(545c) A Statistical Investigation of Chinese Opinions on Environmental and Economic Sustainability

The economic boom in China in the last 30 years turning the country into a global powerhouse [1]. On the other hand, the economic growth in China is still largely reliant on the large industries that are powered on fossil fuels, including steel factories. In fact, in the second quarter of 2017, the GDP rose 6.9%, and it was largely due to the growth of the steel and coal industry, some of the most damaging industries to the environment [2]. China has developed as the top producer of coal in the world, with 3.46 billion tons of production in 2016, according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics. Coal is proven to be harmful to the environment: emissions due to coal often release mercury upon combustion [3-5]. It additionally contributed to 40% of the fossil fuel CO2 emissions [6]. The rapid industrial and urban growth has resulted in environmental complications. Haze, a slight obscuration of the atmosphere by small solid or liquid particles, is a form of air pollution that has become a prevalent issue in China, especially near city clusters [1]. Particles in the air of diameter less than 2.5 micrometers (so-called PM2.5) caused 652,000 premature deaths in 2015 in 161 cities of nine regions across China, accounting for a total of 6.92% of all deaths that year [7]. The air quality in China as of the winter of 2016 has far exceeded dangerous levels, causing cancelled flights, closed schools, and poor visibility. While a concentration of 300 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5 particles is considered hazardous, 74 Chinese cities exceeded this number in 2013, with some even reporting numbers as high as 700 [8]. The problem posed by Chinese air pollution cannot be ignored any longer. It is thus crucial to understand the public opinion on the environmental and economic sustainability so that the right policy can be made to sustain the rapid development of China.

Questionnaire survey approaches have been implemented to study the haze pollution in China: 1) the annual consumption of various energy varieties, including raw coal, coal briquette, wood, agricultural stalk, electricity and fuel gas (liquefied gas, for example) in rural areas of northern China [9]; 2) tourists’ perception of haze pollution and the potential impacts on travel to Beijing in China [10] ; 3) public awareness of smog pollution in China’s rural areas [11]; social acceptance towards the air pollution in China for the evidence from public's willingness to pay for reducing or tracking haze pollution ([12-14]); and household adoption of smog protective behavior [15]. Few of them have provided a national-wide investigation over a comprehensive list of demographic parameters (e.g., age, gender, education background) of Chinese opinions on: the preference of economic development over environmental protection, adn the satisfaction of Chinese on the government’s performance on reducing haze pollution. In this work, we fill this knowledge gab by designing an anonymous questionnaire consisting of 30 questions was taken by 1,233 people, and demographic information such as gender, age, child status, education background, occupation, living area (rural, suburban, and urban), and living region in China was collected in the summer and fall of 2017. The statistical Chi squared test was then used to identify the demographic group of respondents supporting the economic slowdown policy or requesting more efforts from the China government against haze. A multivariate statistical approach—principal component analysis—was further applied to visualize respondents’ feedback on the impact of haze on their daily life and personal health, as well as the change of environment and economic conditions in the last 10 years. The results can provide meaningful information to policy-makers of China to maintain a sustainable but also economically successful nation.

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