the worsening air quality. In the film, the director says that last year, Beijing had

175 [quote] “polluted days”. This is when the smog is so bad that schools are closed

and planes are grounded. So just how bad is pollution in China?

Well, according to EU air quality standards, less than 1% of China’s population breathes

clean air daily. Chinese residents are subject to 40 times the number of microscopic irritants

found in smog, than is recommended by the World Health Organization. In fact, the former

Chinese Health Minister has attributed the high rates of lung cancer in China to this

toxic smog. He also said that pollution was killing as many as half a million residents

every year, a figure supported by Worldbank estimates.

In the past, Chinese officials have been unwilling to fully acknowledge the scope and impact

of their pollution problem. Although an internal report by China’s environmental agency also

supported these figures, Chinese officials banned its publication in an effort to avoid

“social unrest”. Part of the reason for China’s poor air

quality is a long-standing lack of industrial pollution standards, a problem China only

began tackling in the early 80s. China’s toxic air comes from vehicle emissions, industrial

waste, and China’s coal usage, which exceeds that of the rest of the world combined. However,

in recent years, China has aggressively pushed to lower levels of pollution, by banning high-polluting

vehicles and curbing its industrial coal usage. Unfortunately, a study from the International

Journal of Global Energy Issues has predicted that since China is still an industrial powerhouse,

their priority for economic growth will be higher than for lowering emissions. Without

significant change, “pollution days” will likely continue in the years to come.

You’ve probably heard that China holds a significant portion of the United States’

debt. To learn just how much of America China owns, check out our video right here. Or go

check out our new show All Points Project, where we explore untold stories from around

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