China-DNZL-2010

__**PRIMARY DOCUMENTS**__

[|The Songhua River Spill China - UNEP]

An explosion led to an oil spill, originating from a petro-chemical plant, and a UNEP team was sent to investigate, and make recommendations as to how to solve the problem. The UNEP team was required to track the flow of the oil, to find where it ended up. Like most oil spills, the condensation levels of the oil (over time) as the oil was spread throughout the ocean. The issue was resolved over a long period of time, and the UNEP team believes that the Chinese oil companies will take more precautions in the future.

[|Disasters and conflicts-United Nations Environment Programme-China]

In 2008, a high-impact earthquake hit the Sichuan province, with a magnitude of 8.0 on the richter scale. The largest problem was the amount of debris. This was particularly significant because local water sources could have possibly been polluted by toxins from the debris. Then, drinking water could become difficult to access, which would create an unsuitable living environment.


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[|Air pollution Picture] **__OTHER ARTIFACTS__**

[|China's water pollution level higher than estimated in 2007]

Very closely related to the previous article, water pollution is sweeping China. Acid rain is just one of the forms the pollution takes, and is hurting the agricultural community. This has been causing the government to question how pure the water system is there.

[|Hu Jintao Visit to U.S. Pushes Wind-Power Subsidy Issue into Spotlight]

China has been looking into cleaner sources of energy, and is considering wind-power. Hu Jintao met with president Obama to discuss contracts with the U.S. Controversy came about when the one billion dollar deal came in conflict with the rules from the WTO (world trade organization). This sparked questioning about previous deals China has had, and how they were "illegal" according to the WTO.

[|Population Control and Consequences in China]

China is extremely strict on how many members are allowed into each household. Citizens who live in the city have different laws tan those who live in rural areas. Sterilization, at one point, was proposed, and rural families whose first child was a girl were allowed to have another child. These laws were put into place to protect the social order and secure a (minimum) number of jobs for the future workers of China. Overpopulation can affect the way people use the earth's resources, and cause deterioration of wildlife, as new buildings are constantly being built.