环境 雅思作文

Air pollution

For nearly 15 years the Chinese government has been talking about improving the air quality in Beijing, and by its own measures it seems to have done a pretty good job.

Since the city launched a campaign in 1998 to clean up the atmosphere, th e number of “blue sky days” recorded by the government increased each year until 2011, when it achieved a record 286 days with supposedly clean air, compared with 100 in 1998.

But as anyone who has lived for long in Beijing can attest, “blue sky” is a somewhat redundant concept when applied to the celestial capital.

Over the weekend, air pollution readings in the city were the worst since records began about four years ago, with the concentration of fine particulates reaching a level 75 times greater than that considered healthy under the latest US standards.

A thick layer of toxic fog blanketing Beijing for days blotted out the sun and disrupted traffic as residents were warned to stay inside and avoid any strenuous activity to minimise their exposure to the hazardous fumes. Despite years of official rhetoric and a couple of years when there was a noticeable improvement, the air seems to be getting worse and could even

present the new administration of Xi Jinping with a credibility crisis. Chinese and international experts say one of the biggest problems the government faces is the willingness of officials at all levels to sacrifice environmental concerns for the overriding imperative of economic growth.

A lack of accountability, the weakness of agencies tasked with tackling the issue and the ease with which data collection and presentation is manipulated all compound the problem.

“China’s national leaders have ordered an improvement in air quality but thanks to misreporting and manipulation of data at the lower levels, they often aren’t aware of the severity of the problem,” says Steven Andrews, an environmental consultant who exposed official manipulation of air pollution data in Beijing in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games. “For lower-level officials, they can often get the same results by manipulating the data as they do by enforcing emissions standards.”Since enforcing these standards means confronting powerful state enterprises and power producers – many of which have

emissions-treatment equipment installed but choose not to use it because of costs – many officials prefer to massage the numbers, Mr Andrews says.

Chinese scientists who have conducted independent studies on air quality say all sorts of tricks are used by the authorities in order to provide data that show improvements.

These range from blatantly changing the readings to putting city air monitoring stations in places where pollution levels are lowest, such as in parks.

Another problem is that China’s definition of unhealthy pollution levels seems designed to downplay the issue – the highest concentration of toxic particulates regarded as “excellent” in China is three times higher than the US considers healthy.

That many Beijing residents are even aware the “fog”?they?breathe is bad for them already marks a huge leap forward compared with just one year ago.

Social development and environmental protection

Many people believe that we have developed into a “throw-away society” which is filling with plastic bags and rubbish. What do you think?

Wind blows up bags higher and higher in the sky. It is a scary thought that some day the earth will turn into a huge garbage land. Wastes, if not treated properly, will make our life a living nightmare.

The environmental issue is getting worse almost every day in cities with very large population. As is often the case, city development outpaces environmental protection. People consume great amount of natural resouces and produce wastes. To effectively address such problems, cities need to spend big money. In addition, they need to call to the attention of people to become more environmentally responsible.

Many people are becoming less responsible and easily influenced by bad behaviors. “Why should I care while others don’t care?” Such idea makes some people only concern with places where they live and work. Furthermore, people sometimes even purposely litter for revenge to other people.

Although media promotes environmental awareness, good people are often snubbed as posers who try to set up a superior image in real life. Consequently, they are intimated of receiving negative comments for doing the right thing. Wrong as it is, such phenomenon is widespread especially among youngsters and people with low income and little education.

However, our society is waging a campaign against environmental pollution. People learn the harms of undegradable lunch boxes and other polluting wastes. Laws in many countries prohibit or limit excessive use of polluting bags. Companies are continuely replacing the old materials with more environmental friendly and recyclable kinds. Scientists have developed more effective technologies in waste treatment. As time goes by, more and more people put high priority on the protection of environment for a healthier life.