Asia Pollution/Environmental/Populati

on Concerns

Landslides and mudslides in corners of Indonesia and the Philippines caused by illegal logging swept away or buried alive whole families.

Six of the world's 15 most polluted cities are in Asia, and the region generates a third of the world's carbon dioxide emissions.

In Asia's developing regions, around 785 million people lack regular access to safe water, UN statistics show.

The Ganges River begins high in the Himalayan Mountains and flows 1600 miles through India and Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal.

This river provides water and transportation for the over 400 million people who live in its river valley.

Although it is religiously important, the water has become extremely polluted.

Ganges River

Chemicals used in fertilizer and industry are washed into the river everyday. Human and animal waste also foul the river. The bodies of dead animals as well as the cremated remains of human beings (bodies that are burned after death and whose ashes are scattered in the river) regularly float down the river.

In spite of this, many Indians bathe in the Ganges and use the water for cooking and drinking.

Cities along the Ganges have the highest rates of water-born diseases (diseases found in drinking water) of any who live in India.

Still, these cities pour millions of gallons of sewage into the river to be carried to cities and villages farther south.

China’s longest river, the Yangtze River, flows almost 4,000 miles from the northwestern part of the country to the East China Sea.

The Yangtze River passes through over 185 towns where almost 400 million people live.

Pumping stations along the river take water out to supply people with water for drinking, irrigation, and industrial uses.

Yangtze pollution 'irreversible'

Millions of gallons of sewage are dumped into the river, along with chemicals from agricultural runoff and industrial wastes.

Nitrogen from fertilizers and arsenic (poisonous chemical) from industrial uses are leading pollutants found in the Yangtze’s waters.

The pollution in the river puts all of the cities along its banks at risk.

Many species of plants and animals that once lived in the river are disappearing. The high levels of nitrogen and phosphates lead to the growth of blue-green algae.

This growth reduces the oxygen in the water causing fish to die. Contaminated fish are caught and eaten by the Chinese people, leading to other health problems.

China is building more water treatment facilities (process of removing contaminants from wastewater). It is encouraging cities along the river to build sanitary landfills (areas where waste is isolated from the environment until it is safe) for garbage rather than dumping the contaminants in the river.

International organizations like the World Bank have worked with Chinese authorities to organize such programs.

The massive Three Gorges Dam is being built along the Yangtze River in central China to provide hydroelectric power to millions of Chinese who have not had electricity.

Some people feel the dam project was begun without taking into account the effects such a project would have on the environment.

A number of species of plants and animals that live along the river where the dam has been built are now threatened with extinction.

Another concern is that the dam has been built in an area prone to earthquakes.

Increasing water drainage and pollution are putting many lakes around the world in serious danger. It is estimated that more than one-half of the world's five million lakes are at risk, threatening the economic and health benefits they bring local communities. Asia is no exception.

The amount of water taken from rivers and lakes for irrigation, household, and industrial use has doubled in the last 40 years.

Almost every single lake has some sort of problem. A number of these lakes are shrinking in size and some are even disappearing. In China, thousands of lakes have disappeared throughout the country as rivers have been diverted and water taken out for water irrigation projects.

In China, the disappearance of lakes has deprived the Yangtze River Basin of much-needed water-storage capacity and flood protection.

Flooding

A dense blanket of pollution, dubbed the "Asian Brown Cloud," is hovering over South Asia, with scientists warning it could kill millions of people in the region, and pose a global threat.

In the biggest-ever study of the phenomenon, 200 scientists warned that the cloud, estimated to be two miles (three kilometers) thick, is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year from respiratory disease.

By slashing the sunlight that reaches the ground by 10 to 15 percent, the choking smog has also altered the region's climate, cooling the ground while heating the atmosphere.

Brown Cloud

  The potent haze lying over the entire Indian subcontinent -- from Sri Lanka to Afghanistan -- has led to some erratic weather, sparking flooding in Bangladesh, Nepal and northeastern India, but drought in Pakistan and northwestern India.

Asia's brown haze is altering the weather, creating acid rain.   A cocktail of aerosols, ash, soot and other particles, the haze's reach extends far beyond the study zone of the Indian subcontinent, and towards East and Southeast Asia.

"Biomass burning" from forest fires, vegetation clearing and fossil fuel was just as much to blame for the shrouding haze as dirty industries from Asia's great cities, the study found.

A large part of the aerosol cloud comes from inefficient cookers, where fuels such as cow dung and kerosene are used to cook food in many parts of Asia.

Asia's Brown Cloud

Acid rain

Not only does the smog cut sunlight, heating the atmosphere, but also that it created acid rain, a serious threat to crops and trees, as well as contaminating oceans and hurting agriculture.

Asia Overpopulati

on

By the year 2050, China will no longer be the most populous country in the world.

India will see its population grow by 700 million people by 2050, the U.S. Census bureau estimates.

That distinction will pass to India, where more than 1.8 billion people could be competing for their country's resources, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's International Data Base.

The 2007 population estimates China's current population at around 1.3 billion people, and India's at around 1.1 billion. If population continues to grow at the estimated rate, such rapid growth in India between now and mid-century could lead to overpopulation and an uncertain future for the environment and the people living there.

Overpopulation occurs when a population's density exceeds the capacity of the environment to supply the health requirements of an individual.

Environmentalists have long been concerned about the resources threatened by rapidly growing human populations, focusing on phenomenon such as deforestation, desertification, air pollution and global warming. But the worst-case scenario for people experiencing overpopulation is a lack of fresh, clean water.

Nine billion is an exceptional amount of people, considering the world's population only reached 1 billion in 1830.

By 1999, world population reached 6 billion, and in the relatively short time between 2007 and 2050, there could be roughly 2.4 billion more people on Earth needing clean water, space and other natural resources from their environment in order to survive.

Governments facing overpopulation will also struggle to manage waste. When London, England, faced a population boom in the 1850s, for example, its infrastructure was not prepared for the excess waste, which resulted in Cholera outbreaks.

Birthrates make a differenceThe massive growth in developing nations is due in large part to fertility rates, where women during their reproductive years will have an average of five children.

China's government has instituted population control methods in order to curb growth. Their controversial "one child" policies have garnered an uneasy reception.

When the Olympic Committee decided to have the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, one of the concerns among the athletes who were going to complete was the quality of the air in that Chinese city.

Beijing, like many other major cities in China, has experienced tremendous growth in both population and industry during the past few decades.

Much of China’s energy is provided by burning coal, a process that sends tons of soot, ash, and chemicals into the atmosphere.

In addition, millions of Chinese people now drive automobiles and trucks, whose exhaust is another source of massive air pollution.

China

According to the People’s Republic of China’s own statistics, the leading causes of death in that country are respiratory and heart diseases that can be tied to long exposure to air pollution. This pollution also leads to acid rain.

Before the 2008 Olympics, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau was established to work on the quality of the city’s air.

Automobile traffic was greatly reduced and many factories were temporarily closed. As a result, many major air pollutants were reduced by as much as 45%.

Because China and India have such enormous populations, almost one half of all the people on the planet, attention to health issues related to air and water pollution are of critical importance.

Graphic Organizer

Vehicles

Air

Factories

Water

SoilPeople

Pollution

Asian Brown Cloud

Overpopulation