The Extent of China's Pollution Problem in Pictures

Rampant growth without a commensurate focus on pollution control and standards has rapidly created the sobriquet, The Dirtiest Country on the Earth. The Olympics in Beijing in 2008 highlighted the extent of the problem albeit only one aspect thereof: smog.

Economic growth does come at a cost. Being the most populous country on earth, even the upliftment of 300 million people from penury into the middle class has scared the countryside. Imagine what will happen when the next billion people become middle class with aspirations for cars and household appliances. Without urgent changes such as pollution standards and the use of renewable energy, an imminent catastrophe will befall China and ultimately the world. China burns around half the world’s coal, reaching 3.8 billion tons in 2011.
The main picture highlights the fact that air pollution has become so problematic that school and work closures due to smog are a regular occurrence in major cities.

It is not some exaggerated rant to classify this as a world-wide issue because the effects of pollution contaminate the whole world especially air pollution and its handmaiden, global warming.

Some facts:

China burns around half the world’s coal, reaching 3.8 billion tons in 2011.
According to Greenpeace, Beijing experienced 2,589 deaths and a loss of US$328 million in 2012 because of PM2.5 pollution.
Over the last decade, China has become a global dumping ground for the world’s discarded electronics.
By 2030, China’s carbon dioxide emissions could equal the entire world’s CO2 production today, if the country’s carbon usage keeps pace with its economic growth.
Three quarters of Chinese cite environmental problems as a national security threat, according to a 2009 study by the Lowy Institute for International Policy and the MacArthur Foundation
According to the World Bank, China is home to 20 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities.
Only 1% of China’s 560 million urban residents breathe air that is deemed safe by European Union standards.
Every year, 750,000 Chinese die prematurely from pollution.
In 2007, Chinese officials announced that over one third of fish species native to the Yellow River are now extinct because of damming or pollution.
According to the Asia Water Project, 90% of China’s urban groundwater is contaminated.
By its own governmental projections, China will have exploited all of the country’s available water supplies by 2030.

Trash collection and disposal is more of a luxury than a fact of life. In rural areas, local bodies of water act as the de facto location for garbage disposal.