China

IV: Here and Now

Part 2: Environmental Issues in China: Sustainable Growth and the World's First Eco-City

Introduction:
China's role in the world economy, its large and rapidly expanding population, and its geography all combine to create some important ecological issues. How they are dealt with will impact not only China, but the rest of Asia and the world.

China is the world's second largest consumer of energy and producer of greenhouse gases. Aside from plentiful coal, and some hydroelectric energy from large dams, China does not have energy resources. It is opening new coal-fired power plants at the rate of one per week, with severe environmental consequences. Chinese oil production is too low to meet the increasing need, and much of its oil is imported, largely from the Middle East. As automobiles become more and more numerous, and bicycle use decreases, the pollution problem continues to grow. Air and water quality issues in China have led to huge problems with asthma and lung disease, among other health effects, especially in children. There is some concern that this will have a serious negative impact on China's ability to compete in the world economy in coming decades, which is an added longterm cost. Similarly the cost of dealing with the negative effects (medical, social, environmental and otherwise) of current methods of energy production is quite high. If China can find ways to produce energy more cleanly, the money saved can be invested in more positive directions.

It is estimated that China will have to build 400 new cities from scratch in the next 20 years to accomodate 400 million people—more than the entire population of the United States—moving from rural areas to industrialized urban areas, largely on the coast. The resources needed for such construction are immense, and the byproducts of the cities are likely to be ecologically harmful. If things are not done in new ways, the economic growth of China, not to mention its quality of life, will not be sustainable. China is, therefore, looking for new ideas. One such idea is the "eco-city" of Dongtan, which is being built on an island off of Shanghai and may serve as a model for future development along more sustainable lines.

Overview:
In this lesson, students will listen to an interview with the lead designer of Dongtan and take notes. They will discuss the issues mentioned in the interview, such as ecology, sustainability, design, physics, biology, economics, and more, and they will brainstorm ideas for making their own homes, towns and regions more sustainable. If assigning Internet audio is not feasible, there are links provided to sites where students can read about the project.

Procedure:

1. Assign students to listen to the interview with Gary Lawrence, one of the people designing Dongtan, on Chicago Public Radio's show Worldview. They should take notes on the main issues addressed, the methods of dealing with those issues, and anything else they find interesting.

   The first 25 minutes (of 45) cover Dongtan and sustainability in China. There is then some discussion of the structures built for the 2008 Beijing olympics, touching on physics and biology, among other things. (See below for resources related to the Beijing Olympics.) Most of the remainder has to do with sustainability in general. The entire episode is important for completing the activities below.

   In addition to, or instead of, the audio assignment, students can be assigned to read about Dongtan on the Internet. In particular, Arup's main Dongtan page and its links are a good place to start.

   If the teacher wishes, students might also be asked to search the Internet for the most recent news.

2. The next time the class meets, discuss the interview (and/or readings). A few basic discussion questions follow.
   • Why is it important that the eco-city is located on an island?
   • What ecological challenges must be dealt with before the city can be built?
   • What ecological challenges from the mainland will continue to impact Dongtan?
   • How large will the city be, eventually?
   • What will be done to make the city sustainable in terms of
   • waste disposal?
   • food sources?
   • clean water?
   • transportation?
   • energy production?
   • What does "sustainability" mean?
   • Why does China need to work toward sustainability?
3. Teachers may decide to spend more time discussing sustainability before continuing. A few lesson plans and other teacher resources are listed below, but many more can be found by searching the Internet.
4. The main activity of this lesson is for students to examine their own homes, school or community through the lens of sustainability, and to come up with some ideas for making them more sustainable. (This need not be a research-intensive procedure, and does not require a formal final product. Teachers may make any such adaptations they like.) After discussing sustainability and China, ask students to consider their own homes, school, community, etc.
5. If there is time, direct students to outline briefly some measures they could take to make their own lives more sustainable, some things their families could do to be more sustainable, and some ways the school, town or region could work toward sustainability. How detailed these outlines are is up to the teacher. If you wish to make this a larger project, you may include some of the research ideas listed below in the extensions section.

Extensions:
Depending on time and age level, students could:

• Research their school or town's ecological footprint
• Research census and economic data on their town, region, state, etc.
• Find statistics about energy consumption, garbage, sewage, agriculture, etc. in the local area
• Investigate transportation patterns in their town and brainstorm ways of making it more efficient
• Design or re-design local structures to be more sustainable
• Redesign a resource-intensive attraction, such as an amusement park or theme park, to be sustainable
• Meet with local businesses or manufacturers to discuss what they do to improve sustainability
• Present sustainability plans to local government bodies

Lesson Plans:
More than a dozen sustainability lesson plans, for students of all ages in science and social studies. The ecological footprint lesson has useful information under "Possible answers for 'What is a sustainable lifestyle?' worksheet", though the worksheet seems to be missing.

