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Dominic Cruz

Mr. Phillips

AP Language and Composition

12 December 2017

China: Clearing the Skies for the Future

We’ve all seen the bright, beautiful glow of the sun on a chilly autumn day, and felt the

gorgeous green grass beneath our toes. We’ve all ventured on walks and breathed in the crisp air

as buds burst to form petals of silk. We’ve all seen the wonders of nature and have enjoyed the

moments of peace and relaxation on a tranquil meander around town. But, as we sit in the luxury

of our natural world, Chinese civilization faces but another day of blindness. While we have our

fiery fall colors and our pungent pink springs, China lays their eyes upon a dark defiled

atmosphere. Even though massive amounts of murk have masked the continent of Asia, a small

union of preservationists has beamed their own courageous light through the opaque fogs above

Chinese soil. The Ministry of Environmental Protection’s gospel is forming China into an

environmental sanctuary for all, preventing rotten red rivers and gritty grey skies (Schmitz).

Recently, the Ministry shut several silt-surging sweatshops in an epic endeavor to end air

pollution, and in doing so, turned the blanket of bronchitis above Asia into a scar of the past

(Nace). So far, this mass shutdown of factories has elevated China’s air quality to great heights

and sparked several reforms in minimizing air pollution and other environmental traumas.

As smog clears from the dusty, drab sky, blue peeks through the cracks and the air around

China becomes breathable again. The amount of “good air days” within industrial China soars,

and the cigarette smoke in the atmosphere since ceased to endanger China’s citizens (Xuequan)
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(Muller). When China’s industrial sector decreased particle pollution (PM) by 26%, the entire

nation cheered with glee as the clouds parted and hints of azure danced across the grey canvas

overhead (Xuequan). These perilous PM particles can cause heart attacks and other threatening

respiratory relapses, and the fact that they have fled helped make China a safer, more inviting

country to visit (Airnow). This being said, the Ministry also started monitoring several hundred

other cities across the country and have reported an increase of air quality within those

aforementioned metropolitan hubs. 388 of the cities have shown an air quality increase of 5%

since 2016, breaking the surface of what was possible years ago (Xuequan). The increase of air

quality and the rate of blue-sky days reaching unprecedented heights is not a step, but a bound in

the right direction for future clear skies in China.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has several reforms in the making as well. At

the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the MEP states attacking

environmental evil at the source is the only solution to stop the soiling of China. The

predominant objectives of the Ministry are to clear the skies of smog, maintain clean waters, and

revitalize river basins (Jinping). The Ministry also strives to improve legislation on pollution

regulation and develop community involvement through advertisement. This is causing

companies, including the Beijing Thermal Power Plant, to issue their own plans to lower

emissions with the Ministry’s help (Jinran “Power Companies Going Green”). Because of the

new initiative sparking more green berets to join the war against pollution, more and more

companies and communities are coexisting and cooperating to create a clean country. The

Ministry’s goals are finally coming into light, just like the skies the people have rejuvenated, but
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this is only scratching the surface of what the future holds for China. Reforms are already taking

place around China that are improving it for the better.

New building methods are being put into place to petition profuse pollution. One of the

new forms of construction is inverse building, a system that consists of creating both the

foundation and the framework simultaneously. Never before had this form of building been used,

but this project will cancel noise and prevent pollution. The architecture would be constructed

beneath the ground and take only 150 days to create most buildings, half the time of traditional

techniques (Jian). Another one of these construction methods is completely genius. Smart

buildings are becoming increasing popular in China because they can control lights, air

conditioning, heating, and more automatically. The system shuts off lights and heating when

leaving the house and turns them on again once you enter. Although the buildings are a bit

expensive, the ecosystem will benefit conspicuously from the continuous control of coal

consumption (Ning). Both building bundles boast great praise from the people of China on top of

being liked by construction workers and business owners, but although these green, symbolic

towers erect, the ground is still covered in garbage and junk.

Luckily, China is renewing reducing, reusing, and recycling to remove solid waste from

their country. Over the years, China has built up large masses of paper, textiles, plastics, and

more and disposing of them instead of putting them into a recycling bin, so naturally, the

Ministry of Environmental Protection had to step in on societies stubbornness. The Ministry is

now administering full priority to recycling of solid waste, and banned over 25 items from being

scrapped in trash compactors, such as the aforementioned build ups (Jinran “Controls on Solid

Waste”). Because of this legislation banning items from being discarded with, recycling levels
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will go through the roof, and China will be a cleaner place for all of its residents. Still, China has

other reforms on the way.

China has also been trying to move towards eliminating soil pollution and establishing

the framework for cleaner winter heating. The Ministry replaced coal powered heating products

with green A/Cs and heaters. Since this replacement, CO2 released during the cold winter

climate has dropped, letting China breathe easy for the upcoming holiday (Zhengzhou). As for

soil pollution, the Ministry is urgently trying to control food security within China, but according

to Li Ganjie of the MEP, they are fighting an uphill battle against one of the most monstrous

pollutants of all. The Ministry made several improvements including quality standards for

farmland and a soil census in China to locate the most fertile and healthy soil (Jinran “China

Lays Foundation”). A draft bill was also sent to the top legislative body and will provide further

quality standards as well as put legal backing behind stopping polluted plant prosperity. It must

be asked, what will come of China’s economy?

