Which is your way, Asian countries?

Research Paper


In the article “The World; Asian air pollution affects our weather; Scientists report more clouds, stronger storms in the Pacific region”, Hotz (2007) writes, “Asia’s growing air pollution – billowing plumes of soot, smog and wood smoke – is making the Pacific region cloudier and stormier, disrupting winter weather patterns along the West Coast and into the Arctic, researchers reported Monday.” It is absolutely not the only article which reveals the relationship between the Pacific storms and Asian air pollution and the gravity of Asian air pollution in recent years; more and more scientists and researchers have warned people of this problem since twenty or thirty years ago. However, each year the news about Asian air pollution seems to worsen. That means the struggle that has been made by countries along the Pacific Ocean is still not far enough or fast enough. Nowhere is the issue of reducing Asian air pollution is a topic in great demand; therefore, many environmentalists point out there is a number of problems due to Asian air pollution that are becoming more and more serious around us.

Information which is from the official statistics that were collected by NASA and the National Science Foundation shows the amount of deep convective clouds has increased. (Hotz, 2007). But the question is: where is Asian air pollution from? According to Hotz (2007), “Satellite measurements reveal that high-altitude storm clouds over the northern Pacific have increased up to 50% over the last 20 years as new factories, vehicles and power plants in China and India spew growing amounts of microscopic pollutant particles into the air” (para. 5). Obviously, the extreme economic growth, motor vehicles and population, the use of nonrewable energy, and the long-term governments’ ignorance play a key role in Asian air pollution.

We should be full aware of the seriousness of Asian air pollution. First, according to Hotz (2007), there is a close connection between Asian air pollution and the Pacific storms: the more Asian air pollution there is, the stronger, more frequent, more energetic, and more destructive the Pacific storms will be. Second, Hotz in his article also writes: “Carried on prevailing winds, the industrial outpouring of dust, sulfur, carbon grit and trace metals from booming Asian economies is having an intercontinental cloud-seeding effect, the researchers reported in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences”. It is not only the problem for Asian countries, but also can cause international climatic anomalies. Next, part of the causes of the problem is from the economy, but it also can negatively influence the economy; as Casey (2006, para. 7) says in the article “Leaders Call for Pollution Fight”: “Pollution is having an economic effect. China recently estimated that bad air was cutting into its growth, and Hong Kong expressed fears that pollution drifting over from China is scaring off investors and tourists.” In addition, Asian air pollution is the primary criminal of many diseases such as cardiopulmonary and respiratory illness; there is a steady increase in the number of deaths because of air pollution, as well as a rise in disease. (Casey, 2006a).

Because the solution of Asian air pollution should be put into action and allows no delay, Asian countries or even all countries around the world must address the issue of this problem that can affect the globe.

To begin with, Asian countries should set up a plan of environmental protection that includes prevention and clean up as their primary event instead of seeking economic benefit. Most governments in these countries consider these economics as their first tasks; it is really a shortsight. Because of the industrial civilization in the recent centuries, the developments of human society directly lead to the carbon dioxide and the process gases’ content in the atmosphere all the time. Similar to industrial cities in developed countries in the past, several polluted cities in developing countries are in the process of producing and suffering from air pollution. According to Fuller (2006, para. 9), “Even after impressive improvement to air quality over the past decade, New Delhi and Beijing, symbol of the rise of the region’s two giant economies, face a gargantuan task in improving the quality of their air. Policy in these countries has identified pollution as a potential break in the stunning growth of recent years.” The degree of pollution in the Pacific region mostly likes to depend on the density of population and the amount of industry as Asian developing countries pay more attention to economic booms. We will see obviously the advantages of reducing air pollution if China and India can control their populations, and less developed countries in that area can focus on environmental conditions. Therefore, governments in the Pacific region’s countries have to change their primary national plan to protect our air.

Second, Asian countries must reduce the amount of power-driven vehicles because power-driven vehicles bring a high density of pollution dust. People who own such vehicles think that just their one or two cannot cause a big problem, but they are wrong. The number of vehicles in China will rise by as much as 15 times in 30 years to more than 190 million, while the growth will be 13 times in India; thus, the amount of carbon dioxide from transportation will be expected to grow by 3.4 times in China and 5.8 times in India, and there is still no sign of vehicles growing slowly, (Casey, 2006, b). As a consequence of the exploded population and the flourishing economy in such Asian less developed countries, motor vehicles and private cars increased dramatically. The large amount of the use of power-driven vehicles can produces much carbon dioxide, photochemical smog, acid deposition and other chemical toxic gases that can destroy atmosphere a lot. In “Boom Undercut Pollution Cleanup”, Casey states “Delegates called on governments for more spending on public transport projects such as bus ways in Indonesia or newly designed roadways to accommodate bicycles and pedestrians that are being considered in India” (2006, para. 11). Asian developing countries, especially China and India, should limit the use of power-driven vehicles.

