China failing to meet pollution reduction goals–what might that mean for it, its neighbors, and the USA?
Beijing After Rain Beijing on a Normal Sunny Day
A new report shows that pollution problems in China are not improving as the Chinese government hoped:
December 25, 2013
BEIJING — China is struggling to meet its 2011-2015 targets to reduce pollution, cut greenhouse gas growth and introduce cleaner sources of energy, a report submitted to the country’s parliament said on Wednesday.
The report, which covers the 2011-2012 period, said faster-than-expected economic growth was to blame for China’s failure to meet environmental targets ranging from energy use to nitrogen oxide emissions.
The state of China’s environment has come into particular focus in 2013, with most major cities engulfed by hazardous smog during the course of the year, including Beijing in January and Shanghai earlier this month.
Desperate to head off growing public anger about the state of the country’s air, water and soil, Beijing has promised to put an end to its “growth at all costs” economic model. It has already introduced new policies aimed at reining in polluting industries, cutting coal use and thinning traffic. http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-china-struggling-to-meet-2011-2015-environment-goals/1817176.html
Here is another report:
China’s massive and long-term pollution…years of mounting deaths attributed to polluted air and water…
“The pollution problem in China is just terrible and has been for some time,” said Susan Tierney, an economist and energy strategist at the consulting firm Analysis Group.
“There are constant health alerts, and you can’t see buildings a quarter of a mile away,” she said. “They have a long way to go to reach economic growth and addressing the pollution problem.”…
Outdoor air pollution contributed to 1.2 million premature deaths in China in 2010, according to a study released this year on leading causes of global deaths.
Another study found that severe pollution has slashed an average of 5½ years from life expectancy in northern China as toxic air has led to higher rates of stroke, heart disease and cancer.
The bill in China from pollution added up to $100 billion in health care and lost wages in 2009, according to the World Bank. That’s about 3 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product…
Particulates of mercury collected in countries like South Korea, Japan and even the U.S. have come from China. http://www.nbcnews.com/business/chinas-pollution-bill-may-be-too-big-it-bear-now-2D11765770
For those who think that Chinese pollution is a problem limited to China, that is not truly so. Polluted Chinese rivers flow into the ocean, and thus affect everyone. Furthermore, as the above report shows, polluted Chinese air directly affects neighboring countries in Asia, such as South Korea and Japan (see also China’s smog choking Japan). In addition, I recall seeing a report some time back that if Chinese air pollution continued growing at the rate it had been that the West Coast of the USA would have unhealthy particulate pollution levels just from what comes across the the ocean from China, even if there was no human caused pollution in California, for example. The threat from Chinese air pollution is that serious.
Perhaps it should be added that pollution seems to be a factor in causing autism (see Air Pollution More Than Doubles Autism Risk), and so the horrific levels of air pollution in parts of China may have a lot of other negative consequences that will show up later. As I mentioned, China also has massive problems with water and other forms of pollution (see Record air pollution in Beijing: Jesus ultimately will fix these types of problems).
Because of pollution, economic policies, other problems, its serious potential for significant social unrest, and how it is discussed in biblical prophecy, these factors demonstrate that despite its economic gains, the 21st century will not belong to China. China will not become number 1, but later in this century, neither will the USA.
The following passage which involves the second coming of Jesus, and comes from the book also known as the Apocalypse, ends with an interesting statement:
8 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18)
Are not massive air, water, and other pollution problems part of how humankind is destroying the earth? In a sense, pollution will be a factor in the Apocalypse as the above passage shows.
Jesus will need to return to save humanity from destroying itself (Matthew 24:22).
But when?
We in the Continuing Church of God believe that God gave humans 6,000 years to live their own way (please see the article Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism and a 6000 Year Plan?). And that humans will mess things up so bad, “unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:22). And that 6.000 years is close to being up–and probably will be in the next decade or so.