China’s economy has had a slight dent ever since the ecological reforms have sprung up.

Since the shutdown of those 80,000 plus factories, the printing, textile, rubber, leather, and

plastic industries have taken a hit (Knowler). This caused the thin black line of economy to

descend down the mountain of success and trickle to a mere hill, along with causing business

problems in China. Businesses settled around China’s industrial sector have-not been able to

complete deliveries on time, causing a minor decrease in sales, since the Ministry laid off

managers and other officials, workers are left without administration to give new assignments

(Schmitz). Peter Corne, an environmental lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, stated this dip in

China’s economy will soon be fixed due to the rise of the cleantech industry. This will balance
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the economic implosion and will bring sales back to China, additionally bettering the

environment based around them. Clean technology and clean energy will create jobs, jobs mean

money, and money means a rise from an economic depression. This money will be able to

contribute to a plethora of green movements that will make relaxing strolls, breathing the fresh

crisp air, and watching pink petals spring to life a reality for China. Soon China will be able to

experience the fireworks of autumn and the cotton candy colors of the vernal season. With an

economic crater casting shadows on the economy, business owners will finally be responsible for

the life of their workers and the people of China. Chinese civilization will be able to watch the

stars glisten in the clear night sky and listen as the birds sing songs to each other (Dockrill).

Michael Crotty put this beautifully, “it’s a small price to pay for a cleaner China.”

Imagine a place where gallant green bushes, filled with a rainbow of petals placed

pleasantly in a pattern, encompass a towering building in Beijing. A place where the skies are a

pretty periwinkle filled with cotton ball clouds and birds, soaring effortlessly, slicing the air with

their sword-like wings. We see the wonders of nature juxtaposed with humankind and

technology, yet coexisting and cooperating together as if one entity. This is post ecological

reform China. China will be the leading superpower in green energy running entirely on solar,

wind, geothermal, and water power, and continuing to make new discoveries every day. With

this leap in environmental technology and reform, China will be the cleanest country in the

world, the greenest country in the world, and will be one of the most beautiful countries in the

world, and all this couldn’t be possible without the teamwork of the Chinese people. This is the

future of China. From a dream, to a reality, all starting with a passion.

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Works Cited

“China sends pollution across Asia.” ​Energy​, General OneFile, 2004, link.galegroup.com.

Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.

Dockrill, Peter. “China Has Shut Down Up to 40% of Its Factories in an Unprecedented Stand

Against Pollution.” ​ScienceAlert​, 24 Oct. 2017, ​www.sciencealert.com​.

Accessed 3 Dec. 2017.

Ganjie, Li. “About MEP.” ​Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of

China​, The People's Republic of China, english.mep.gov.cn/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.

Jian, Yang. “New less polluting building method.” ​Shanghai Daily​, Shine - Beyond a Single

Story, 30 Oct. 2017, ​www.shine.cn​. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.

Jinping, Xi. “Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All

Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a

New Era.” 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

www.xinhuanet.com​. Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.

Jinran, Zheng, and Cao Yin. “Controls on solid waste tightened.” ​China Daily​, 2 Nov. 2017,

europe.chinadaily.com.cn. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.

Jinran, Zheng. “China lays foundation to tackle soil pollution.” ​China Daily​, 23 Oct. 2017,

www.chinadaily.com.cn​.

Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.

---. “Power companies going green for blue skies, energy sector delegates say.” ​China

Daily​, 19 Oct. 2017, ​www.chinadaily.com.cn​. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.

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Knowler, Greg. “Massive Chinese factory closure threatens components.” ​JOC​, 6 Sept. 2017,

www.joc.com​. Accessed 3 Dec. 2017.

“Mapping the invisible scourge.” ​The Economist​, The Economist Newspaper, 15 Aug. 2015,

www.economist.com​. Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.

Nace, Trevor. “China Shuts Down Tens Of Thousands Of Factories In Widespread Pollution

Crackdown.” ​Forbes​, Forbes Magazine, 24 Oct. 2017, ​www.forbes.com​.

Accessed 1 Dec.2017.

Ning, Li. “Smart buildings can help China manage energy use.” ​Global Times​, 25 Oct. 2017,

www.globaltimes.cn​. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.

“Particle Pollution.” ​Particle Pollution (PM)​, US Government, 31 Jan. 2017, airnow.gov.

Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.

Schmitz, Rob. “China Shuts Down Tens Of Thousands Of Factories In Unprecedented Pollution

Crackdown.” ​NPR​, NPR, 23 Oct. 2017, ​www.npr.org​. Accessed 3 Dec. 2017.

Xuequan, Mu. “Beijing and nearby areas report more "good air" days.” ​Xinhua Net​, News China,

18 Nov. 2017, news.xinhuanet.com. Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.

Zhengzhou. “China Focus: More Chinese regions move toward cleaner winter heating.” ​Xinhua

Net​, China News, 14 Nov. 2017, news.xinhuanet.com. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.

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