Original source URL: http://www.radicalpress.com/?p=626 THE CHINA EFFECT ‹‹‹‹‹ From: Monika Sheardown •••@••.••• Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 To: •••@••.••• Subject: The China Effect As you ponder buying more ³Made in China² goods during boxing day sales, here¹s some interesting factsŠ Very best, -Monika The China Effect ³Per-capita income in China is less than 1/10 of America¹s and its per-capita greenhouse gas emission is less than 1/5 of ours. But if 1.3 billion Chinese were to consume at the level Americans do, we¹d need several more Earths. China¹s effect on world resources, quantified: China is : * The world¹s largest consumer of coal, grain, fertilizer, cell phones, refrigerators, and televisions * The leading importer of iron ore, steel, copper, tin, zinc, aluminum, and nickel * The top producer of coal, steel, cement, and 10 kinds of metal * The No. 1 importer of illegally logged wood * The third-largest producer of cars after Japan and the United States; by 2015, it could be the world¹s largest car producer. By 2020, there could be 130 million cars on its roads, compared to 33 million now. More Facts: * China produces half of the world¹s cameras, 1/3 of its television sets, and 1/3 of all the planet¹s garbage. * There are towns in China that make 60% of the world¹s button supply, 1/2 of all silk neckties, and 1/2 of all fireworks. * China uses half of the world¹s steel and concrete and will probably construct half of the world¹s new buildings over the next decade. * Some Chinese factories can fit as many as 200,000 workers. * China used 2.5 billion tons of coal in 2006, more than the next three highest-consuming nations-Russia, India, and the United States-combined. * It has more than 2,000 coal-fired power plants and puts a new one into operation every 4 to 7 days. * Between 2003 and 2006, worldwide coal consumption increased as much as it did in the 23 years before that. China was responsible for 90% of the increase. * China became the world¹s top carbon dioxide emitter in 2006, overtaking the United States. * Russia is China¹s largest timber supplier; half of all logging there is illegal. In Indonesia, another timber supplier to China, up to 80% of all logging takes place illegally. * 90% of all wood products made in China are consumed in the country, including 45 billion pairs of wooden chopsticks each year. * The value of China¹s timber-product exports exceeds $17 billion. About 40 percent go to the United States. * More than 3/4 of China¹s forests have disappeared; 1/4 of the country¹s land mass is now desert. * Until recently, China was losing a Rhode Island-sized parcel of land to desertification each year. * 80% of the Himalayan glaciers that feed Chinese rivers could melt by 2035. * In 2005, China¹s sulfur-dioxide emissions were nearly twice those of the United States. * Acid rain caused by air pollution now affects 1/3 of China¹s land. * Each year, at least 400,000 Chinese die prematurely of air-pollution- linked respiratory illnesses or diseases. * A quarter of a million people die because of motor-vehicle traffic each year-6 times as many as in the United States, even though Americans have 18 times as many cars. * Of the world¹s 20 most polluted cities, 16 are in China. * Half of China¹s population-600 to 700 million people-drinks water contaminated with human and animal waste. A billion tons of untreated sewage is dumped into the Yangtze each year. * 4/5 of China¹s rivers are too polluted to support fish. * The Mi Yun reservoir, Beijing¹s last remaining reliable source of drinking water, has dropped more than 50 feet since 1993. * Overuse of groundwater has caused land subsidence that cost Shanghai alone $12.9 billion in economic losses. * Dust storms used to occur once a year. Now, they happen at least 20 times a year. * Chinese dust storms can cause haziness and boost particulate matter in the United States, all the way over to Maine. * In 2001, a huge Chinese storm dumped 50,000 metric tons of dust on the United States. That¹s 2.5 times as much as what U.S. sources produce in a typical day. * Currently, up to 36 percent of man-made mercury emissions settling on America originated in Asia. * Particulate matter from Asia accounts for nearly half of California¹s annual pollution limit. * Environmental damage reportedly costs China 10 percent of its GDP. Pollution-related death and disability heath care costs alone are estimated at up to 4 percent of GDP. * In 2005, there were 50,000 pollution-related disputes and protests in China. * China¹s middle class is expected to jump from 100 million people today to 700 million people by 2020. ‹‹‹‹ These statistics are drawn from ³The Last Empire: Can the world survive China¹s rush to emulate the American way of life?² in the current issue of Mother Jones. -- -------------------------------------------------------- Posting archives: http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/?lists=newslog Escaping the Matrix website: http://escapingthematrix.org/ cyberjournal website: http://cyberjournal.org How We the People can change the world: http://governourselves.blogspot.com/ Community Democracy Framework: http://cyberjournal.org/DemocracyFramework.html Moderator: •••@••.••• (comments welcome)
