For your initial post in the discussion topic, view the Beijing Blanketed in Toxic Smog for a Week in 2014 video (LINK BELOW) and complete the following:
1. Are there any costs in regard to how humans and the environment interact? Why or why not?
2. Find a picture or article on the internet that supports your perspective and include it with your post.
In response to your peers, you should make connections from the original posts to your choice of any one or more of the five themes of geography.
Response #1 (Rohan Sharma)
OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) are the agencies in the United States for the protection of the health of the community on the workplace. Both of these Agencies or other agencies of the same cadre according to the rules and regulations as well as they passed all the laws which have been implemented from last 20 to 30 years for the assurance of cleanliness of the air. These population safety measures have been implemented in Europe by above-mentioned similar actions.
In the last few decades, China is rising as a superpower and taking command of the economy of the globe with industrial growth and dramatic speeds within the nation. Perversely, the price of the surrounding environment and human health have been paid for this dramatic growth. Approximately 250 years ago the United States and Europe experienced the same growing pain as the child is suffering with at present with the massive population for the undergoing of rapid growth and industrial as well as economic revolution. Carelessness and lake of regularity authority for the environmental control and protection department, China is experiencing carbon dioxide emission.
In my view, it is possible that the humans and the environment interact. Nowadays human healthcare the impact of fossil fuel burning and Biomass. Smog is also harming the breathing and human who are suffering with it have some respiratory problems to the chronicle conditions for instance asthma. Not only humans are suffering from the pollutants, but crops and livestock are also affecting by this pollution which ends up by the human consumption. Old age people, children and other persons who are already suffering from any disease are more sensitive to these adverse health risks which turned them to severe sickness or death. World Health Organization reported that Biomass usage as a fuel is the cause of death of approximately 420,000 people in the ruler areas. Nearly 300,000 people are dying because of this pollution in the urban areas. Smog is also hazardous and has a higher risk of health for the humans which degree gets the infrastructure such as roads, buildings, and bridges from acid rain.
References:
Hendryx, M., & Holland, B. (2016). Unintended consequences of the Clean Air Act: Mortality rates in Appalachian coal mining communities. Environmental Science & Policy, 63, 1-6.
Chen, Y., Shen, H., Smith, K. R., Guan, D., Chen, Y., Shen, G., … & Tao, S. (2018). Estimating household air pollution exposures and health impacts from space heating in rural China. Environment international, 119, 117-124.
Response #2 (Tram Doan)
The interaction between human beings and the environment incurs some costs. Human activities have often attributed to the pollution of the environment, which in return influence them negatively. To overcome such negative consequences, the members of the society will incur a cost to either reverse the situation or relocate to avoid the menace that could result from their activities. For instance, the toxic smog that had blanketed Beijing had led to air pollution, and it took place because of human activities. The older adults and the children were the most affected since they developed respiratory issues. Hence, this led to a cost where the people had to pay for hospital bills for the affected to get medication. On top of this, the people found the pollution to be extreme such that they were uncomfortable living in Beijing, which made them consider relocating to other areas. This was likely to incur an additional cost since it would mean that a new life could be established. Moreover, the people were not living their homes to go and work, which is costly for them because it interrupts their daily lives.
The picture below shows land degradation due to mining activities. Even though the mining activities contributed to the well-being of the economy, it has left a polluted land that has incurred a cost to the people living in the environment (“A Picture Of Land Degradation Due To Mining – Google Search”). For instance, people are forced to relocate to other areas because the environment becomes unsustainable for the living of the people. Consequently, they will be required to pay some cost to start lives in other areas as well as the price needed to replenish it for use in the future.
References
“A Picture Of Land Degradation Due To Mining – Google Search.” Google.com.