Moreover, developing countries should change the energy structure; even though governments and economists think new technology always costs more than nonrewable energy, it will save more in the future. As the author mentions in the article “World Energy Solutions … NASA-Researched Technology”, there is a successful company called World Energy Solutions, which “focus on energy conservation technologies and environmental sustainability” and develops its business on “lowering electrical, gas and water usage for commercial, government and residential facilities” (2007 para. 14). Burning large amounts of fossil fuel such as coal and oil in power plants, factories and for heating especially during the winter, people in Asian countries can cause the extreme air pollution. Scientists and researchers should try to change energy structure, either for production or consumption. Actually they have already got many great successes in tapping new energy sources. For example, new energy such as nuclear energy, wind, water, and solar energy is appearing more and more in our daily lives, and electricity has found wide application in some ways; yet the use of renewable energy is not enough for fixing the fundamental problem. An argument with some people who consider the new forms of energy to be much more expensive than traditional energy, as a forward-looking statement, it will save more in the future.

In addition, leaders in Asian countries should communicate and share information and achievement together during a certain time; environmental problems can be solved through policy. In some people’s opinions, Asian air pollution is a local problem; this is totally wrong. Since people all over the world live in the same sky above the entire earth, and the link between nations’ business and connection is so close today, Asian air pollution is not a local problem in certain countries any more; it is a global issue. According to Casey’s reports in “Leaders Call for Pollution Fight” recently, “Some 900 experts and government officials from 20 countries meeting in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta urged the region to impose tighter regulations on emissions, boost investment in public transportation, and introduce fuel efficiency standards to tackle air pollution” (2006, para. 2). Because each Asian country has responsibility to improve air quality, enabling closer international cooperation is necessary, and governments should have conversations regularly. People in different areas can discuss plans together, and many reach consensus on some events. As opposed to dealing with the issue by themselves, Asian countries should combine efforts through policy.

Even though it seems people should no longer ignore the air problem in the Pacific region because of all of these terrible facts above, there are still some opponents who make contributions to giving negative effects to events about improving the air quality. According to Casey (2006, b), many governments of the Pacific region’s big cities are doing little to enforce laws or establish effective steps to solve the problem. They are wrong, because they are the pivot of the whole issue; it is should not be their thoughts. Moreover, arguing with environmentalists, economists see economy as the most important thing for the nation and even for the globe; they agree with protecting the environment, but developing economy is the first task; no matter how serious the environmental problem will be, we should have unlimited economic growth to improve people’s life quality. However, these economists did not see the benefit of sustainable thought. In addition, sometimes governments can have the knowledge of how horrible the situation is, and how important it is to solve it, on the other hand; the condition also makes people be afraid that our struggle is not helpful. Communities in conversations that discuss Asian air pollution rarely expect to produce any significant agreements, (Casey, 2006, a). The negative attitude is not useful for improving Asian air pollution, and what is worse, it can make a detrimental effect that tells people it is too late or not necessary to clean up our atmosphere.

In conclusion, it is very clear that Asian air pollution is due to manmade reasons; we should ignore the voice that is negative toward the environment, and address the issue as soon as possible. First, it is time that Asian less developed countries should slow down their steps for seeking the speed of economic growth. Next, governments can reduce the number of power-driven vehicles by imposing heavy taxes on cars, consumption and providing more perfect public transportation systems. Also, both current situations and modern trends require nations to use energy that is clean and renewable. Finally, it is necessary to have closer communication between each country to improving our common living environment. Opponents to improve Asian air claim that we should develop economics despite the situation of environment, and now is too late to take measures to fight the bad air pollution. Without a doubt, their opinion is wrong because all of the conditions of the Pacific storms, our social long-term development, and human health require us to spare no expense to improve Asian air pollution from now on. Due to the fact that we can not pay for the fiddler if nature retaliates against us, we should continue to struggle in the battle with Asian air pollution. Because the seriousness of Asian air current situation, each country in the Pacific region, even the whole globe, should address the issue immediately. This is the only way that for our future generation can see our pretty blue sky.

References
Casey, M. (2006 a, December 13). Leaders Call for Pollution Fight. Associated Press Online. Retrieved June 13, 2007, from LexisNexis.
Casey, M. (2006 b, December 15). Boom Undercuts Pollution Cleanup. Associated Press Online. Retrieved June 15, 2007, from LexisNexis.
Fuller, T. (2006, December 16). Asia losing in battle against air pollution; large cities faring far worse than those in Europe and U.S. The International Herald Tribune. Retrieved June 2, 2007, from Lexis Nexis.
Hotz, R. (2007, March 6). The World; Asian air pollution affects our weather; Scientists report more clouds, stronger storms in the Pacific region. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31,2007, from LexisNexis.
World Energy Solutions, Inc. Continues to Make Strides in the Development of Clean Air Technology Company Foresees Bright Future in Purifying Air With NASA-Researched Technology. (2007, May, 30). PrimeNewswire. Retrieved June 13, 2007, from LexisNexis.