But because God has a plan for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 13:38) and a God of love (1 John 4:8,16; John 3:16), that He will intervene and send Jesus to establish a millennial kingdom on earth (Revelation 11:15; 20:4). During this 1000 year reign the world will become beautiful again (Isaiah 35:1-10; 58:12) (see also Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?).
After this thousand year reign, all who ever lived will be resurrected (Revelation 20:5). The judgment will begin (Revelation 20:12) and God will plead His case (Isaiah 3:13; Jeremiah 25:31). When humans see how they started out with a very good and beautiful earth and messed up and nearly completely destroyed it in their 6,000 years, it appears that they will realize that humankind that distanced itself from the true God cannot properly govern itself. However, when they see how when starting with a messed up and nearly completely destroyed earth at the end of the 6,000 years (please see the article Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?), that it was restored to being very good again, like Eden (Isaiah 51:3), because people obeyed the King of Kings during the millennium (please see Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?), then apparently nearly all who ever lived will repent of their ways, accept Jesus as the Christ, and will live God’s way of life.
Since God is love (1 John 4:16), we in the Continuing Church of God believe that He has a plan that takes into account how human beings would have rebelled against Him (cf. 1 Peter 1:20-21). We also believe that God is smart enough to have developed a plan that does not result in the vast majority of humanity having to suffer endless torment. Thus we believe it is logical that His plan will result in nearly everyone who ever lived, no matter what their religion or background was, to be saved. And that there are hundreds of verses in the Bible that show this—and this is God’s will (2 Peter 3:9; John 3:16-17). This plan is also consistent with writings about Christianity throughout history—though most in modern times seem to wish to overlook that fact. And a little known fact is that there are hundreds of verses in the Bible that show this (documentation is in the article Universal Offer of Salvation: There Are Hundreds of Verses in the Bible Supporting the Doctrine of True Apocatastasis).
And this will be good news, not only for the Chinese, but for all of humanity.
Note: Those who read Mandarin Chinese may wish to check out the website www.ccog.asia
Some articles of interest may include the following:
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters Where did the Chinese people come from? This article provides information showing that the Chinese peoples must have known about various accounts in the Book of Genesis up until their dispersion after the Tower of Babel.
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: The Sabbath and Some of God’s Witness in China When did Christianity first come to China? And is there early evidence that they observed the seventh day sabbath? www.ccog.asia
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon?
Korea in Prophecy, Any Witness? Where did the Korean people come from? Does God have a plan for the Koreans? Is Korea mentioned in any prophecies? Will Koreans be among the first in the Kingdom of God? 한국의 언어로 : 한국 예언, 모든 증인에?
Japan, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Any Witness? Where did the Japanese people come from? Have they had any witness?
Japan, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: Prophecy Japan in prophecy. What is prophesied for Japan? Will God save the Japanese?
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it? Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near?
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2019 or 202x?
What is the Gospel? True religion should be based upon the true gospel. What are some of the different gospels and where did they come from? Do you believe the true or a false gospel?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about?
Just What Do You Mean the Kingdom of God? A booklet that was written by Herbert Armstrong answers questions about the Kingdom.
Universal Offer of Salvation: There Are Hundreds of Verses in the Bible Supporting the Doctrine of True Apocatastasis Do you believe what the Bible actually teaches on this? Will all good things be restored? Will God call everyone? Will everyone have an opportunity for salvation? Does God’s plan of salvation take rebellion and spiritual blindness into account? Related sermon videos include Universal Offer of Salvation I: God is love and Universal Offer of Salvation II: The Age to Come and the ‘Little Flock’ and Universal Offer of Salvation III: All Are to Know Jesus, But When? and Universal Offer of Salvation IV: Will the Guilty be Pardoned? and Universal Offer of Salvation V: All Israel Will be Saved?
Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God.
CCOG.ASIA We in the Continuing Church of God also have the url www.ccog.asia which has a focus on Asia and has various articles in Mandarin Chinese as well as some in English, with some in items in the Tagalog language in progress that are intended to be added.
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