The water pollution of the Yellow River Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The water pollution of the Yellow River - Essay Example Currently, the Mother River is slowly dying. Stained with pollution, crowded with ill-conceived dams, tainted with sewage, it diminishes at its mouth to a lifeless trickle. There were many occasions during the 1990s that the river didn’t reach the sea at all (Wang, Xuejun, and Edwin, 282). It is no hallucination. The huge oasis in Ningxia, near the Yellow Rivers which runs 3,400-mile from the Plateau of Tibet has survived for close to 2,000 years, since the Qin emperor posted an army of peasant engineers to grow crops and build canal for soldiers protecting the Great Wall (Wang et. al.177). Many residents are trying to carry on that tradition today. Lured here almost three decades ago by the limitless supply of water, farmers near the river banks cultivate cornfields along the Great Wall next to the Yellow River (Selden, Mark and So, 152). From the irrigation canal, many residents appreciated the green expanse and loved the rivers power and always believed it was the most beautiful residence under the sun (Wang, Xuejun, and Edwin, 282). However, this earthly bliss is fading fast. The proliferation of industries, factories, cities, and farms which are considered goods of Chinas magnificent economic boom is affecting the Yellow River by making it dry (Wang et. al.168). All the water that is remaining is being polluted and poisoned by these disposals. From the canal bank another surreal flash of blood-red toxic chemical waste streaming from a pipe are considered the greatest pollutants of the Yellow River. These drainage makes the water turn garish purple (White and Matthew, 47). The canal drains into the Yellow River that was inhabited by turtles and fishes (Selden, Mark and So, 154). Currently, the water is toxic to be used for irrigation purposes. In addition, goats and livestock die within hours of drinking from the canal (Wang, Xuejun, and Edwin, 283). The hazardous pollution comes from chemical and pharmaceutical factories next to Shens