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August 25, 2007
China's Environmental Nightmare
Sunday's NY Times has an excellent but troubling story by Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley, about the environmental crisis facing China today. China's explosive economic growth in recent years has rapidly lifted the standard of living there, but environmental degradation has spiraled out of control, with large, measurable consequences for public health.
Not surprisingly, China is trying to clean up its act, so to speak, before hosting next summer's Olympic Games. Achieving results, however, has become a problem. While edicts come forth frequently from the national government requiring improved environmental compliance, corruption rules the day in China, and little has changed.
In fact, many believe that China's environmental problems will only continue to worsen over the next number of years, as growth continues and the economy remains focused on manufacturing. A frightening thought, given the current pollution situation, but here's hoping the experts are wrong.
Posted by houtopia at August 25, 2007 11:43 PM