Recently the haze that lies over much of China's eastern region, including the capital, has been fodder for the newspapers, both here and abroad. And there is no doubt that the impact of the pollution on the economy, society, and public health is immense.
But it is worth asking whether the smog we live under is a necessity for China's development?
The first concern relates to resource depletion. China's massive development requires the support of enormous natural resources — and not just its homeland resources but also those from around the world. According to recent figures compiled, the speed, scale and impact of China's mineral extraction over the past generation is unprecedented in human history.
In 1978, China's total energy consumption was 571 million tons of standard coal, whereas by 2012, this had increased 5.3 times to 3.62 billion tons. In 2010, China accounted for 10% of the world's total economic output and consumed about 20% of the world's energy: 60% of the cement, 47% of the iron ore, 49% of the steel, 44% of the lead, 40% of the aluminum and 38% of the copper.
Currently, China's unit GDP energy consumption is 2.5 times the world's average, 2.9 times of America's and 4.5 times of Japan's. China's unit GDP water consumption is three times the global average.
Another concern is sewage disposal. In 2011, China's volume of wastewater discharge was 65.92 billion tons, which means more than 48 tons per capita, again, the global leader. In 2010, China's total emissions of both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides were over 22 million tons, ranking first in the world. Its industrial smoke and dust emissions were 14.46 million tons. This is far beyond the environment’s carrying capacity. About 64% of Chinese cities' groundwater is heavily polluted, and only 3% of urban groundwater is clean. From 2000 to 2010, the world's carbon dioxide emissions had an average annual growth rate of 2.63%. China's average annual growth rate was 8.58% and it accounted for 25% of the world's total emissions.
