In some ways that is almost an oxymoron. I’m reading a book by Peter Hessler entitled River Town that details his life in the remote city of Fuling on the Yangtze River during the time when the Three Gorges Dam was being built. Even though part of Fuling would be flooded along with thousands of historic buildings and villages, in addition to the probable extinction of Chinese river dolphins (which has since happened), Hessler never heard a single complaint about the dam.
Why are elephants being slaughtered in Africa? For the ivory shipped to China. Why is the tiger population in Myanmar probably fewer than 70? So Chinese guys can eat the tiger parts in a mistaken belief that it will cure “erectile dysfunction.”
On the other hand, China’s one-child-per-couple policy is a major reason the world’s population increase is leveling off. China’s agreement with the Obama administration to reduce emissions should help to slow global warming. (Unless the Republicans in Congress manage to overturn it.) Chinese people are obviously capable of learning from mistakes.
It’s almost a race. Will the Chinese people embrace environmental values before it’s too late? Incidentally, the same thing can be said about Americans.
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