Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Green GDP and China's epic pollution

Green GDP is a 'new kid on the block' in the IB economics syllabus.  The key phrase is '...environmental degradation and natural resource depletion...'!  But it would be nice to be aware of some real world examples as the issue is closely related to negative externalities of production and sustainability.

This article is from the New York Times:  Cost of Environmental Damage in China Growing Rapidly Amid Industrialization. Quoting an economist from the article the issue China has is '...how to transform from the explosive growth of the past 30 years to the sustainable growth of the next 30 years...'.

And this is another quote that illustrates the size of the problem:
'The discovery of at least 16,000 dead pigs in rivers that supply drinking water to Shanghai has ignited alarm there. This week, China Central Television reported that farmers in a village in Henan Province were using wastewater from a paper mill to grow wheat. But one farmer said they would not dare to eat the wheat themselves. It is sold outside the village, perhaps ending up in cities, while the farmers grow their own wheat with well water.'
You could also read this article from the Guardian China's 'cancer villages' reveal dark side of economic boom where this video is found:



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