Environmental Consciousness in China: Change with Social Transformation

By Qiu Zhong and Guoqing Shi

Environmental Consciousness in China: Change with Social Transformation discusses the status of environmental consciousness within China from both an economic and political view. It then compares and contrasts the situation in China with Western nations. This is the first book that includes a comparison of urban and rural groups based on China’s unique modernization background.

• Considers China’s environmental record from an historical perspective
• Assesses the current state of environmental consciousness in China
• Discusses likely future trends in environmental consciousness
• Compares China’s record on environmental consciousness with Western nations

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: May 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9780081003893

Qiu Zhong

Qiu Zhong has a PhD in Sociology from Hohai University, China and a Professional Science Masters (PSM) degree inEnvironmental Science from Oklahoma State University, USA. Dr. Qiu Zhong's interests lie in environmental sociology and environmental management. She is dedicating to the research of global engagement, and environmental change and management.

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Chapter one

Stories repeat again and again

Abstract

Back in December 1873, several severe fog swept London within 1 month. Visibility was reduced to few yards. Time issued a statement all locomotion, especially to people on foot at the crossings of great thoroughfares, berceuse extremely dangerous (Freese, 2004). People were shocked at that time, but they did not know they will continue suffering the weather even worse in the later years. Fig. 1.1 shows a photo taken the heavy smog in Piccadilly Circus, London, on 6th December 1952.

Keywords

Pollution; Urbanization; Environmental Consciousness; Environmental Behaviors; Migrants; Mass Media

1.1 England, 19th century

Back in December 1873, several severe fog swept London within 1 month. Visibility was reduced to few yards. Time issued a statement all locomotion, especially to people on foot at the crossings of great thoroughfares, berceuse extremely dangerous (Freese, 2004). People were shocked at that time, but they did not know they will continue suffering the weather even worse in the later years. Fig. 1.1 shows a photo taken the heavy smog in Piccadilly Circus, London, on 6th December 1952.

Figure 1.1 Nelson's Column during the Great Smog. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nelson%27s_Column_during_the_Great_Smog_of_1952.jpg>.

The death statistics were released several decades later. About 270–700 London people were silently killed by the 1873’s fog. The death number was between 700 and 1100 when London suffered her 1880’s fog week. Death number was 1000 for the 1892’s. While these deaths went largely unreported (Freese, 2004).

In the year 1952, no one can forget from Friday December 5 to Tuesday December 9. Even now, The Great Smog or Big Smoke typically tagged to the 1952s London air pollution. The Great Smog not only caused rapid growth of traffic accidents but also directly brought health problems. The government reported a surge of death at this time. Just 4 days later on December 8, medical department gave a report that 4000 people had died prematurely because of the smog (Brimblecombe, 1987). According to a later study, 12,000 deaths were considered related to the smog (Bell & Davis, 2001).

1.2 The United States, 20th century

1.2.1 July 1943

England is not the only place that has smog. Smog also shows up in the United States. Fig. 1.2 shows the first recorded photo of smog in Los Angeles, California, in 1943. The entire city was suddenly filled with some unknown gas with pretty low visibility. Some thought it might be a World War II attack by Japan (Butcher, 2013). Like the fog in London, the smog in Los Angeles, California also caused a fatal increase in traffic accidents and health issues. The story was repeating in the United States.

Figure 1.2 Smog in Los Angeles, California (UCLA Library, 1948).

1.2.2 October 1948

Donora is a small industrial-based city with a steel mill and a zinc works lying in a river valley along the Monongahela River near the city Pittsburgh. A few years after the smog sweeps Los Angeles, in 1948, the city was all in dense yellow smog on October 27, and it lasted for a few more days. Fig. 1.3 shows a photo took in the smog during the daytime on October 30, 1948. The sun was completely blocked and the visibility was very low. During the smog, more than 20 people died and 600 were hospitalized (Tracton, 2012). Around 40% of the total population in the city was affected, concluding the official epidemiological study (Townsend, 1950). The story repeated one more time and was repeating in one of the largest cities in the United States, New York.

Figure 1.3 The smog in Donora on October 29, 1948 at noon. NOAA Ocean service Education.

1.2.3 November 1966

From November 23–26 in 1966 was the Thanksgiving holiday weekend that year. Thanksgiving celebrations were all across the United States. Residents in New York City, an extra-large metropolis located in the northeast of the country found dense smog covering the city in their Thanksgiving gift as shown in Fig. 1.4. This environmental disaster caused many health issues, for example, stinging eyes, coughing, and respiratory distress. About 168 people died likely due to the smog (Bird, 1967). After having a look at the stories in the Europe and the United States, we saw about Asia.

Figure 1.4 A photo published on the front page of the New York Times, showing the city in smog. Courtesy of Andy Blair.

1.3 Japan, 20th century

1.3.1 1960 to 1972

Yokkaichi is a Japanese city lying beside the Ise Bay. During the 1950s, many oil industries rose in this city and started to cause air pollution. Severe smog was built in the city. Fig. 1.5 shows a photo with a large amount of air pollution posted on the official website of Yokkaichi city introducing the history at that time. After a few years, fish caught in Ise Bay started to have a bad taste and the residents in Yokkaichi developed asthma. This Yokkaichi asthma then became one of the Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan.