The Hard Facts of China’s Carbon Emissions
Should that be C(hina)O2? Did you know it is estimated China’s carbon output will rise 70% by 2020?
Check out the following extraordinary facts about a country that is already the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter. It makes you question Australia’s carbon tax, which will increase our cost of living and decrease manufacturers competitivity, while countries like China are surging ahead with massive consumption.
Jamie McIntyre
CEO 21st Century Education
Original Article and Images from SOSNews
THE FACTS
China has 19% of the world’s population, but consumes
53% of the world’s cement
48% of the world’s iron ore
47% of the world’s coal
…. and the majority of just about every other major commodity.
In 2010, China produced 11 times more steel than the United States.
New World Record: China made and sold 18 million vehicles in 2010.
There are more pigs in China than in the next 43 pork producing nations combined.
China currently has the world’s fastest train and the world’s largest high-speed rail network.
China is currently the number one producer in the world of wind and solar power.
But don’t use it themselves. While they manufacture 80% of the world’s solar panels,
they install less than 5% and build a new coal fired power station every week.
In 1 year they turn on more new coal powered electricity than Australia ‘s total output.
China currently controls more than 90% of the total global supply of rare earth elements.
In the past 15 years, China has moved from 14th place to
2nd place in the world in published scientific research articles.
China now possesses the fastest supercomputer on the entire globe.
At the end of March 2011, China accumulated US$3.04 trillion
in foreign currency reserves – the largest stockpile on the entire globe.
Chinese consume 50,000 cigarettes every second…
They are already the largest carbon dioxide emitter and their output will rise 70% by 2020!
And these little Vegemites are saving the planet ………
You are wasting your time and ours with your carbon tax. All you are doing is increasing our cost of living and rendering our manufacturers uncompetitive. It will make no difference when countries like China are consuming at these extraordinary rates.
The irony (i’m beginning to loathe that word) is that the West showed them how to waste and consume.
And like any corporation or conglomerate ‘the fish stinks from the head down’. If you really want to change China, you have to lead by example.
I agree that a carbon tax and the way it was implemented isn’t necessarily the way to go about it. But neither is pretending that the elephant in the room doesn’t exist. We were dealing with a stubborn government/party/prime minister and the only way to get a Bull on a truck is to make it want to get on there by itself. You can’t push it or pull it. But alas, that is what the majority of the Australian public did with this issue. They tried to force it and received similar results. The question isn’t global warming or climate change, the question is ‘by how much’ and ‘what can we do?’ And the answer lies somewhere in the vacinity of ‘something’. Thankfully, China has had the ability to learn from the West’s mistakes. And although it’s rising middle class is going to boom quicker than any other, it also has the ability to go into the next phase like any other. And that phase is Equalibrium and Sustainability. We can only lead by example. We just have to ensure that we are teaching the right lesson….
Anthony you do talk a lot of bull.
As a country we should not cut off our noses dispite our face. You are very nieve if you think the Chinese Government would contemplate doing what our moronic “leaders” have set out to do. Sky high electricity bills and unemployment. What a fantastic way to govern. Lets face it’s the same people who brought as “pink bats” and “disfunctional school halls” and $200 Billion in government debt. I hope you don’t mind your tax dollars going towards paying the interest on this mindless waste.
Purely in relation to Pink Batts, Why weren’t they retrofitted to all houses under the 10 years of the Howard government? Even a policy encouraging people to install it and a policy to encourage greener houses surely could have steadily been implemented. It’s easy to point the finger at the waste. But stop and ask the question, ‘Why wasn’t it done earlier?’ After all, we were the richest we had ever been. Surely we could afford it…. Kinda gets you thinking doesn’t it, When you look at the past, present and future as a whole….