A layer of pollution visible from space covers the
most populated country on planet Earth.
China uses more coal than the rest of the world
combined. Not surprisingly, it is dealing with an incredible amount of
pollution. The driving force behind China’s energy consumption? Not just China’s
billion-plus population, but also the rise of the demand for “stuff” and the
conveniences we in the United States have taken for granted for many years now.
A sheep farmer in China, for example, may live in
a mud hut. Today, though, he has access to satellite TV. He may not have indoor
plumbing, but he dreams of the day when he will be able to purchase the items
he sees on that TV.
It’s not wrong for a Chinese farmer to want air
conditioning and a refrigerator and a car and all of the material goods we take
for granted. It’s probably not even appropriate for us to complain about China’s
willingness to rape its land for coal and kill its citizens with pollution.
After all, the United States and the rest of the industrialized world was
probably doing the same thing not so long ago.
Nevertheless, the price of happiness comes at a
cost, and one reason to question China’s willingness to go through a baptize of
fire – a fire generated by gigantic coal burning plants – is simply this: Why
haven’t they learned from the mistakes of Western Industrialization?
What price would you be willing to pay
to be happy?
“It’s pretty hard to tell what does bring
happiness. Poverty and wealth have both failed.” – Kin Hubbard
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