The Adventures with Bobbie Bigfoot Web site has lesson plans for elementary and middle school.

Sustainable Development and Africa's Wildlife Reserves, a lesson from National Geographic. While it focuses on Africa, the concepts and links are more widely applicable.

The Sustainable Table has teacher resources and plans on the topic of sustainable food production. It has a political agenda, so teachers may want to use it with some care.

e4s (Education for Sustainability) is a UK-based environmental education site:

An explanation of sustainability and further resources.

"China's Future in an Energy-Constrained World", an article at EarthTrends, from the World Resources Institute (January 8, 2008):

China's Eco-city
Chicago Public Radio's Worldview featured an interview with a member of the team designing Dongtan in January, 2007. There is also discussion of some of the structures being built for the 2008 Beijing olympics. Audio is available online:

A page from Arup, the firm planning Dongtan Eco-city explains the project. The site also has a number of downloadable podcasts discussing various related issues, such as sustainability, water, development, and so forth. As this is the site of a for-profit company, there will be some promotion of their business mixed in with the information.

Similar Projects
"Car-Free, Solar City in Gulf Could Set a New Standard for Green Design" ( New York Times, February 5, 2008) reports on an eco-city being built in Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi project is being designed by Foster and Partners.

Arcosanti is a planned eco-city in the Arizona desert, not far from Phoenix. It was begun in 1970 by architect Paolo Soleri.

A New York Times travel section article about Arcosanti (September 16, 2007) has some good description of the place and the problems it faces.

Sustainable Communities
Planetizen: The Planning and Development Network has an article called "Small Cities, Big Challenges", which discusses issues of urban planning and growth in small towns across the United States. The "sites" link at the top of the Planetizen page leads to lists of links to other sites with a focus on sustainability and development issues, and the news section of the site has many, many links to good articles on issues related to urban sprawl, sustainability, planning, and the environment.

"In Many Communities, It's Not Easy Going Green", from the New York Times (February 7, 2008) discusses factors that make it difficult for towns to make changes that decrease their harmful impact on the environment.

Beijing 2008: The "Green" Olympics
China's plans for the 2008 Summer Olympics include a number of environmental measures, and there is a great deal of attention being devoted to the idea of a "green" olympics. Others are skeptical.

China.org (an official site, and therefore not unbiased) has a page of links on the subject.

Wired magazine has an article presenting a less optimistic look at the idea: "Smog and Mirrors: China's Plan for a Green Olympics"

The official Beijing 2008 site

The "Water Cube" is the nickname given to the Aquatic Center for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The structure is based on the physics of soap bubbles and is made of plastics, making it incredibly strong, very light, and perfectly insulated. The physics of the design are quite interesting. It can also be studied as an example of sustainable architecture.

Arup's page about the building has a few images and links to more sites covering the structure and its design, and to pages about other structures being built for the Beijing olympics.

The official Beijing Olympics site has several pages related to the Water Cube and other structures. The article "Natural beauty of the 'Water Cube': A theoretical physics masterpiece" has several links, including a link to a slideshow of photos.

"A Building Made of Bubbles," from Popular Science:

"Beijing's bubble-wrapped Water Cube unveiled" is an article about the Water Cube, from Reuters.com. The page also has links to video and related articles.

Another Environmental Topic: Rivers and Dams
With the construction of the massive Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, the issue of dams in China (and worldwide) was put in the global environmental spotlight. Searching for Three Gorges will uncover many articles, lesson plans, and other information. Dams and dam removal are important issues in the U.S. as well, so teachers and students could easily come up with ideas for studying about dams in their own area.

Chicago Public Radio's Worldview program did a series on dam development around the world.

Worldview's May 26, 2004 show included a segment on large dam projects in China (click on the link and scroll down to May 26), and the May 27 show includes two segments about saving rivers in China from dams. On each of these pages you will find links to the archived audio of the broadcast.

Lesson plans - Rivers and Dams in China
Poets, Politics, and Paintings: The Significance of Rivers in Chinese History, a series of lessons from the China Project. Included are lessons on history, Taoism, art, and the recent, controversial Three Gorges Dam.

Environmental Issues: Natural and Human Geography is another lesson on the Three Gorges Dam.

Related issues: China in Central Asia - Economics, Culture, Development, Environment
China's economic growth and cultural transformation have effects outside its borders, such as in Central Asia and Russia. The following links could provide ideas for lessons or discussions on China's role in Central Asia.

Issues of trade in Central Asia, including Xinjiang, China, Kazakhstan and Russia, are addressed in the article "Urumqi: China's Economic Hub in Central Asia." The article is accompanied by a photo essay.

The article "Central Asia: China's Mounting Influence" looks at the same issue.

The article and photo essay "Chinese Growth Plans Stoke Fears of Central Asian Ecological Catastrophe" looks at water issues.

Eurasia.net has photo essays from all over Central Asia and the Caucasus