POPULATION GROWTH IN CHINA

Many environmental problems are attributable to societal practices that are associated with burgeoning population growth. Polluting use practices lead to reductions in the supply of usable water, as well as to increased costs associated with the maintenance of water resources and the delivery of usable water to consumers. Polluting use practices lead to similar outcomes in relation to energy, and such practices frequently foul the air. Polluting use practices often are motivated by rapid population growth, and the undesirable outcomes of such practices always are aggravated by both excessive population densities and rapid population growth.

A case in point is Beijing, the national capital city of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Beijing's 1970 population of 8.3 million people grew to a level of 10.6 million by 1994. Coal is the source of 70 percent of all of the energy used in home heating and industrial operations in the city. Pollution from the burning of coal causes pollution in the air to increase five-fold between summer (a low coal burning period) and winter (a high coal burning period). Mean air pollution levels have increased with population growth. In 1988, the Beijing Municipal Government enacted the Air Pollution Prevention Act; however, air pollution levels have continued to rise and population levels have increased.

The PRC is the world's most populous country. While the co

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age partners. In urban areas, the freedom of choice in the selection of marriage partners is much more widely applied. Divorce is available to all Chinese; however, official government policy encourages reconciliation. In 1995, the PRC amended the marriage law, and the changes will become effective 1 June 1995. The amendment to the marriage law is contained in a new Maternal and Infant Health law. The law will require couples to pass a battery of health tests before they are permitted to be married. Persons who risk passing along serious ailments to their children are barred from marriage until they undergo long-term or permanent measures to prevent pregnancy. People afflicted with sexually transmitted diseases--including AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) likely will never receive permission to marry under the new law. People suffering from schizophrenia or manic depression will not be permitted to marry until treatment has successfully removed such conditions. The new law also requires the abortion of diseased or abnormal fetuses. A key element of Chinese social planning is population control. Population planning is both extensive and specific, and include policies dealing with growth, distribution, and ot

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