China Versus Iceland ± CollapseEnvironmental Damage

± the extent of the damage done by a population to their environment and the environment¶s resilience and fragilityIceland China5 7.5Iceland is, by nature, an extremely variable climate due to its position betweenthe Arctic air masses and warmer southern temperate air masses. With these air masses comes a significant amount wind, and one of the main problems in Iceland isthe subsequent soil erosion. In 2008, 40% of the surface of Iceland was affected by soilerosion. There are also problems with the amount of clean drinking water available anddeforestation. Iceland¶s environment is incredibly fragile and thus they have to be verycareful.China is a main industrial power in the world, and its industry causes major problems for its environment. 75% of China¶s energy production is still dependent oncoal, which does not burn very cleanly. China has a major air pollution issue to the pointthat respiratory disease is on the rise and acid rain is a problem. Industry has alsopoisoned much of the water supply, up to 40% is unfit for consumption, and water shortages are an issue. The same erosion that plagues Iceland has also caused thedesertification of 30% of Chinese soil.

Climate Change

± natural variation in weather patterns over long periods of timeIceland China2 3Iceland is highly affected by global warming because of its glaciers. To this point,the melting glaciers have actually been beneficial to the economy as it supplies thewater for hydropower. However, the overall climate in Iceland is very likely to undergomajor adjustments due to climate change. The temperature there is rising significantly,and this could lead to problems.China is huge and emits a massive amount of pollution, so climate change is alegitimate concern. China will most likely suffer from rising temperatures, much like therest of the world. Climate change could also increase the amount of storms andtyphoons near China¶s coastlines. In the more distant future, it may also have issueswith rising water levels in coastal areas.

Hostile Neighbors

± a society¶s relationships with unfriendly neighborsIceland China0 2

Iceland is a fairly secluded Atlantic island and thus borders no countries. Thecountries closest to it are Scandinavia and Greenland, neither of which is particularlyhostile.China, on the other hand, borders many countries including Afghanistan, Bhutan,Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan,Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam. China has had some recent border disputes with India,complete with troops near stationed the border, but it does not seem likely that thesewill escalate. North Korea, though generally considered to be unstable, has a goodrelationship with China due to their shared Communism. Though China and its directneighbors may have fairly good relationships, China and the rest of world may not. It isgaining a bad reputation globally, concerning human rights violations, as exemplified bytheir current situation with Google.

riendly Trade Partners

± the other societies that a society interacts with whosedecreased support can have major effectsIceland China1 1Iceland exports the main good that it produces, seafood. It does most of itstrading within the European Union and with the United States. Lately its fishing tradehas become more sustainable and it has begun to trade in aluminum. However, Icelandreplies heavily on imports, including all oil, wheat, and timber. Those are importantresources, and if through any horrible turn of events, it were cut off from trade, it wouldbe extremely detrimental. However, Iceland trades mainly with stable, trade-friendlynations. It is generally a well-liked nation and does not have any problems findingtrading partners despite it¶s remote location.Trade is very important to the Chinese economy, and China¶s biggest tradepartner is the United States. It does not seem likely that the United States will decreasetrade with China anytime soon, as it the best place to get cheap goods. China is such alarge and global producer of goods. China does not really require any essential importsexcept for oil and oil products. China has a fairly stable relationship with the MiddleEastern nations from which it gains its oil. Sanctions concerning China have been talkedabout, but it does not seem likely that China will cease to be a center of trade.

Society's Response to its Environmental Problems

± how a society responds to theproblems it is presented withIceland China1 6Iceland¶s reaction to its climate problems was and continues very extreme. TheIcelandic government understands that its country is very fragile and needs to be takencare of. The government is also on the forefront of completely stopping the use of fossil

fuel. They are also vigorously trying to reforest the island and reverse the effects of soilerosion. It has taken an aggressive stance against its problems and has a good chanceof success.In theory, China is instituting a robust plan and trying to save its environment, butit seems that industrialization comes first. While other first world countries have gonethrough the process of environmental disregard, China is still there. The rate of Chineseemissions is rising. If it does not begin to take control of this problem in order to avoiddisaster.

Total Score:

Iceland China9 19.5

China Versus Iceland

China and Iceland do not have much in common. One is a giant internationalbehemoth of industry and the other is a small island. They do have some of the sameecological problems, such as soil erosion and water pollution, but China has all theseproblems to a greater extent, and it has the added issue of air pollution. The maindifference in ecological issues is that Iceland is acting to minimize them but China isnot. China needs to be more like Iceland in trying to fight against ecological collapse.On other fronts, neither seems at all likely to collapse. They are both in stable traderelationships and relatively good standing with the rest of the world. Both have somelevel of dependency, which is normal today. According to the ecological factors, there isa chance that China could collapse, but it should be saved by its strong economy. Actually, any country is unlikely to collapse due to the interconnected nature of planetearth.