Spiegel Magazine Online has recently run a very interesting interview with China’s Deputy Minister of the Environment: Pan Yue. The topic of the interview is the relationship between economic growth in China and the correspondingly rapid increase in pollution and resource scarcity. Is Mr. Yue making the case that the economic growth boom in China has to end in order to avoid environmental apocalypse?

This interview is rather interesting because it looks as if Pan Yue is trying to put out a message to his own government. Mr. Yue states that the unrivaled growth of 9.5% domestic gross product is taking a drastic toll on the environment. In fact he states that by the year 2100 there will be 150 million environmental refugees in China who will need relocation. The rub is that there will be no space for them. It seems as if the ministry of environment within the Chinese government is at odds with the fiscal strategy that the Republic of China is taking.

Of particular concern to Mr. Yue is the growth of deserts and the degree of acid rain falling on the continent. There are towns in China that have been virtually abandonned because a desert expanded into the borders of the town, accompanied by vicious sirocco storms (sand cyclones). The rivers and lakes in the country are tainted by acid and general wastewater pollution, a dangerous precedent for a country with 1.3 billion people.

A big economy like China requires a lot of energy to run factories. One way of feeding energy supplies to the hungry manufacturing complex in China is increased production of Biodiesel. Biodiesel production from crops is a very hot topic these days. It will be interesting to see if China can find a way around damaging the agriculture industry by making biodiesel from food byproducts rather than rezoning traditional agricultural lands into areas where crops are grown exclusively for fuel creation. There is a very intricate relationship of dependency between feeding people with crops and running cars with crops.

Read the complete article here. [www.spiegel.de]

Make sure to comment on this article if you have an opinion about any of this, we welcome your thoughts and ideas.

In a world where nothing seems to happen unless somebody, somewhere, gets really rich for signing papers, there is finally hope for global environmental health. A new joint report has been released by the European Renewable Energy Council and Greenpeace. This report states, among other things, that the U.S. could create electricity consistent with rising demand and save $180 billion annually by building infrastructure for renewable energy sources. Globally, this would require an annual $22 billion investment increase for renewable energy infrastructure. This all makes so much sense one wonders why the financial backing is not there already.

It is important for humanity at large to consider renewable electricity now. This decade, emerging economies found in China, India and Brazil are rapidly requiring new energy infrastructure to power the growth of their countries. Everyone else in the world should want these emerging economies to be powered on renewable energy sources rather than coal and fossil fuel energies.

Without a real commitment to renewable energy technologies, this planet will pay a dire financial cost in addition to the incredible cost in human lives. Imagine coast lines disappearing, the disruption of hundreds of coastal ports and communities, massive influxes of environmental refugees fleeing floods, and of course, all the rioting and lawlessness that would erupt. Take all that in, sit back in your chair and think about how much money would be lost in financial markets in that situation.

There is hope to mitigate this situation by beginning the switch to real renewable energy infrastructure. This will lessen the global warming trend in the short term and reverse it in the long term. The financial benefits will be real because countries like North America will not have have to import as much foreign oil, which will keep more money and investment potential in our country rather than giving it away to other countries.

If you want to read this report and find out about the organizations that sponsor it, then please visit Energy [R]evolution [www.energyblueprint.info]. Also, you may consider writing your representatives and asking them to make renewable energy happen. You might find that promising your vote in return for action on renewable energy is a very persuasive argument.

Sundance Channel Island in Second Life was full of life on Tuesday, June 12th. The week’s theme was KIDS and environmental refugees. Some pretty great questions were raised concerning how kids are so central to the environmental movement. They are basically the reason that many of us environmentalists are so interested in being green.

In case you missed the Simran Sethi: Kids Webisode, we are posting it here.

Simran brings up the Kyoto Treaty, which tried to establish a precedent for basic environmental human rights such as clean air, available fresh water and clean soil. Although many countries were present not all of them ratified the treaty, including some larger countries. The end result is that the people of this world have a long ways to go before everyone can be protected from environmental hazards like drought, famine, disease and poverty.

These are very large and scary issues, but be comforted by the knowledge that a few small decisions in your life can cause positive changes in the world. The products that you buy and the countries those products come from can make a major impact on the lives of countless environmental refugees. For instance, every person who boycotts a pair of sneakers made in a sweatshop sends a signal to the business world that draconian business techniques will not be tolerated nor supported. Remember, what you do and think does make a difference in the world.

A Reminder for You: The Next Second Life Q&A Session with Simran Sethi

When: Tuesday, June 19 at 10 PM EST/7 PM PST
What: An evening starting with an environmentally themed short film and ending with 45 minutes of Q&A with one of the world’s most renowned environmental journalists: Simran Sethi
Topic: Paper or Plastic?
Where: Sundance Channel in Second Life, in the Main Screening Room