Coal Mining Area on the Environmental Protection Road

 By staff reporter Li Yahong   

Shenyang coalminer Qiao Xingjia.

  "The catch from the river gets smaller by the day," says Zhang Guisheng, resident of Zuoquan County, Shanxi Province. "In the 1980s, villagers used to haul in netsful of fish from the Qingzhang River." Fine grey dust descended from thick smoke that billowed out of chimneys in the nearby thermal power plant as he spoke.

    Shanxi is traditionally a major source of coal. In 2007 the province produced 630 million tons of coal that earned sales revenues of RMB 240 billion. Zuoquan is one of the 66 coal-producing counties in Shanxi.

Bitter Fruits of Pursuing Economic Growth

    Since 2003, China has maintained annual economic growth of more than 10 percent. The rapidly growing economy has stimulated the demand for coal, and expanded Shanxi's local revenue. "But intensified coal and iron ore mining and the many coal and chemical factories that have sprung up damage the environment," says Sun Guangtang, Party secretary of Zuoquan County.

    "Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are a main cause of global warming," says Chen Dongmei, director of the Climate Change and Energy Program of the WWF China. Coal makes up 70 percent of China's total energy consumption, and one third of global coal consumption, according to Statistics of the Energy Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission.

    One quarter of Zuoquan County's 2,000 square kilometers of land has coal deposits, totaling 4.85 billion tons of geological reserves. There are 35 official coal mines in the county, and many that are unlicensed. Coal dust and gangue from the coal mining industry pollute both local water sources and the atmosphere. Local inhabitants say that townships with a heavy concentration of coal mines are identifiable by the haze that hangs over them.

    In the 1960s of Zhang Guisheng's childhood, Zuoquan county seat was a small village divided by the Qingzhang River at the foot of a mountain, whose residents grew corn and millet. "The river water was clear enough to swim in, fish from and catch shrimp," Zhang recalls.

    After 2002, China's economic growth hit double digits. The demand for coal grew with the rapid development of the real estate, iron and steel and manufacturing industries. The growing energy demand, which doubled and redoubled coal prices, was to Shanxi's financial advantage. The 2007 government work report of Zuoquan County listed as its leading industry outputs: 3.5 million tons of coal; 194,000 tons of pig iron; and 590 million kWh of electricity. Zuoquan's revenue that year hit RMB 320 million.

    "Zuoquan County revenue has risen from RMB 1.276 million in 1978 to RMB 320 million, and per capita bank savings from RMB 28 to RMB 14,000," says Sun Guangtang. Zuoquan County is mountainous terrain 1,200 meters above sea level. The county's rich coal reserves have financed the construction of luxury hotels and up-market department stores, and the county-affluent enjoy all the benefits of contemporary high-tech life, all thanks to coal and iron ore mining. "There are people who drive imported cars and build themselves multiple-story homes," Zhang Guisheng comments, adding, "But there's a huge gap between rich and poor."