Southern and Eastern Asia: Environmental Issues

Into what country does the Ganges River flow after it leaves India?

• China 
• Pakistan
• Bangladesh
• Afghanistan 

Where does the Ganges River flow into the sea?

• Yellow Sea
• Sea of Japan
• Bay of Bengal
• East China Sea

Which is true about the Ganges River?

• The river is ignored by Indian religious rituals
• People do not drink the water because it is polluted
• Many people use the river for transportation as well as a water supply
• Plant and animal life have not been affected by the poor quality of the river's water 

How has India's need o develop more industry ended up creating problems along the Ganges River?

• Factories along the river dump industrial waste and chemicals into the river every day
• No one is allowed to cremate dead bodies along the river since the large factories have been built
• Industries located along the river use so much water that the Ganges is almost dry by the time it reaches the sea
• Factory owners have refused to allow the Indians living along the river to bathe in the water/use the water for cooking

How has the Indian practice or cremating their dead been a problem for the river? 

• People are not allowed to go near the river when cremation are taking place
• The banks along the river regularly catch fire and threaten Indian homes built there.
• Factory owners cannot use water once human ashes have been thrown into it upstream
• The bodies of dead animals, as well as the ashes of human beings, have been placed in the river causing problems. 

What was the purpose of the Ganges Action plan begun in the 1980's?

• to try and clean up the river
• the bring an end to the cremations
• to end using the river for drinking water
• to slow down the building of new factories

Why has the Indians government had such a hard time making much progress in cleaning up the Ganges River?

• Most people in India do not feel the river is polluted so they are not worried about it
• The government of India has not made the cleaning up of the Ganges River one of its goal. 
• Few people have gotten sick from the water in the Ganges River, so it it hard to get money for clean-up operations.
• India's combination of growing population and run-off from farming makes it hard to see much progress in controlling pollution

Why is the Yangtze River so important to the population and economy of China?

• Water from the Yangtze is used to irrigate the Gobi Desert
• The Yangtze is the international border between China and India
• People can use the Yangtze River to get over the Himalayan Mountains
• It supplies millions of people with water for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use. 

Into what body of water does the Yangtze flow?

• Indian Ocean
• Bay of Bengal
• East China Sea
• South China Sea

What are some of the main causes of high levels of nitrogen in the waters of the Yangtze River?

• The waste is from nuclear power plants
• the  bodies of dead animals are thrown into the water.
• The chemicals used in fertilizers run from the fields into the river
• The exhaust fumes are from the millions of cars driven in this area of Asia.