Nothing displays the short-sightedness and obtuseness of business as usual more than the lionizing of China as an economic miracle. The country has made a great leap forward economically in terms of production, but has done so at the expense of its heart and lungs, its water and air.
One percent of China's 592 million city dwellers breathes air considered safe by the European Union. More than half have no access to safe drinking water. The rivers are viscous sewers. The air is thick with particulates. Hundreds of thousands of people die each year from pollution.
The water tables are dropping alarmingly. Henry Vaux of UC Berkeley has said that two hundred million Chinese depend on agriculture that is watered by unsustainable sources. "The situation is very, very bad."
The country is run on coal, which they have in abundance. Open coal bins dot the back yards of residents. Even home heating is directly burned coal. Earlier this year, China surpassed the U.S. as the largest producer of greenhouse gases.
It is, perhaps, no surprise that capitalist types see no problem, only potential, in this situation. After all, the impending devastation of global warming has yet to bring a coherent market response. One can hardly call it an information problem.
A "Green GDP" analysis was done in 2004, calculating China's growth including accounts for resource depletion and environmental damage. Several provinces came in near zero. It is rumored the Green GDP exercise continues, but the results are no longer released.
The summer Olympics will be held in China next year. The solution to the pollution problem will be to shut down the industry for its duration.
The central government has serious plans for energy efficiencies, as they ought, since output per unit of energy is one-fourth that of other industrial countries. Unfortunately the central government also rewards the provincial chief based on their industrial output, not their ability to meet environmental standards. As we know, a market economy obeys the incentives to personal interest.
KaritaHummer put up a diary on the toxic working conditions that is worth looking at.
Here's a piece from the Washington Monthly recommended by ohcanada on the environment and environmentalist movement.
indycam contributed China Watch
Also see the NY Times series Choking on Growth.