china and turning up the heat
China is currently bringing on a new coal fired power plant online every seven to ten days. On average, each of these plants is large enough to supply power to all of the residences of San Diego and they produce about twice as much carbon dioxide per unit of power as natural gas. The lifetime of these plants is in the fifty year range, so we have to deal with them for a long time.
We are at a point where the developing world is pumping as much carbon dioxide into the air as the developed world. The rate of growth in many of the emerging countries is staggering. If we could magically drop carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent in the developed world, that gain would be erased in under four years by emerging economic powers.
This is very serious stuff. When you buy products from reckless countries like China, you are supporting an increase in global warming. The developed world has problems of its own, but economic and political pressure needs to be brought on places like China and India (as well as Brazil and Indonesia).
Check the country of origin when you buy a product. Get in touch with companies who import products and let them know.
A brand cannot be considered "green" if it supports these economies. We have to start somewhere and consumer boycotts can be effective.
Consider Apple Computer. They have been very sensitive about their green image - and their image in general. Many (most?) of their hardware products are assembled in China. For this to be acceptable the plants have to show responsible carbon stewardship. If you want to be sticky about it the same goes for the employees.
Consider WalMart. They are making a few "green" changes (highly publicized by the way) in the US, but a high percentage of the product line is made in China and buying from them is supporting black rather than green practices.
Conventional carbon offsets are lame and should be a non-starter here - something more significant needs to take place.
Look at the label, do a bit of research, contact companies and spend accordingly.
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1 comments:
In the past the US has been the reckless developing country, is it so then that simply because it is now a developed power it is okay? If other countries had not bought American products then, how would the US have felt about it? Changes need to be made, but should we expect more from adults then from children?
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