Dealing with China's Environmental Problems

　　　Over recent history, China has always known a heavily controlling and restricting government. But since Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, an overall climate of economic and social reform occurred and the new leader became concerned with bringing China into the international community and developing trade with the outside world. From 1997, the scene was set for enormous changes and with them a pressing conflict between economic growth and the environment leading to major environmental problems. These are harmful aspects of human activity that have negative effects on the sustainability of the environment necessary for the well-being of the organisms living in it. The main environmental problems in China are air and water pollution, desertification and soil erosion, and all the different aspects within due to an increasing population growth and industrialization.
　　　First this essay will   explore China’s environmental problems and explain the reasons for them. Then it will evaluate the Chinese government’s strategies to deal with   environmental problems . And finally this essay will consider Chinese people views on the subject and evaluate how they are tackling environmental problems, with the leading example of Zhang Zhimin.
　　　
　　　
　　　Being the fourth largest country in the world physically, and with the biggest population (The Open University, 2013, p.15), various forms of pollution have increased as China has industrialized, brutally affecting its environment as well as creating health problems.
　　　The changes in diet with the growing affluence of China's middle class, who are now adopting Western-style consumer patterns is also of concern because “living up to the Chinese ‘dream’ requires energy and resources and creates complex environmental issues” (The Open University, 2013, p.143). Increase in manufacturing has created an increase in the output of wastes which are dumped in places such as brownfield landfill sites and create serious environmental problems...