Feature photo by ksbuehler. Photo above by TimS

1. Water pollution

According to the Worldwatch Institute, the water is not safe to drink in many areas of China.

Industrialization has polluted many lakes and streams, resulting in chemical pollution and increased algae blooms. Algae blooms also contribute to fish die off by chocking off the oxygen supply that aquatic life needs to survive.

2. Exacerbated dust storms

China is experiencing an increase in dust storms. Dust storms can spread as far as North America from China and these storms can become deadly when they pick up airborne toxins from factories. Lester R. Brown of the Earth Policy Institute cites over-plowing and overgrazing as contributing causes of the desertification process.

3. Coastline swamped by red tides

Untreated sewage is being dumped into surrounding estuaries, creating a surplus of red phytoplankton. Red tides are becoming a common ocurrence in China, killing off marine life and adversely affecting the surrounding coastal communities. Toxins from this algal growth make seafood unsafe to eat.

4. Thermal insulation rare in Chinese buildings

Because of poor (or no) usage of insulation, Chinese buildings require twice as much energy to heat or cool as those in similar climates in the US or Europe. The World Bank states that 95% of these buildings do not meet meet China’s own codes for energy efficiency.

According to Wang Tiehong, chief engineer of The Ministry of Construction, 30% of China’s total energy consumption is used for building infrastructure, such as new residential or shopping areas.

Photo by pdvos

5. All new buildings require China to build new power plants.

Chinese infrastructure is increasing at an astronomical rate of growth. China added 66 gigawatts of electricity to its power grid in 2005, according to the The New York Times. That’s about as much power as Great Britain generates in an entire year.

6. Heavy industry plants do not operate efficiently or control pollution as adequately as factories in other parts of the world.

On average Chinese steelmakers use one-fifth more energy per ton than the estimated international average. The World Bank says that cement manufacturers need 45% more power and ethylene producers need 70% more power than producers elsewhere.

Another study done by the World Bank in conjunction with the State Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, the national environmental Agency, concluded that 350,000 to 400,000 premature deaths are a direct result of outdoor air pollution.

7. Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is triggering landslides.

With the degradation of the Yangtze River, entire ecosystems may are altered or destroyed. The Times Online reports that geologists have found banks are weakening as a result of water seeping out of the reservoir and the huge pressure changes that occurs during drawdowns of the dam.

A Chinese official noted that the reservoir shore had collapsed in 91 places, affecting a total area of 22 miles. Algal blooms are accumulating downstream from the Yangtze.

Photo by hleung

8. China’s emissions growth is 2-4 times greater than expected

The International Energy Agency predicted that China’s carbon emissions would not reach those of the United States until 2020.

The agency now states that China overtook the US in emissions growth in 2007. China is the world’s second-largest consumer of oil after the US, and uses more coal than the US, the European Union, and Japan combined.

9. Extinction of Yangtze river dolphin is confirmed.

After an extensive six week survey of the mammal’s habitat, scientists now believe that the 20 million year old Yangtze river dolphin is now extinct. The BBC News stated that the team of scientists thinks that unregulated fishing was the main reason for its extinction.

10. US firms are driving pollution in China.

According to Jane Spencer of the Wall Street Journal, US firms are helping to drive the current environmental degradation in China. By demanding lower prices on products, manufacturers are forced to reduce environmental safeguards in order to compete internationally.

As an example, she states that prices on fabrics and clothing imported from China to the US have fallen 25% since 1995.

What You Can Do/ Community Connection

Support local and international organizations promoting awareness of and remedies for the current industrial environmental degradation of China. Matador is affiliated with The Green Camel Bell, a non-profit located in Lanzhou, China, which focuses its efforts on environmental conservation, activism, youth development, and education. On an international level, Oxfam International works to fight poverty and injustice.

Serra do Divisor National Park

This park includes a huge swath of Amazon rainforest, notably the Serra do Divisor mountain range along the Brazilian-Peruvian border.

