Global Climate Disruption.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

eh, I'm pretty ok with that. They have the motivation and the "unique ability" so let them work it out and we can buy the tech from them. Or steal it like they steal stuff from us :p

There's some weird nationalistic undertone to that column (at least the quoted bit). The world getting cleaner (and especially terribly polluted countries like china) is more important than a 1st place medal and cash. And they are in a much better place to work it out than we are, right? I guess he's just trying to be persuasive.

[PanzerJaeger]

This is simply an effort in rebranding. 'Global Warming' is an economic exercise first and foremost. It took quite a hit with the record low temperatures last year, and the powers that be have obviously adopted a smarter strategy that doesn't peg their message to one temperature extreme or another.

[naut]

Great piece on China Louis. As usual they are way ahead of their time. Green energy is big business, and while the rest of the world drags it's feet, China will profit in the short, medium and long-term.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Why, as luck would have it, today's Guardian runs a very timely article about China's clean energy program:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

China resorts to blackouts in pursuit of energy efficiency

With end of current five-year plan looming, many regions are desperately pulling the plug to meet usage targets


No TV. No internet. No air conditioning. Traffic lights off. Hospitals deprived of electricity. Tens of thousands of household fridges and freezers without power. Milk curdling. Vegetables rotting. The risks of delaying energy-saving measures have been all too apparent in a Chinese region where the authorities initiated draconian rationing last month to achieve the state's efficiency targets.

Anping County, in Hebei Province, cut electricity to homes, factories and public buildings for 22 hours every three days in a radical move that has highlighted both the serious last-minute effort that China is making to achieve environmental goals and the immense long-term difficulty of shifting away from a dirty, wasteful model of economic growth.
There are less than four months left until the end of China's current five-year plan, during which the economy is supposed to have become 20% more energy efficient. That target (which measures energy use relative to GDP growth) is crucial for a nation that wants to move up the economic value chain and prove to the world that it is making a significant contribution toward tackling greenhouse gas emissions.

Progress towards this goal was initially good, with a 14.4% gain in efficiency until last year. But it was tilted off track in the first three months of 2010 by huge infrastructure spending – largely on energy-intensive steel and cement projects – aimed at warding off the worst effects of the global economic downturn.

This meant China's economy surged forward at more than double-digit pace, but was having to burn more coal for each yuan of productivity. After this was revealed, the state council – China's cabinet – ordered the provinces to step up their efforts to reach the energy efficiency target by the end of the year.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...rgy-efficiency

[rory_20_uk]

Most arguments about "global warming" are as sterile as using the last decade as the basis for evolution.

The only major difference is that if the earth were to heat up again, most of the globe will be under water. What is at fault is less relevant than trying to prevent this - man made or otherwise.

[Ironside]

This is simply an effort in rebranding. 'Global Warming' is an economic exercise first and foremost. It took quite a hit with the record low temperatures last year, and the powers that be have obviously adopted a smarter strategy that doesn't peg their message to one temperature extreme or another.

2008 is 10:th warmest year on record, after 2009 kicked it down. Me think it had a lot more to do with talking about costful CO2 measurements during an economic downturn.

[Louis VI the Fat]

eh, I'm pretty ok with that. They have the motivation and the "unique ability" so let them work it out and we can buy the tech from them. Or steal it like they steal stuff from us :p

There's some weird nationalistic undertone to that column (at least the quoted bit). The world getting cleaner (and especially terribly polluted countries like china) is more important than a 1st place medal and cash. And they are in a much better place to work it out than we are, right? I guess he's just trying to be persuasive.

Friedman's pieces are always opinionated, striving to convince as well as inform. Can't say he did not come up with a surprising perspective on Global Warming, namely the planned communist economy taking the lead.

In such stark contrast to three decades ago, when Thatcher called for action to halt global warming while the Soviet block happily destroyed the environmental foundation of its society...

[gaelic cowboy]

In such stark contrast to three decades ago, when Thatcher called for action to halt global warming while the Soviet block happily destroyed the environmental foundation of its society...

