Expert warns policymakers yet to address most health-threatening of contamination problems
Sunday, 06 January, 2013, SCMP
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1120912/chinas-heavy-metal-and-chemical-pollution-worsening
A senior environmental policy official has warned the mainland faces an “extremely grave” environmental crisis that will only worsen as pollution increases and the health problems its causes come to light.
Wang Jinnan, a deputy director at the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, told a three-day conference at the Chinese University of Hong Kong that the country has not yet come to grips with the amount of toxins seeping into the ground, pollution that would linger for decades to come.
So far the article in the SCMP. Read more about the dramatic environmental destruction in China in “Toxic Capitalism” (water, air, soil).
The situation is indeed very grave, especially for water resources that are already limited but also too polluted. On the other hand the government is well aware of the pollution and the impact on health. The 12th Five Year Plan and other initiatives from the government show evidence China wants to turn the tide. The new team at the top has put the environment as one of the top priorities. However, if the fight against corruption, the improvement of governance and the changes in Western consumption are not carried out there is little hope. The West is also to blame for its hypocrisy, blaming China for the pollution and poor labor conditions while refusing to insist on quality and durability while paying a fair price. And stopping its habit of buying junk at rock bottom prices to satisfy the orgy of consumption. We all have to contribute to change things.

As reported by Reuters in Washington and the SCMP, opponents of Royal Dutch Shell’s ambitious Arctic oil program have called on the Obama administration to put offshore drilling plans in the region on hold after one of the company’s oil rigs broke away from tow boats in high seas and ran aground off Alaska. The accident involved Shell’s Kulluk oil rig; it is one more evidence oil companies are not prepared to safely manage extreme conditions in the new drilling methods, such as in of the Arctic.
As I demonstrate in my book Toxic Capitalism, our society is brainwashed to consume and consume. Unfortunately, to manufacture all those (often useless) consumer goods, we pollute our planet and need more and more energy resources. We can only slowdown this vicious circle by consuming less – and consuming wiser through quality and durability.
We cannot stop going into new technologies and into new areas of exploration. However, it should require careful analysis and without cutting corners. Oil and gas companies show through the approach in fracking and drilling that they cut corners so the gas and oil remain cheap. This is a terrible risk and once again it means shifting the problems to future generations. Remember Deepwater Horizon?

I am frequently being asked how the Chinese feel about Global warming and if they care about green products or green companies.
In “Toxic Capitalism” I refer to a study done by The Carbon Trust. It made a survey of 2,800 young people across six countries that found that 83% of eighteen- to twenty-five-year-olds in China would be more loyal to a brand if they could see it was reducing its carbon footprint. Just 57% of U.S. respondents and 55% of young people in the U.K. made the same claim. Globally, 78% of young people said they want their favorite brands to reduce their carbon footprint, but again the Chinese showed the highest demand for emission reductions, with 88% calling on firms to cut their footprint.
In the FCCC Environment Newsletter No 35 (done by my friend Michel Lens), another survey confirms the trend, see here the full text:
The vast majority of Chinese believe climate change is taking place and most consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products to reduce its effects, a survey by the Center for China Climate Change Communication has found. Some 93% of respondents said climate change is under way, while about three out of five respondents feel they have been directly affected by it. The study of 4,169 Chinese adults was carried out from July to September.
About 68.4% of respondents said they thought China has already suffered from the effects of climate change, while about half of respondents said it will affect people in rural areas more.
About 90% of respondents said the government should have prime responsibility for dealing with climate change, followed by the public, media, companies and NGOs. Zheng Baowei, Director of Renmin University’s Research Center of Journalism and Social Development, said the government should play a dominant role in adopting measures and designing policies in line with the public’s expectations and interests. More than 93.4% of respondents felt they have knowledge of climate change, while just 6.6% said they had never heard of it. About 60% thought climate change is mainly caused by human activities, while 33% considered it to be mainly caused by the environment. Some 87% of those surveyed said they were willing to pay more for greener products, while more than 34% said they would accept a 30% price rise to buy such products. More than four out of five respondents said they supported the government in setting standards for mandatory garbage separation and waste recycling, adopting greener materials for construction, and producing greener cars, even if it means higher costs. Only 34% of respondents said they separated their garbage, the China Daily reports.