Reflection on China's dilemma between pursuing higher economic growth and escalating pollution due to the industrialization

       Environmental degradation in China is now so severe that pollution now poses a major long-term burden on the Chinese public. Cancer has become China's leading cause of death due to the pollution and the air pollution alone is to be blame for hundreds of thousands of death in China every year. The fast growing economy the derives from a staggering expansion of heavy industry and urbanization that requires colossal inputs of energy, almost all from coal, the most readily available, and dirtiest, source. 
        
        For air quality, the major culprit is coal. China has  an abundant supplies of coal and burns more of it than the United States, Europe and Japan combined. 
   
        Heavy traffic and low-grade gasoline have also made vehicles the leading source of air pollution in major Chinese cities. In 2007, only 1 percent of China’s urban population of 560 million breathes air considered safe by the European Union, according to a World Bank study of Chinese pollution published in that year. 

         As China continues along its path of industrialization and urbanization, more and more of the available water will be rendered useless for drinking, irrigation, and hydro-power purposes. More and more water is being allocated to industrial and urban demand than ever before, and that leaves even less water to be used for domestic and agriculture. Also, as more water is being used for industry compared to domestic and agriculture, China’s dwindling water sources will become more heavily polluted as the industrialization is responsible for a great deal of pollution.

-Clarissa 

Sources: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.arlingtoninstitute.org/wbp/global-water-crisis/457

Singapore Nostalgia

What is hot and cool to the youth in Singapore

Family Structure: One Child Policy

In the late 1970s, China introduced its one-child policy to curb rapid population growth. This policy resulted in several problems.

The traditional preference for boys has created a gender imbalence as some couples opt for abortions when they found out that they are expecting a girl. The abortion rate hovers around 1 out of every 100, which is equivalent to more than 13 million abortions annually. In the near future, there would be much more males than females, resulting in many males to be unable to find a wife. As boys are more preferred, it was common to see girl infants abandoned at orphanages. Female infanticide, the act of intentionally killing female infants and fetus, is also an acknowledged problem in China.

This one-child policy also has resulted in a rising ration of elder to wage-earning adults---about 194 million Chinese over the age of 60 will have no or few children to care for them.

However, in 2013, there was a new policy that allows 2 children to couples where either parent is an only child is expected to create a minor population boost of about 1-2 million additional children born per year. This would help to ease the skewed gender ratio as well as the ratio of growing elderly to declining young.

-Clarissa Neo

Research Source: http://people.howstuffworks.com/one-child-policy1.htm

Family structure in China: Effects of one child policy

China has introduced the one child policy to control the population in China and prevent overcrowding. Thus, this caused sex-based birth rate disparity as China has a long tradition of son preference, hence there would be more men than women in the country. Another effect is the abandon and adoption. Social pressure exerted by the one-child policy has affected the rate at which parents abandon unwanted children. Many unwanted children live in state-sponsored orphanages, and thousands are adopted from these institutions each year, either by international or Chinese parents. The ‘one-child’ policy has also led to what Amartya Sen first called “Missing Women,” or the 100 million girls “missing” from the populations of China (and other developing countries) as a result of female infanticide, abandonment, and neglect. :)

-Isabelle Wang (10) 

Family structure in China: effects of One Child Policy

China has a One Child Policy to reduce its rapid population growth. However, this caused big families in the past to transform to smaller one now, as an attempt to adapt to social production and the style of life. There will also be an unbalanced sex ratio as traditional Chinese families prefer males over females since they are able to continue the family line. This encourages the illegal practice of sex-selective abortion, acts of child abandonment and infanticide. The orphanages in China experience overcrowding as a result of child abandonment.

-Alyssa Chua (1)