China forced the World Bank to remove damning statistics from a pollution report, the Financial Times has revealed. Among the information cut was the figure that around 750,000 people die in China each year because of pollution. . .Door # 2 -- According to NOfP, America's ever-green, reducing:
Among the alleged cuts made were the report's finding that around 750,000 people in China are dying prematurely every year due to high levels of air pollution and poor water quality. Another deletion was a particularly damning map of China showing which parts of the country suffered from the most pollution-related deaths.
Chinese government officials asked the World Bank to cut the information when a draft was finished last year, the Financial Times reported. "The World Bank was told that it could not publish this information. It was too sensitive and could cause social unrest," one advisor to the study told the newspaper. Advisors said the World Bank "reluctantly" agreed to cut the information.
Ozone and smog, that is--though the MSM buried the lede. BTW, air pollution levels have declined for years:And as these charts show, America and the west alredy did most of the cleanup; Republicans are no less keen on environmental conservation and green. Just not global warming.
(source: EPA)
Water pollution and land toxic releases are down too.
Naturally, Enviros downplay success -- both to preserve the pipeline of over-earnest "first wives" voluntees, and new funding grants next year, each of which might go elsehwere if they knew the West was basically clean. So, not knowing the truth, the public mimics 19th Century Malthusians, served with sauce Halliburton:(source: Pacific Research Institute, 2007 Index of Leading Envir. Indrs., at 19)
This isn't coincidence: the richer the nation, the cleaner the environment. As the late Indian leader Indira Ghandi put it, "Poverty is the worst polluter." Second worst is socialism--China, the world's most polluting nation, is 150 years behind, about where the capitalist West was in the 19th Century:Years ago, air pollution and smog were fatal for thousands. Dramatic reductions in pollution have substantially lowered illness and mortality. Our environment is improving and health risks are declining. Even if professional environmentalists and scare-mongering journalists won't admit it.Oh, BTW, the Administration did not lie about dangerous air toxicity near ground zero after 9/11.
(via My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy)
2 comments:
Thanks for the information in your July 18th post. China does has some significant reckoning to do on pollution. The same holds true on tainted food products. It doesn't help when it starts babbling that somewhat childish refrain of "I know you are, but what am I" by rejecting U.S. exports in retaliation. I am sure that the reported 1% inspection the U.S. conducts of its imports doesn't uncover the fact that the ratio of poor quality/toxic food to quality/non-toxic food may fall in the U.S.’s favor. Moreover, doesn’t the U.S. have a net loss in trade with China? If so, China may be the bigger net offender. Notwithstanding, bad business practices are bad business practices, period.
On your comment about socialism being the "second worst polluter": While I am not enthusiastically promoting socialism by any means, we should distinguish socialist principles from poor government administration. The pollution problems in China may be the result of government leaders trying to accomplish something other than socialist goals. You would think a country that has become so powerful would not make the same mistakes the U.S. often has. Bad government administration is bad government administration, period.
-Cogito
Cogito:
Not sure I agree. The West became environmentally green by virtue of open debate and elections. China has neither, making it a crap-shoot whether the government will properly account for pollution externalities. China's screwing up, all right. But it's not because they're repeating America's errors.
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