While the coronavirus has been spreading around China, millions have gone on lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus. Because of the lockdown, it resulted in temporary factory closures and a dramatic fall in motor traffic. This means that there was a massive drop in pollution stated by NASA. Typically there is a decrease of pollution during the Lunar New Years, but NASA said that this year had more of a reduction than usual. An air quality researcher, Fei Liu, stated: “This is the first time I have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a wide area for a specific event.” Pollution it’s emitted by cars, power plants, burning fossil fuels, and construction. This can lead to aggravated respiratory symptoms and asthma, among other possible long term effects. The cities in China are rated as one of the most polluted in the world. In the photo, you can see how pollution affects the town compared to the cities after the lockdown on January 23rd. This photo also shows drastic drops in pollutants around Wuhan, which was the first city to be quarantined. Research proved that nitrogen dioxide rates dropped an average of 30% than usual, which is compared to the standard of 10% lower during the same time of year.
- Because of the lockdown, do you believe that this will improve or hurt China’s economy?
- How do you believe the people of China feel about this situation?
- Do you believe that China should start to decrease the amount of pollution that they create in the world?
The drastic changes in such a short time shows how serious the virus is to the Chinese government. China has been known to be a large polluter and for nitrogen dioxide rate to drop that much is a clear indication of the large scale plans put together to halt the virus. To add on, China has been known to make their economy the top priority, even before human rights in some cases. This lockdown will definitely hurt China's economy because it is stopping basically all business. I find that it is worrying that the virus has brought China to such drastic measures and I wonder if the US will also respond similarly. According to this article, https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/29/health/coronavirus-mask-hysteria-us-trnd/index.html, Chinese citizens are experiencing mass hysteria and are stocking up on supplies. The virus has been over exaggerated and people are overreacting. The mass hysteria isn't even isolated only to China. Chinese Americans are buying supplies in the US and sending them back to family in China. Lastly, I do believe that China should start decreasing their amount of pollution as they our one of the largest polluters. However, I think their emissions will be the same amount after the virus passes.
ReplyDeleteI think that the severity of the corona-virus situation will impact the economy of China and their image. If people are being quarantined then they can't work and that will cause a crash in the economy. However, it is good for the environment because due to the lack of production, less C02 is being emitted into the air through industrial production. I think the corona virus is a source of fear for many people living in China. I think that because of China's large impact on the environment due to their C02 and nitrogen emissions they should decrease their emissions sustainably.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the lockdown will hurt the economy because all of the factories are closed. This halt of all of the businesses will definitely cast a negative effect on the economy. I believe that the people of China are frustrated with this situation. It is difficult to be on lockdown and be restricted from your job and going places. However, it is for the better of China and the lockdown is working, so it is understandable that China has to make such drastic measures. I think that China shouldn't limit their population because population should be natural.
ReplyDeleteI think that the lockdown and shutdown of major businesses and industrial sites will definitely harm the economy and limit production on a large scale. I think that it is very challenging to be on lockdown as people have jobs and lives which are changed due to this outbreak but I do think that considering the dangers of this virus that people do understand the benefits of remaining on lockdown for the overall safety. There have been satellite pictures from space which show a massive decrease in atmospheric pollution over sections of the country which is extremely beneficial for the environment. Overall I think that decreasing pollution is the next step for China as it is already showing multiple benefits even in the short term.
ReplyDeleteI think that China's economy will most definitely be damaged because of the current lockdowns. Because there are so many people who are quarantined, there will be less workers which will result in the economy going down. I'm sure that those who are quarantined are upset about the situation but their focus is most likely to remain healthy and not contract the virus. At the moment, I believe that China should focus more attention on preventing the coronavirus from spreading as it is a bigger issue than the pollution they create but the decrease in pollution is a large help to the environment.
ReplyDeleteThe lockdown, given that many Chinese factories have been closed to prevent spreading of the virus, must harm the economy in a variety of ways, one of which would presumably be that China is unable to produce their general exports that generate much of their GDP. Chinese people must feel very stressed, both out of fear of catching the virus, but also fear over how their jobs and income are being impacted during the lockdown, as so much about their lives must currently feel jeopardized. Finally, China’s pollution levels seems like a very great hazard in terms of how it affects climate change and the increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Not only does this pollution harm Chinese citizens (as stated in a Pediatrics article), but it also may harm our entire world within the coming decades as the consequences of climate change begin manifesting themselves more and more.
ReplyDeleteI think it's kind of cool that even though the virus is viewed as a very negative occurrence, it does still have an indirect positive effect. It just goes to show that most things have both positive and negative sides to them. I definitely think that these lockdowns will damage China's economy severely, but it is also showing the population that in the future, after the virus has passed, they are capable of reducing the pollution in major cities. Since pollution in Chinese cities is a huge issue, the citizens now know that it is, in fact, possible to reduce pollution if everyone contributes to the reduction.
ReplyDeleteI think that the lockdown could severely damage China's economy because China is very dependent on their factories, but those factories are getting closed. China should also start to decrease the amount of pollution they create because they are the largest emitter in the world and their citizens have to live with large amounts of pollution in their cities.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the lockdown will hurt the economy greatly because factories will be closed, and this is what brings a lot of money to China. I think that they should work harder to decrease their emissions and mitigate climate change because of health issues.
ReplyDeleteI believe that China's economy most likely be damaged because of the lockdowns. Workers will be quarantined and factories are shutting down, causing the economy to decrease at a fast rate. People's main focus is to avoid getting the virus and staying healthy, but if workers are put out of their jobs, they won't be able to bring back any money for their families and will most likely struggle financially. Additionally, China should focus more attention on preventing the coronavirus from spreading as it is a bigger issue right now than the pollution they create. But in the long run after the virus dies off, their pollution is a huge problem that they need to focus on if we are going to get anywhere in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that the lockdown will damage China's economy, as it will also damage the world economy. Much of the world is affected by China's exports, so there will be many economic issues if China stops exporting all of those goods. It is interesting to see however, how the lockdown has affected pollution. Since there are no cars on the road and factories are shut down, there is essentially no pollution being created. It will also be interesting to see what happens when the lockdown ends.
ReplyDeleteChina's economy will be damaged by the coronavirus for a variety of reasons. There is a lockdown on exports, people aren't working, and factories are closing. The people in China likely are scared because of how severe this has become. It is very interesting how this is affecting pollution, because it shows how easy it could be to reduce it. Once the lockdown ends I will be interested to see how pollution is affected. China really needs to cut down on their pollution, because they are the largest emitter due to their large population, and this affects everyone in the world.
ReplyDeleteEconomically, China is suffering greatly because of the restrictions that COVID-19 has led to. However, I am sure that certain environmentalists and promoters of sustainable development are able to see the positive side to this dramatic halt of manufacturing and transport in China, and are hoping that the world can see that living while contributing less to pollution is possible. Personally, I don't understand why the Chinese put up with the clear decrease in life expectancy and happiness that comes with air pollution caused by manufacturing. I understand the China is the "factory of the world," but I certainly wouldn't want to live in such a place. The country is prioritizing trade and economy over the well-being of not just its citizens, but of the human race in general.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the lockdown will hurt the economy. Businesses and factories will shut down, causing a huge decline in economic stability. Although this would be contributing less to the huge conflict of climate change, people would suffer greatly from lack of resources if the lockdown lasts longer than the amount of resources people had planned for.
ReplyDeleteChina should reduce pollution despite a deadly virus having to help do so. They are one of the leading causes of climate change and will continue to be if they do not reduce CO2 emissions. It will hurt their economy, but it is necessary to stop global warming.
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