution in US

“Clean Air Act offers a platform upon which air quality is protected. The federal, state and local agencies work in collaboration to reduce air pollution.” In the United States, air pollution is caused by the release of chemicals, biological materials and particulate matter into the atmosphere. Such releases have damaged the environment. It is estimated that 60% of Americans inhabit areas where environmental pollutions have reached worrying levels. However, efforts by the United States to enact the Clean Air Act are attempts to regulate air pollution. This Act sets standards and limits on the concentration of toxic gases that are released into the air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has undertaken various efforts aimed at reducing the level of emissions. In 1999, EPA introduced Air Quality index that incorporated Ozone Standards and particulate matter of diameter of 2.5 micrometers. The Act has brought about significant improvement in the quality of air. Some of these improvements include reduction in carbon emission from 197 million tons to 88 million tons. The level of particulate emissions significantly fell by over 80% between 1970 and 2006.

Regulation of air pollution

China’s environmental policies portray lack of government’s willingness to reduce the level of air pollution. The Ministry of Environmental Protection has come under attack for showing little efforts to combat the dangerous effects of the environment. China made an effort to apply measurers to reduce the use of coal. This move implies that the country must rely on other economic activities to support the number of people whose lives depended on coal. In the United States, efforts by EPA have yielded success following a series of reduction pollutants that have taken place between 1970 and 2006. Emissions of nitrogen oxide reduced to 19million tons from the initial 28 million tons prior to the implementation of environmental laws. Comparing the environmental policies of China and the United States, it can be concluded that China’s environmental policies are less strict compared to that of the United States. America has placed firm restrictions that govern air pollution through Clean Air Act that is monitored by EPA. Thus, China needs to adopt strict measures to curb the level of emissions that take peace in the country. It can benchmark with the U.S. to determine its weaker areas and improve on them.

Water Pollution

Water pollution in China
“Wastes from industries and mining activities find their way into streams and rivers.” This endangers the lives of people downstream. Due to its relaxed environmental policies, water pollution has increased because of lax environmental oversight. Manufacturing industries release wastes into water bodies. Other contributors include industrial spills, poor treatment of sewage and use of fertilizers and pesticides. These factors have lowered the quality of drinking water in China. The reduction in water quality has led to an increase in demand which has consequently led to shortage of clean water in the country. Reports by China’s Environmental Protection Administration revealed that 60% of rivers in China are polluted. The extent of pollution of these rivers make them unfit for human consumption. This means that the lives of people who rely on water from rivers are endangered by the level of pollution of these rivers. Even though China is building its water infrastructure and increasing regulations on emissions, more efforts need to be employed to minimize the rate of water pollution.

Water pollution in the United States

“There is relative success in America’s efforts to reduce water pollution.” Water pollution occurs because of water contamination, cruise ship pollution, contamination of ground water and contamination with lead. Major water bodies that are experiencing pollution in the United States include Ohio River, Duwamish River, Bubbly Creek and Newark Bay. Pollution of water bodies is controlled by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA undertakes various initiatives aimed at decreasing the amount of water wasted. EPA achieves this by implementing water efficiency strategies. The agency relies on the Clean Water Act that spells out measures against irresponsible use of water resources in the United States. EPA plays an advocacy role in which it campaigns for adoption of green infrastructure to reduce water pollution. It helps the cities, states and counties to address various challenges regarding water resources and ensures that the waterways provide aquatic ecosystems.

Regulation of water pollution

The centrality of water to human life cannot be gainsaid. Water plays an important role in enhancing the body’s metabolic systems. Polluted water poses a serious health risks to users. Rain water running through the roofs sometimes collects dirt, trash and chemicals. This means that water systems lack basic protection to make them fit for human consumption. In this regard, various measures need to be enforced to protect water resources. In China, the Ministry of Environment Protection is undertaking various efforts to reduce water pollution. However, the worrying statistics about the level of water contamination in the country is likely to frustrate efforts by the ministry to achieve this goal.
The existence of lax environmental oversight in China further compounds the problem. Unless China makes drastic and deliberate measures to protect its water bodies, pollution of water bodies will increase as more industries emerge with increasing technologies. In the United States, the existence of strong environmental protection laws has contributed in regulation of water pollution. The success of the Clean Water Act cannot be gainsaid. EPA’s continued monitoring of water systems is an indication that the United States in making adequate measures to comply with global goals of sustainable development. Comparing the environmental policies of the two countries regarding water pollution, it is evident that the United States applies strictly its environmental laws while China has a relaxed stand on environmental policies. In this regard, China needs to improve its environmental laws to conform to global demands.

Waste Pollution

Waste pollution in China
“Lax environmental oversight and reduced war on pollution could put China into a crisis.” There has been a steady increase in waste production in China. Lack of environmental awareness has hindered the development of capable manufacturing systems. It is estimated that China released 300 million tons of waste in 2012. This research was followed by a ban on the use of plastic bags in supermarkets. The government declared the ban and instead opted for the use of cloth bags and baskets while shopping. Despite the ban, about 10% of plastic paper bags were found in garbage. This implies that plastic paper bags were in use despite the ban. In addition to the plastic ban menace, the amount of electronic wastes in China has increased over the years. 2.3 million tons of electronic wastes were produced in 2011. This amount will increase because of China’s rapidly growing economy. China also imports electronic wastes from other countries, a situation that further complicates the waste challenge. Improper handling of wastes in China points to serious environmental issues.

Waste Pollution in the United States

In the United States, hazardous wastes have the capability of causing deaths of human beings or animals or pose serious health risks. Generation of these wastes takes places in various parts of the United States. Wastes from automobile shops, manufacturing companies, oil refineries and electroplating companies are example of hazardous wastes. The management of hazardous wastes has been the central focus of waste management agencies. The management efforts have had some degree of success. EPA plays a lead role in initiating programs and measures that protect the citizens from the effects of hazardous wastes.

Regulation of waste pollution

The effects of hazardous wastes can be devastating unless proper mechanisms are put in place to ensure that people are protected from wastes. In China, the ban on the use of plastics was a major step towards affirming the government’s position on waste reduction. This initiative achieved some degree of success. However, there were loopholes since some plastic bags still found their way into the garbage. In this regard, waste management policies had loopholes that allowed unauthorized use of plastics bags against the ban. In the United States, the contribution of EPA on the reduction of waste has led to implementation of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste program. Various states across the United States are mandated to maintain programs that ensure sustainable production of solid wastes. EPA enforces regulations that manage the production and disposal of hazardous wastes.

Conclusion

This paper was developed as comparative study on the environmental policies in China and the United States. The two countries share similarity in terms of the rapid increase in industrial development. This increase in industrial development has made them major contributors of industrial pollution. It examined three forms of pollution namely air pollution, water pollution and waste pollution relative to the two countries. The environmental policies governing industrial production were assessed. The paper found out that the United States has strong environmental policies than China. In particular, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plays a lead role in ensuring that the three forms of pollution are managed and regulated. EPA relies on various enactments such as Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to implement regulatory mechanisms. China has weaker environmental protection policies. The result of this has been increasing pollution in air, water and solid waste. China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection employs a lax environmental oversight that is likely to put China in crisis. In light of the foregoing, China needs improve its environmental policies by adopting United States’ policies on environmental protection.