Question for environmentalists?

Question

This has been on my mind for some time now. China, India, North Korea, and all these other 3rd world countries in Africa and Asia are so filthy, so wasteful, and release SO MANY CARBOn emissions, but you never hear any environmentalists complain about them. Why not??

All you hear about is America. But the fact is, compared to most of the world, America is as pristine as a bar of soap compared to many of these places. We recycle, preserve many natural resources, consistently and constantly find ways to reduce energy spending, have innovations that are "green" or environment friendly, and we ourselves generally do our part to keep things nice.

Hell, China can't even make toys without loading volatile toxins in them. So where are your objections about the other countries that are so wasteful and immensly releasing about 50times the carbon emissions that we do????

Answer 1

You raise a worthwhile point.

Something you may not know is that the rules of the World Trade Organization treaty (which replaced the GATT, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) don't allow countries to add restrictions or taxes on goods from other nations based on their environmental, labor or other practices.  This makes a certain amount of sense (imagine trying to make even a cell phone to meet a patchwork of contradictory requirements!), but when China emits (by one estimate) 3.4 times as much carbon per unit of GDP than the US does, it's time to reconsider.

Answer 2

Having spent a considerable time in very poor places like Indonesia where they do not have a rubbish collection recycling is done at a local level not out of concern for the planet but because rubbish has value.These are countries with no social support for the very poor. Plastics and other man made materials have replaced local bio degrable packaging materials such as banana leaves and plastic waste can be found all over or be seen being burnt. The majority of the people i met had little education and could not understand why it was bad to burn plastic. Plastics etc have risen in 3rd world countries as developed countries send products over as they are cheaper for us never mind the impact it has on the local population. 200 years ago in the UK in our industrial revolution the uk polluted rivers, exploited people and generally acted in many of the ways in which these developing countries act. When they argue that they are being pressuirzed into developing in a more sustainable way which is more costly i can see their point. Many of these " bad" countries arent worried about the environment only about feeding themselves and their families, environmental concern is a pergotive of only the rich!!

Answer 3

If we never hear about 3rd world polution, then how is it that you can quote it and everyone immediately believes you?

The reason is that 3rd world pollution is well documented, and of great concern to environmentalists.

Bush didn't sign the Kyoto agreement for good reason, but that reason wasn't China. The Kyoto agreement would put a heavier burden on the U.S. than other countries because we are the highest per capita.

Instead of rewarding improvement, the Kyoto agreement punished those of us that are advanced enough to drive cars and use air conditioning.

I'm for change, but not Kyoto, it was blatantly unfair the the U.S.

Answer 4

If you're talking greenhouse gas (specifically carbon) emissions, your facts are incorrect. China and the USA are essentially tied for the most total CO2 emissions. On a per capita basis, the US is by far the worst CO2 polluter of any major country. There are a few worse ones - mostly Middle East countries and US territories. These numbers are a bit old (2003), but give you a good idea what I'm talking about:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita

If you want to talk about other types of pollution, then China is worse than the USA. However, other types of pollution can have large particulates which block sunlight and cause global dimming which offsets a little bit of global warming. Bad for health, but good for slowing climate change.

As for the USA being green due to our innovations, what about our cars? We drive a bunch of gas guzzling SUVs around, while in other countries they drive little tiny fuel efficient cars. Hybrids are great, but only 1% of new car sales in the US are hybrids.

Sorry, but your perceptions of the US and other countries are simply inaccurate.

Answer 5

A lot of Americans, especially those in Hollywood have told about wrongs committed against the environment in other countries. I think that individual Americans should focus on their own habits. About the toxic toys, Americans buy them, and that is wasteful, along with the junky toys in Kids Meals.

Answer 6

All you hear about is America because it's the only country that matters. All the people that talk about China are being censored. No one talks about India because they are too busy talking in outsourced call centers. Anyone that talks about North Korea are executed.

Answer 7

You know we are the only country that matters. :)
Why do tree-huggers like myself focus on our country? Because it all starts at home. We have the technological and monetary ability to make our air, water and soil cleaner and safer.

Answer 8

You make valid points here, but I can make my preferences felt here, in my own country, through how my dollars are spent, how I vote, how I recycle and so on.
How do you propose that we force these other countries to go green, when many of them cannot ensure their own people their basic rights?

Answer 9

You must also consider capability. We get the majority of our taxes in the U.S. from rich people, while many poor people pay no taxes. Its not treating them equally because the poor have no money. China and North Korea have trouble feeding their people, providing energy etc. Making them follow the same rules as the developed countries is impossible for them. So should we not fight global warming because they can't?

Answer 10

"However, other types of pollution can have large particulates which block sunlight and cause global dimming which offsets a little bit of global warming."


Does this guy really believe this crap...or does he just post this stuff to a rise out of people like me. I can't believe that anybody would post such nonsense and actually believe it.