I just came across a copy of Metro, the free newspaper. Metro puts a diiferent slant on the Bali Conference issues. The headline -
Rich Nations Spend More on Suntan Lotion than helping poor countries tackle global warming.
Under this they showed a harrowing picture of poverty. The caption - A mother and child separate coal from unwanted waste at a Chinese mine, one of three state-owned sites in Yaojie, Gansu province. China’s burgeoning economy relies on coal to provide 70% of its energy needs. However, it also makes it the world’s largest producer of sulphur dioxide emissions, 90% of which are a result of burning coal.
My comment. ” When Chinese tools first came into the UK, we were delighted by the price and quality compared to UK produced tools. Entrepreneurs fueled the market for consumer goods that China could always produce more cheaply. No one asked how they could do this or even cared why? Now you can search for UK or European made items but only find them made in China. It crept up on us and now we are addicted to cheap goods. Our addiction is fuelling Global Warming. If China did not have a market it would not rape it’s natural resources to feed one.” There, that was my 2 penny’oth!
Absolutely right. Our cheap goods, of all kinds, are often at an unseen cost. How many air miles has all that fruit - Chilean apples, American grapefruit - done? Kiwi fruit uses more than its own weight in aviation fuel to get here from NZ. And how much are the grape-pickers or coffee-growers paid? Far too often we enjoy low costs at the expense of pollution and poverty elsewhere.