Polluting the air.
Overfishing.
Deforestation.
And other ways China is destroying the planet.
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
This episode is sponsored by MOVA Globes.
These are really amazing globes that spin on their own—without cords or batteries.
And whether you get this Black and Silver model… ...or one of their other great world map
designs—you can appreciate the beauty of our planet.
And you’ll want to appreciate the Earth now while you can, before it’s rendered
an uninhabitable wasteland.
Today, I’m going to talk about five ways that China
is contributing to the destruction of our planet.
Most of these are topics I’ve discussed before, so think of this like a clip show from a sitcom.
Only instead of reminiscing on funny things that happened in the past,
I’ll be pointing out how bleak things might be in the future. Could we *be* in any more danger?
Starting with...
Number 5
Air pollution.
Air pollution in China is estimated to have caused the premature deaths
of over 30 million adults since 2000.
The air pollution in China is so bad, its effects are felt on the west coast of the United States.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that on some days,
up to 25% of pollutants in Los Angeles skies can be traced to China. And some
theorize China might one day be responsible for a third of California's air pollution.
The rest of California’s air pollution will come from
forest fires, smog,
and Kale-flavored vape clouds.
In 2019, China emitted 27% of the world’s greenhouse gases.
That’s more than every other developed nation combined.
“In northern China, air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels, principally coal,
is causing people to die on average 5.5 years sooner than they otherwise might.”
China’s terrible air quality is largely due to burning coal.
China has pledged to cut back on coal.
Buuuuut then after the Covid pandemic,
they started building more coal-fired power plants to help boost their economy.
This is like making a New Year’s resolution to lose weight,
but on your way to the gym on January 1st,
you start building thousands of Dunkin Donuts.
China is actually running out of coal to burn,
and is trying to import more from Mongolia.
And you might be thinking, “Could the United Nations do something about this?”
They *could*...
but they aren’t. The UN has called on the world’s largest economies to phase out coal by 2030,
but is allowing China to keep using it until 2040.
Looks like that estimate of China one day being responsible for a third of
California’s air pollution was actually lowballing it.
Especially considering that most vape pens are made in China.
More after the break.
Welcome back.
Number 4
River Damming.
To combat the growing air pollution, China is building more dams.
Hydroelectric dams are a great way of providing renewable electricity.
China has always loved building dams. Since the 1950s, China has built over 22,000 dams.
And it has helped… create entirely new problems.
Dealing with one problem while creating entirely new issues—that’s like getting rid of termites by
setting a house on fire. “You don’t have to worry about those termites anymore, ma’am.
Mind leaving me a good review on Yelp?”
One new problem is, some of these dams are changing the geology
so much, they may be causing small earthquakes.
The Zipingpu Dam on the Minjiang River is less than a mile away from a major fault.
In 2008, the 7.9-magnitude Wenchuan quake that
killed 80,000 people occurred less than 6 kilometers downstream from the Zipingpu Dam.
Since then, more than 50 studies have found evidence that the reservoir in the dam triggered
small quakes throughout the fault system, leading to the much larger and very deadly quake.
But hey, at least they have electricity. This way, even at night,
the survivors could clearly see their homes being destroyed.
Then there’s the Three Gorges Dam. The Three Gorges Dam extends
a mile-and-a-half across the Yangtze — Asia’s longest river.
It generates ten times the hydroelectric power of America’s Hoover Dam.
The construction of the Three Gorges Dam also displaced millions of people.
But considering the massive earthquake triggered by the Zipingpu Dam,
maybe it’s best those millions of people got as far away as possible.
And it isn’t just Chinese citizens suffering as a result of all this dam construction.
Data shows China’s massive dams along the Mekong River have drastically reduced water
supplies for millions of people in Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
And India is worried the same could happen to them because of China’s dams in Tibet.
The only thing I can say in response to all of that is…
dam.
Number 3
Overfishing.
China’s expanding fishing fleet is depleting the world’s oceans.
China is responsible for nearly half of the world’s fishing activity.
By some estimates, they have between 200,000 and 800,000 fishing boats.
There’s such a wide gap in those estimates because China is
very secretive about their fishing activity.
