Glencoe World GeographyChapter 28:
East Asia TodayChapter Overviews
East Asia is a region comprised of both developing and highly industrialized countries.
Agriculture plays a major role, but industry and trade are becoming more important
especially in China. While some countries are major contributors of pollution
due to their reliance on fossil fuels, Japan has become a world leader in addressing
environmental issues.
Living in East Asia The governments and economies in East Asia are closely
related. During the mid- to late 1900s, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan developed
democratic governments and have become important industrial and trading countries.
Communist-ruled China has shifted to a mixed economy, with largely agricultural
regions inland and industrial areas on the coast. It has been faced with repeated
sanctions by other countries because of its human-rights violations. Democratic
Mongolia is still largely rural but has been shifting to a mixed economy. North
Korea is one of the world's few remaining command economies, and many resources
go towards its military. Major rivers serve as transport routes in China, and
railroad and highways provide other means of transportation throughout the region,
especially in more urbanized areas. People and Their Environment Most countries in East Asia rely on the
burning of fossil fuels for their power. This has led to problems with acid
rain and air pollution. China has begun to solve problems such as lack of sewage
treatment facilities, toxic emissions from factories, and deforestation and
the resulting erosion. South Korea faces the additional issue of safely disposing
of wastes from its nuclear power plants. Japan has become a leader in the region
and the world in addressing environmental issues, developing low-emission cars
and reducing emissions of chlorofluorocarbons. The region relies heavily on
its ocean resources and has begun aquaculture to solve the problems of overfishing.
Countries in the region face such natural disasters as flooding, earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and typhoons. |