Chinas Consumption And Its National And International Consequences Case Study

Chinas Consumption And Its National And International Consequences - Case Study Example The overconsumption of energy and resources by China is a threat to the world as well as the Chinese society itself in many ways. This paper highlights some of the ways in which overconsumption of resources has had detrimental effects on the Chinese society as well as the world at large. On one hand, coal happens to be a fundamental reason of the economic growth of China; on the other hand, the consumption of coal has caused immense damage to the environment of China and the people of China at large. Today, at least 70 per cent of the energy needs of China are being met by coal. In the year 2006m China consumed about 2.4 billion tons of coal that was more than the combined consumption of three big countries of the world including America, Britain, and Japan. In the year 2000, China’s coal consumption was anticipated to double by the year 2020. One reason for the huge consumption in China is its inefficiency that reflects from this statement of a Chinese official; â€Å"TO PRO DUCE GOODS WORTH $10,000 WE NEED SEVEN TIMES THE RESOURCES USED BY JAPAN, ALMOST SIX TIMES THE RESOURCES USED BY THE U.S. AND--A PARTICULAR SOURCE OF EMBARRASSMENT--ALMOST THREE TIMES THE RESOURCES USED BY INDIA† (Elizabeth para. 7). ... E EMISSIONS, FALLS ON ONE-QUARTER OF CHINA'S TERRITORY AND ON ONE-THIRD OF ITS AGRICULTURAL LAND, DIMINISHING AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AND ERODING BUILDINGS† (Elizabeth para. 8). Coal consumption in China is also a cause of water shortage. Coal mining and coal processing both require intensive use of water. Since most of the coal resources of China are found in its arid regions, the operations of coal mining in China often get into a competition with its agriculture and residents in their access to the water resources that have thus become scarce. â€Å"AS MINING ACTIVITIES OFTEN DRAW HEAVILY FROM GROUNDWATER SOURCES, THEY HAVE DEPLETED GROUNDWATER LEVELS IN MANY COAL DISTRICTS. THIS HAS DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON LOCAL FLORA AND FAUNA, ESPECIALLY DURING INCREASINGLY MORE FREQUENT PERIODS OF DROUGHT† (Tu and Johnson-Reiser 7). The water pool China has seriously dried and decayed as a result of the incompetent management of the resources. This has not only led to the loss of grain s but has also caused increase in the social disruption in different forms including protests and conflicts, thus thwarting contemporary China’s supreme socio-economic goal. Most of the programs of conservancy of water in China have failed. China has not only affected its own people and the countries all over the world with its massive consumption of coal, but is also responsible for the rise in food prices because of its high consumption needs of grains. â€Å"FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS, GLOBAL FOOD PRICES HAVE SOARED BY 80 PERCENT, AND THE MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS CHINA’S GROWING DEMAND FOR GRAIN TO FEED ITS LIVESTOCK AS A MAJOR REASON FOR THE CURRENT GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS† (Kim 232). The US and China account for 40 per cent of the emissions of greenhouse gas across the globe. Success or failure of the efforts

Reaction Paperon Overthrow by Stephen Kinzer Essay

Reaction Paperon Overthrow by Stephen Kinzer - Essay Example The second part involves overthrows that were because of covert actions. During this time, the world’s big countries were involved in a cold war. Kinzer argues that the reasons for the overthrows were mainly to assist anti-colonial elements in some of the affected countries, make changes in the democratic system, and to protect the U.S. security. However, the principal objectives of carrying out the overthrows were to establish U.S. business that acts as desired as stipulated. The U.S. also had in mind the ambition to expand and access needed resources necessary for the expansion. The need to obtain new markets and strengthen the U.S. economy at the expense of its competitors also contributed to this. In part one of the Overthrow, the U.S. carried out the overthrows with the purpose of protecting its citizens and companies operating in these affected countries. For example, the Nicaraguan president was overthrown because he compromised the American security and did not promote democratic principles. The then president of the U.S. ordered the Nicaraguan president to be overthrown with the idea of defending the right of American companies to operate as they wished in Nicaragua. The same case applied to Hawaii, the government was overthrown to help American companies get access to the sugar plantations. This was an opportunity to invest in those plantations for the benefit of the Americans. When the U.S. joined hands with the rebels in Cuba to fight the Spanish rule, they did not realize that the U.S. was doing this to help itself. Immediately after the government was overthrown, the U.S was given the right to maintain military bases in Cuba. The U.S. government gave Cubans permissi on to rule themselves as long it had to be consulted before Cuba made any decision. During this Imperial period, the U.S. government also overthrew the Puerto Rico government. Puerto Rico was under the Spanish rule and the U.S. was not happy about this. Kinzer urges