Soil Pollution In China Essay

Soil Pollution in China

While China’s air pollution has received spotlight from all over the world, its soil pollution is less visible and has received much less attention (Duggan, 2014b). However, the fact that it does not receive attention does not mean that soil pollution is an urgent issue. China’s soil pollution is actually a more serious problem than either air or water pollution because “it is more difficult to control and remedy, taking a much longer time and needing more resources,” as Chen Tongbin, a researcher from the Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resources says (Zhu, 2014).

Overview of the Soil Pollution in China

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Land

Firstly, ban the use of chemical products during agricultural production. Secondly, shut down all industries that produce toxic wastes or by-products. As industrial and agricultural activities are the main sources of land pollution, these measures would effectively protect the soil from contamination by human activities (Zhu, 2014). Thirdly, withdraw agricultural land that shows severe heavy-metal pollution from usage. This procedure would prevent the consumption of crops polluted by heavy metal or pesticides and earn time for the government to rehabilitate polluted soil. As a whole, these steps comprise the ideal solution to the soil pollution in China, but other interest groups think

Although chemical products and noxious wastes threaten their lives, industry and agriculture provide the ways to make their living. As mentioned above, industry provides employment for 30 percent and agriculture 35 percent of the total employees in China (“Employment in Industry,” n.d.; “Employment in Agriculture,” n.d.). Closing major industries and withdrawing polluted agricultural land would therefore threaten the livelihoods of the employees and their families who rely on these employees (Bale, 2014). The farmers would also need to toil the soil even harder in order to meet the crop demand when the government bans the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Thus, the ideal solution would meet opposition from farmers and labor