>>Until we can put a $ cost on pollution and stick it firmly on those
that benefit from it, we all lost (while a few make out like >>bandits,
however legally.)

Hear, hear.

There's a recent article -- that bears tangentially to our discussion
-- about China's stance towards pollution in Stratfor Weekly. Of
course, recently environmental conditions in China have been
abominable.

Here are some excerpts:

        "China's national assembly will soon open debate on whether the
country should adopt a "green GDP." Officials in Beijing have talked of
such a step for years, but it appears that discussions will be quite
serious in the assembly session that opens March 5. If the measure is
adopted, it would mean that China would begin to publicize its gross
domestic product not only in traditional terms, which measure economic
output, but also in the "green" sense, by subtracting from the gross
domestic product (GDP) the costs of environmental damage and the toll
that pollution takes on human health.
        If China does begin to measure and publicize green GDP, there could be
ramifications throughout the global economy....
        ....The term "pollution riot" has been coined to describe uprisings in
small cities and villages, with residents protesting over chemical
spills, leaks, eruptions and other mishaps. For example, a three-day
riot last July in Xinchang, in Zhejiang province, led to the shutdown
of a local factory that was dumping untreated effluents into the area's
river. For locals in such places, pollution is about much more than
smog or a ruined river. It is also a symbol of a greater and intensely
personal set of complaints--about corruption, inequality and social
changes--that has dramatically altered their lives and their views
about their society, their country and the safety of their families.
The "pollution riots" are not started by environmentalists, and they
are not about the environment per se-- but pollution is a visible
outgrowth of the issues that spark the protests....
        The local officials who are targets of the public's rage are viewed as
consciously trading clean air and water for rapid economic growth and,
by extension, their own personal prestige and wealth....."

David Kirsh

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------