Published March 8, 2008
by iris_author
There's some encouraging news from China where the judiciary is moving to ban plastic bags and go just a little bit greener. It goes without saying that the fate of any global efforts towards sustainability will depend heavily on the actions of countries like China, now home to much of the manufacturing capacity of the world. However, the country has a long way to go to rein in Western-style consumerism unleashed by its economic transformation and emergence of an affluent middle class. Moreover, the enormous demands of its industries for power and resources, are only eclipsed by the titanic levels of pollution that are prompting hundreds of protests throughout China's countryside. As such, China's fate will very much depend on whether the tattered regulatory mechanism of its state can effectively implement environmental policies and safeguards, and whether its leaders will have the foresight and resolve necessary to struggle with these issues beyond simply cleaning up Beijing for the Olympics this fall.
The Toronto Star also carries a detailed article on China's green leap forward. Despite the ginormous challenges, China seems to be on the move.
Posted in: Blogs
This is a great post, Rajiv. As an ecologist, I have been following the deteriorating state of various ecosystem’s in China for over a decade. Anyone wanting to learn more, might start by watching the documentary about Edward Burtynksy’s photographs of China, Manufactured Landscapes. Living where we do, in southern Ontario, it’s hard for most people to imagine exactly how these landscapes can be altered. Ecological restoration may take decades, if it’s attempted.
That’s a great documentary. The ginormous scale of the manufacturing base of China is demonstrated Star Wars style at the beginning with a slow pan of a single factory floor that seems to extend for kilometres. The coal fields are even more stunning as well as scary, given the potential of all that carbon to enter the atmosphere. However, the US is also despoiling its landscape with “mountain top removal” which entails blowing up the entire top of Appalachian peaks for mining purposes. Stunning.