China overtakes US as world's biggest CO2 emitter

[hogwyld]

Source: Guardian Unlimited

China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest producer of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, figures released today show.

The surprising announcement will increase anxiety about China's growing role in driving man-made global warming and will pile pressure onto world politicians to agree a new global agreement on climate change that includes the booming Chinese economy. China's emissions had not been expected to overtake those from the US, formerly the world's biggest polluter, for several years, although some reports predicted it could happen as early as next year.

But according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, soaring demand for coal to generate electricity and a surge in cement production have helped to push China's recorded emissions for 2006 beyond those from the US already. It says China produced 6,200m tonnes of CO2 last year, compared with 5,800m tonnes from the US. Britain produced about 600m tonnes.

Read more: http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2106689,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

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Just when things couldn't seem to get any worse for the climate...

[architect359]

1. Well, I hope that China will be more willing to do something about it

Don't know if they have the inclination or will to do it though...

[OldschoolDem]

4. Doubtful China will do a damn thing about it

They might cover up a bunch of stuff for the Olympics but that will be it.

[hogwyld]

6. Well, China might not do anything

But Mother Earth will fix the problem one way or another. This is exactly why the developing countries should not be excluded from any future climate control treaties.

[Coventina]

13. Yeah, right. The country that executes people for their organs,

makes endangered species into "medicine", allows slavery on a massive, organized scale...I could go on ad nauseum....Somehow I don't think they give a rip about their CO2 emissions.

[cliss]

2. WELL that ought to make them feel good in Washington.

For once, we're not the biggest and the baddest at something.

China - a Monster
The Chinese economy is a monster - but we created it. By feeding it with Cold Hard.....credit. (not cash - we ain't gots it).
The Chinese care absolutely nothing about their own people. They poison them, dump dangerous chemicals in their own rivers, and they burn coal. Well - now they're #1.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Sounds kinda like

America well over 100 years ago:

"care absolutely nothing about their own people. They poison them, dump dangerous chemicals in their own rivers, and they burn coal"

Guess China may have used the USA as a role model. Unfortunate thing is of course they've got 100 years of catching up to do.

[w4rma]

3. Unfortunately it's not because we reduced ours. It's because they increased theirs. (nt)

[dEMOK]

5. k&r...

Why shouldn't both corrupt governments do exactly the same thing?

[dipsydoodle]

8. Read in conjunction with Arenean's post

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x100769

"All we've done is export a great slice of the West's carbon footprint to China, and today we see the result.Let us not forget that the average Chinese emits just 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per year, whereas Britons emit nearly 10 tonnes and Americans 20 tonnes etc.

[hogwyld]

9. The corporations shipped all of the manufacturing overseas

Because China doesn't have pollution controls, safety oversight, lax labor regulations, and a pliable population that they can more easily manipulate. For now... I'm sure eventually the people will get sick and tired of being poisoned.

[The2ndWheel]

10. With room to grow

They have a billion people over there(that's with the "successful" one child policy). They're not even half way done. Since they have as much right to luxury that we have, there isn't a damn thing that will be done about it(except another "successful" policy).

[hogwyld]

11. Yeah, but the earth can't support their "luxuries"

The earth is already straining, what's going to happen when an extra billion want their SUV's and side by side fridges? I really think that nature will take care of us (humans)in very short order, and return the balance.

[The2ndWheel]

14. I agree. It could support some, but we'd have to give some up in the process

Like you said, a balance.

What's going to happen? We'll do everything we can do keep things going(for every single one of the 6.5+ billion of us, since it's only fair). We'll alter and/or destroy more of the habitat to save ourselves from it. We'll enter new environments, like the ocean(for now we just dump everything in there), try and control and manipulate those surroundings for our benefit, and make the problems bigger and more complex.

All that will obviously take more and more energy to do, be it oil, or nuclear, or whatever we have to use to defeat entropy(and we will try anything and everything, no matter the cost). Even if its wind, the process will have unintended consequences. Why? Because we live on this planet, and that's just physical reality.

[hogwyld]

16. Unfortunately, you are dead on in your analysis

Human's will continue to rape the earth, until is is only habitable for cockroaches. The really sad part of all of this, is the legacy we are leaving for future generations. If there are any... I believe that there is going to be a major population "adjustment" within my lifetime.

[The2ndWheel]

18. Organized human institutions at least

There's only so much one person can do. But when you start organizing corporations, states, governments, etc, that have as their primary purpose to turn the planet into money, to turn it into a predictable, productive machine, that's when you get into trouble.

It's our size as a species as well. Also that we really have no counter-balance. If we do happen upon one of those counter-balances, be it plant, animal, virus, etc, we do everything we can to knock that physical limit down. I don't know if that's the right or wrong thing to do, but it does kill diversity, it creates an unsustainable species, and requires that we keep going as far as we have to. Existence keeps throwing up limits(cancer, AIDS, water shortages, war, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc), and we keep attempting to have the cake, eat it, throw it up, repackage it, and sell it for 10x the value.

Funny thing that evolution; we believe in it, but we don't like it. If we could, we would stop it, and just progress in one direction(which is not what evolution is).

[hogwyld]

19. I believe the counter balance is coming

Be it either horrific famine due to upwards of 1/2 of China becoming a desert, or failing food production due to either water, or fertilizer shortages from oil depletion. Another one that you mentioned is the scarier one, in which a new viral outbreak takes out up to half of humanity with it. Look what the spanish flu did in the last century. Imagine something like the bird flu becoming virulent. And with China's penchant for secrecy, we might not know until it's way too late.

[MaineDem]

12. Hooray! We're Number Two

Sadly, the earth suffers.

[guitar man]

15. hmmm...I wonder

...if it has anything to do with us moving manufacturing from the US to China? So, our massive rate of consumption is still responsible here.....

naw, couldn't be that...:eyes:

[Javaman]

17. man, they are just kicking our ass in everything now. nt