Pollution in

East Asia

Cause

• Megacities from urbanization are the main cause of pollution in East Asia

• Creating proper sanitation systems on such a large scale has been challenging

The current

waste

disposal

system in

Beijing can’t

keep up with

the growing

population.

Trash

• In Asia, urban citizens generate 2 to 3 times more waste than rural citizens

• As poverty declines, people will have more buying power, which means more waste will be generated

Above: Trash litters the street

leading to a playground in Xian,

China; Below: Trash mountain

outside a city in the Hubei province

of China

Japan:

Residents of

Tokyo

generate

20,000 tons of

trash per dayBirds pick through trash left in bags on the

sidewalk in Tokyo, the most populated city

in the world.

… that’s the equivalent of 20 elephants of trash each day! (an

elephant weighs about a ton)

China: Trash from megacities is moved into a trash cities: villages that are converted to

dumps for various types of waste (Above: Zhanglidong, a former farming village outside

Beijing, has been converted into a giant dump, even with people still living there).

Overall: Great Pacific Garbage Patch: trash from the East Coast of China, Korea, and Japan has collected in the Pacific Ocean and estimated to be the size of Texas

Air Pollution• Air Pollution:

– Comes from factories

– More people buying cars

• Creates smog (“smoky fog”)

– Some cities in China have fewer problems with smog because wind patterns push the smog away from the city. Many cities in China have continual smog, which is a constant mist of polluted air in the city.

Above: Smog in Tiananmen

Square, Beijing; Below: Smog

in Seoul

Water Pollution

• Mostly comes from improper waste disposal and from run-off from factories

• Drinking water is becoming scarce any way because of urbanization and overpopulation.

– Ex: “More water is needed with each skyscraper added to urban China’s skylines, each ton of coal burned to heat them, and each steamer of dumplings sold on their steps.” – New York Times

Providing Energy: Coal

• China has made a commitment to growing the sustainable energy sector, but coal still provides 70% of China’s energy.

• Burning coal is the leading cause of smog and toxic air pollution.

• Emits carbon dioxide:

– Regular level of carbon dioxide should be around 250-350 ppm (parts per million). The CO2 levels in Beijing have been as high as 700 ppm! Yikes!