You know why that was of course she did chemistry in college did she not.


It seems to me that the rise of the Professional Politician who has only ever maybe being a politician is detrimental to actually sorting out problems.

Maggie felt unions got too much money so she broke them a solution to the problem only a technical person would do.

Check the background of the political class of every broke country today there all lawyers or from political families who have only ever being politicians.

[Vladimir]

Great piece on China Louis. As usual they are way ahead of their time. Green energy is big business, and while the rest of the world drags it's feet, China will profit in the short, medium and long-term.

Why, as luck would have it, today's Guardian runs a very timely article about China's clean energy program:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Yes. Ahead of their time and brilliant. Much like their population control and internal security efforts.

[naut]

Much like their population control and internal security efforts.

My dear man would you like some tartar sauce with your red herring?

Yes. China- friend to the environment.

CO2 per Capita and Energy Consumption per Capita. When we look at Renewable Energy Production, China leads the way, and additionally produce 30% of the worlds Solar panels. China of course has it's issues, especially with 2/3 of it's energy production coming from coal. However, it is well ahead of anyone else.

[PanzerJaeger]

CO2 per Capita and Energy Consumption per Capita.

Per capita? Think about that one for a minute.

When we look at Renewable Energy Production, China leads the way, and additionally produce 30% of the worlds Solar panels. China of course has it's issues, especially with 2/3 of it's energy production coming from coal. However, it is well ahead of anyone else.

That is, as anyone who has looked at the issue past surface level knows, due solely to the broad use of hydroelectricity in China which - like most large scale public works projects in the US - is difficult to implement due to environmental issues and the associated lawsuits. The United States leads China in every other measure in your list. Also, solar panel production does not tell the whole story. The producers of solar panels, like every other good, often look for the cheapest labor market. That does not mean that 30% of solar panels are used in China, which makes sense as both the European Union and the United States far exceed Chinese solar energy production on your list.

Don't get sucked into the propaganda... the same people who demand 'energy independence' keep us from investing in the most productive forms of alternate energy - nuclear and hyrdoelectric power. We're not going to get there on wind turbines and solar panels alone.

[Beskar]

Don't get sucked into the propaganda... the same people who demand 'energy independence' keep us from investing in the most productive forms of alternate energy - nuclear and hyrdoelectric power. We're not going to get there on wind turbines and solar panels alone.

Actually, not exactly true, I am very pro-Thermonuclear Fusion.

I agree with wind turbines and solar panels. They are for small scale establishments like panels per house, and wind turbine for villages and small towns. Not for the entire country.

They should give companies tax breaks on the building of new homes if they make them energy self-sufficient, such as installing solar panels, etc on them. That would produce some real change.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Per capita? Think about that one for a minute.

But that is highly relevant. Taking the USA for example:
population: 310M
CO2/capita: 30 u

Where u is the relevant unit of measurement, compare with China:

population: 1339M
CO/2 capita: 8 u

Normalise for population: 30 u / (1339/310) = 6.9u.

In other words assuming that 8 u of CO2/capita is “normal” you would expect to see the USA producing about 6.9u per capita wheras in truth they produce a good 12.5% more.

No doubt this has a lot to do with differences in purchasing power of the USA vs. that of China. Me I blame the airco, and the petrol cars.

[Strike For The South]

My dear man would you like some tartar sauce with your red herring?


CO2 per Capita and Energy Consumption per Capita. When we look at Renewable Energy Production, China leads the way, and additionally produce 30% of the worlds Solar panels. China of course has it's issues, especially with 2/3 of it's energy production coming from coal. However, it is well ahead of anyone else.

The top 4 countries are muslim nations.

Are you trying to warn us about an impending terror attack?

[Vladimir]

My dear man would you like some tartar sauce with your red herring?

They're that color because of the rose-tinted glasses. Panzer sufficiently addressed your post.

Wait...was that a Mongol joke?