0105 Consumerism and Pollution

Today, China’s most popular social media site has been spammed with posts of bills showing off people’s purchasing power in 2016. One of my students, who had been doing some stock investments in his spare time (as well as...ahem...class time), put up a stunning figure that was many times the total amount of what I had spent this year (and which prompted me for a while to have second thoughts about my career choice...). There is no doubt that with the economic boom here, some of us have already been lifted into the ranks of the middle class, or even the upper middle class, in financial term. Likewise, the country, as a whole, has also navigated itself more towards consumerism than others.

Consumerism was in vogue in the West during the 1970s, but since the 1990s, people have shown more interests in environmentalism as they began to realize the collateral damage caused by excessive material wealth. Starting from the Industrial Revolution, goods have been more rapidly and readily churned out by machines as opposed to the time-consuming human labor of the old days. Slowly, we developed a habit of using more than we need, and dumping more than we should. Sometimes I wonder where those tons of garbage end up: buried underground or recycled; burned up on site; or simply, become a part of the ever-growing and ominous garbage patches floating in the oceans.

Wherever it is,  it is not good news. The problem is more severe here, since China is the unparalleled industrial hub globally. Living in the so-called "Factory of the World," we have unequaled access to more industrial goods than most others, and usually at much cheaper prices. It naturally follows that the greater the rate of industrial production, the higher amount of goods being thrown away. Meanwhile resources are wasted and pollution--whether it is land, water or air--is spiking. Except for housing, a lot of goods here are quite affordable to people with a decent job. So over time, they lose the old tradition of frugality and are more inclined to purchase new and repair less, thereby contributing to more waste than ever.

Honestly, I have to confess that I contribute more than my share it and I couldn't even call myself a "fair weather" environmentalist. Perhaps I will change and perhaps I will not. It is not easy to persuade people to suppress their desire for material enjoyment in the present for the sake of environmental protection in the future. The best solution, I imagine, is to pin our hope on scientists to somehow turn our waste and garbage into something beneficial through recycling, such as fuel or building materials. It is then somewhat ironic to note that it was scientists who started the trend of industrialization, and it will now, most likely, also be up to them to solve the problems brought on by their achievements.

Hi Min! As usual, another good and well-written composition. I've little doubt of you mastering the English language with a bit more study and a lot more reading (to expose youself to vocabulary and sentence construction). As to the content here, my only question is which "Industrial Revolution" were you referring to? The first one back in the late 1700s? The second in the late 1800s? The third in the mid-to-late 1900s? The fourth (currently happening...)? A distinction and further examples would have helped immensely. Regardless, as always, I hope that this helps you. J.

0105 Consumerism and Pollution

Today China’s most popular social media has been spammed with posts of bills showing off people’s purchasing power in 2016. One of my students, who had been doing some stock investments in his spare time as well as class time, put up a stunning figure that was many a time the amount of what I had spent (and prompted me for a while to have a second thought of my career choice).

There is no doubt that with the economic boom, some of us have already been lifted into the rank of middle class, or even the upper middle class in financial term. Likewise, the country has also navigated itself more towards consumerism than others.

Consumerism was in vogue in the West during the 1970’s, but since the 1990’s, people have been showing more interests in environmentalism as they began to realize the damage caused by excessive material wealth. Starting from the Industrial Revolution, goods have been more rapidly and readily churned out by machines as opposed to the time-consuming human labor in the old days. Slowly we formed a habit of using more than we need, and dumping more than we should. Sometimes I wonder how those tons of garbage end up. Are they buried under the ground or burned up on the site, or simply become a part constituting the ominous garbage patches in the oceans?

Either way it is not good news. The higher rate of the industrial production; the larger amount of the things thrown away. Meanwhile, resources are wasted and pollution is in a spike. The problem is more severe here, since China is the unrivaled industrial hub globally.

Living in the Factory of the World, we have an adverse access to more industrial goods than many others, and usually at a much cheaper price. Except for housing, a lot of goods here are quite affordable to people with a decent job. So over time, they lose the old tradition of frugality but are more inclined to over buy and repair less, contributing to more waste than ever.

Honestly, I have my share of contribution to it too and I am not yet an environmentalist. Perhaps I will change and perhaps I will not. It is not easy to persuade people to suppress their desire for material enjoyment for the sake of environmental protection. The best solution, I suppose*, is to pin our hope on scientists to turn garbage into something useful, like fuel. It is interesting to note that it is scientists who started the trend of industrialization, and it also needs to be them to solve the problem brought by their achievement.

*"I guess" is not wrong, but I believe using the word "suppose" fits better with the formal tone of your piece. 

Really wonderful job!  :)