Which is the opposite of Americans, who provide
way too much information about their fishing activity.
According to a study by the Overseas Development Institute, China’s distant water fishing fleet
may have up to 17,000 vessels. This is five to eight times greater than previously thought.
Most Chinese distant-water ships are so large
that they can catch as many fish in one week as local ships might catch in a year.
Even this guy thinks that’s too much fishing.
China’s overfishing is often illegal—and it has devastated some islands’ livelihoods.
According to two former US officials,
“Illegal, unregulated fishing by Chinese vessels
has become common in American Samoa and Guam and as far east as Hawaii.”
And China’s fishing overseas has led to fatalities.
North Korean ghost boats have washed ashore in Japan,
containing North Korean fishermen whose starved bodies were reduced to skeletons.
The most likely explanation is that China sent an armada of industrial boats to illegally fish
in North Korean waters, forcing out smaller North Korean boats and leading to the 70%
decline of squid in the area. The North Korean fishermen then travelled too far from shore
to search for squid and died in the process.
In response to this, I’m sure Kim Jong-un said, “This is
outrageous! If anyone is going to starve citizens of North Korea to death, it’s going to be me!”
China’s level of fishing is unsustainable.
The former director of Senegal’s oceanic research institute said, “We are facing an unprecedented
crisis. If things keep going the way they are, people will have to eat jellyfish to survive.”
Which would be terrible... since British food is already gross enough
without their new pub food being
jellyfish and chips.
More after the break.
Welcome back.
Number 2
Deforestation.
Illegal logging destroys up to 5,000 square kilometers of forest
every year in China. In northern and central China,
nearly half of their forests have been torn down over the last 20 years.
This has led to widespread desertification.
Which is dangerous, because with more deserts, not only do you have fewer resources,
but you also increase the odds of attracting people who attend the
Burning Man festival. And no one wants that.
China has been working to reforest its land.
Forests were rehabilitated across half a million square kilometers.
Although there have been a lot of problems with that effort, too—with
some scientists saying China’s methods are causing more harm than good.
So where is China getting its timber now?
From other countries, of course.
Yup, China decided to make like a tree and leave… to steal resources from developing nations.
According to eco-watchdog Global Witness ,
Chinese banks and investors provided more than $22 billion to companies
linked to worldwide deforestation.
That’s a lot of money... which is made of paper... which is made from trees! Vicious cycle.
The rainforest of the Congo and Cameroon in central Africa, the Amazon basin in South America,
and the islands of Indonesia are all being deforested in order to send wood to China.
Why does China need so much wood? One reason is their growing furniture industry.
And they’re devastating these rainforests to build cheap furniture for the US.
And a lot of that furniture winds up in IKEA. Which is frustrating, because if
they’re already destroying that many trees, the least they can do is print a few extra pages
to give us proper instructions for how to build these things.
And finally...
Number 1
Rare earth mining.
Rare earth elements are used in a number of technologies, such as smartphones,
defense weapons, and solar energy,
and over 85% of the world’s rare earth elements are provided by Chinese companies.
China is also home to nearly 35% of the Earth’s supply of rare metals and minerals.
And China has secured deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo
as well as Kenya to obtain exclusive mining rights.
The US and Europe have a vested interest in not disrupting China’s mining for these elements,
as it would disrupt the global supply chain and hurt dozens of industries.
And consumers don’t want this to happen because
when was the last time you used the bathroom without being on your smartphone?
All this mining and the lack of motivation to stop it
is a problem because it’s devastating the environment.
Chemicals used in mining cause air pollution, erosion, and seep into groundwater.
I’m starting to think that drinking soda and breathing vape clouds
is the healthier option when you’re in China.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention,
China has used slave labor in their mining. There’s no excuse for this.
China has also used child labor in their mining operations in Africa.
There’s… well, there’s one excuse for this.
Kids love Minecraft, and now they’re getting to experience it in real life.
The problem is, in real life if they die, they don’t respawn. And we can’t generate a new world.
And speaking of our beautiful planet that we want to preserve,
this episode has been sponsored by MOVA Globes.
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Once again I’m Chris Chappell, see you next time.