Pollution is “devastating” China’s natural ecosystem and contaminating its food supply
by: Isabelle Z.
NaturalNews.com
Monday, June 19, 2017
Anyone who has breathed the thick air on the streets of Shanghai or has seen photos of smog obscuring the Beijing skyline can confirm that pollution is a serious problem in China. Now, researchers have uncovered the precise extent to which manmade pollution is impacting China’s natural ecosystem, and its effects can be summed up in just one word: Devastating.
The study, which was led by the University of Exeter and published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, examined the true impact that air pollution has had on the local vegetation. In particular, they looked into the effects of aerosol particles and surface ozone on plants in the country and their ability to store and absorb carbon from the atmosphere.
The researchers revealed that the amount of carbon that plants can take in drops significantly as surface ozone rises, and this outweighs any effect that aerosol particles might have when it comes to spurring plants to boost their carbon intake. They warned that the only way to turn the situation around is by taking drastic action, and even then, they estimate that the damage to the country’s ecosystem could only be reduced by around 70 percent.
Of course, getting the situation to change in China seems like a long shot. A recent inspection found that more than 70 percent of Beijing companies violated air pollution regulations. The list of offenses was vast, including pumping out more emissions than permitted, using inadequate pollution control equipment, and operating without the proper licenses. The number of companies that did not meet environmental standards in the area exceeded 13,000.
There appear to be two problems at play here. The first is that firms simply ignore environmental protection policies, and this is compounded by the fact that officials do very little to enforce them.
With so much pollution, how can any food from China be safe?
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