Photo by islandspice

The Amazon rainforest is as large as Western Europe or the entire United States. It covers 5 percent of the world’s land, and is thought to be the most diverse ecosystem on Earth – home to nearly 10 percent of the world’s mammals and 15 percent of the world’s terrestrial plant species.

It is home to more than 20 million people, including an estimated 220,000 people from 180 different indigenous nations. This forest ecosystem is also one of the most threatened on the planet.

Muir Woods National Park

The ancient forest ecosystems of North America are extremely diverse. Included in this system is the boreal forest belt stretching between Newfoundland and Alaska; the coastal temperate rainforest of Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Western Canada; and the myriad of residual areas of temperate forest surviving in more remote regions.

These forests store massive amounts of carbon, which helps to stabilize climate change. They also provide habitat for large mammals such as grizzly bear, grey wolf, and puma.

Muir Woods National Park is home to one of the last coastal stands of redwood in the San Francisco Bay are.

Defensores del Chaco National Park

The temperate forest ecosystem of South America, which covers areas of Southern Chile and Argentina, represents the largest tract of essentially undisturbed temperate forest in the world.

The Great Chaco and Yungas Rainforests of Argentina are neighboring ecosystems within this forest complex. Rich in biodiversity, they are home to rare jaguars.

The forests here are being destroyed faster than almost anywhere else in the world. The rate of destruction has accelerated even further after Monsanto introduced genetically engineered soya beans to Argentina .

Lake Khovsgol National Park

The Snow Forests of Asian Russia have contiguous tracts of land ranging from the arctic zone in northeastern Sahha, to the subtropical region along the Amur and Ussuri river basins to the south. Because of its large size, the Amur-Sakhalin region shelters more types of plants and animals than any other temperate forest in the world. Many of these species are unique to this area and exist nowhere else.

The Snow Forests of Asian Russia are also home to indigenous peoples including the Nanai of the Kahbarovsk region.

Photo by mr-c

Ovre Pasvik National Park

The last ancient forests of Europe encompass the last few remaining tracts in Scandinavia with the adjoining forest of European Russia . This contiguous forest area provides habitat for many species that require large tracts of unbroken land such as bears, flying squirrels, and the highly endangered eagle owl.

These boreal forests are also home to tens of thousands of indigenous peoples, such as the reindeer-herding Saami.

Rinjani National Park

The cultural diversity of this area is astounding – more than 1000 languages are spoken on the island of New Guinea alone.

These contiguous forests stretch from South East Asia, across the islands of Indonesia to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. The island of New Guinea , the world’s second largest island, has the largest continuous tracts of primeval forest in the Asia Pacific region.

The Paradise Forests are home to a rich diversity of species, many of which occur nowhere else on earth. The Sumatran Tiger, the Orangutan, and the Rafflesia, a one meter-wide flower, all reside here.

Virunga National Park

Home of the Congo rainforest, this is the second largest rainforest on earth after the Amazon. This enormous forest covers and area three times the size of France, and plays a vital role in regulating the global climate. It is the fourth largest forest carbon reservoir of any country in the world.

The gorilla, chimpanzee, and bonobo – primates that are our closest relatives, depend on the Congo for survival. This forest is also home to 270 species of mammals, of which 39 are unique to this area.

Tens of millions of people, Bantu farmers, the Twa people, and fishing communities, depend on the Congo for their survival.

Regional causes of forest loss and degradation vary, but the primary factors are agricultural expansion, settlement, mining, shifting agricultural crops, and infrastructure development. Recent research by the World Resources Institute (WRI) indicates that, “commercial logging poses by far the greatest danger to frontier forests…affecting more than 70 percent of the world’s threatened frontiers.”

Community Connection

What can you do to help? Besides visiting these places and studying the issues facing them firsthand, check out the Rainforest Action Network , and Nativeforest.org.

Are you a member of a conservation org or know someone who is? We encourage you to join our network of organizations at matador, where you’ll find a captive audience of thousands of travelers and environmentally-conscious people worldwide.