Environmental Issues: the Problem-Solver and the Troublemaker

SINGAPORE GOOD
When the topic turned to the environment during lecture, my first thought went to Singapore. Last quarter, it was in Kishore's book where I learned that Singapore has the highest biodiversity of any country in the world(?) -- I have yet to verify this claim; it sounds too good to be true (Singapore isn't that big...), but I also trust facts that coming from Kishore, a respectable scholar!


Whether or not Singapore has the highest biodiversity in the world, the question of how the "nanny state" nutures environmental awareness and protection is a legitimate question. Judging by the article on how Singapore dealt with SARS by providing its citizenry with more information, Singapore might also be doing a capable job protecting the environment. Perhaps Singapore takes the same approach to the environment as it does to public health -- equipping its people with useful and, in fact, empowering information, like on this site:
http://www.nea.gov.sg/cms/sei/International.html


Since 1994, the Singapore Environment Institute (SEI) has been educating government officials and business people not only from Singapore but also from other countries. They offer courses like "Solid Waste Management," "Public Education," and "Air Pollution Control." Singapore, as a leader in implementing science and technology to achieve its goals -- environmental and otherwise -- is an ideal source of education for neighboring countries.

Therefore, even though this site isn't a typical news source, it has practical, comprehensive listings of evironmental development courses and events featurings a meeting of minds on the ecological issues of the day. "To-date, more than 500 officials from over 50 countries had benefited from our environmental training programmes," the site says. For journalists and other professionals, the SEI site is an invaluable resource. Singapore, as a leader in implementing science and technology to achieve its goals, environmental and otherwise, uses Internet to disseminate information about its government-initiated, developmental programs.

SINGAPORE BAD
For the fact that the United Nations is supposed to be a catalyst for information, collaboration, and change, I thought that the UNEP website would be a great resource.
http://www.unepapac.org/

I was wrong. I went to the Asia Pacific UNEP website, and to my dismay, I found only a lot of talk (mission statement, etc.) and a list of awards and sponsors but no concrete resources, unlike the SEI site with information on courses and conferences. The only useful piece of information I gathered from the site was some vague information on a youth initiative called UNEP Youth Advisory Council (YAC), "a group of 12 youth leaders (2 per region) elected biennially at UNEP's Global Youth Retreat. The Council works closely with UNEP on environmental issues, UNEP decision making processes, and UNEP programme development...[and] act as ambassadors for the environmental conscience of young people world wide."

CHINA GOOD

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1421&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=216812#englishtopic_id=1421&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=216812#englishm?topic_id=1421&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=216812#english

The Woodrow Wilson Center website is an excellent source of news on China's environmental issues. We know that as a respectable think tank, the links are also from credible sources. For example, I found a substantial and analytical article from China Daily on whether China had the option of polluting first, and then treating its pollution (as Western countries like the U.S. have done).

One source says definitely no. "Firstly, when China started its industrialization and modernization drive in the late 20th century, the developed Western countries had already completed their primitive capital accumulation and established a series of international rules in their favor. Under such circumstances, it is impossible for China to transfer its cost of pollution to the rest of the world."

"Secondly, the population-environment structure in China is different, so we cannot blindly copy the Western model to pay attention to environment issues only after the country has achieved a per capita GDP of $8,000. China may already be facing a severe environment situation when its per capita GDP reaches $2,000," said Pan Yue, vice-minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). Hence the severity of the impending energy crisis due to worldwide neglect.

Most of the articles listed on the Woodrow Wilson site are from the China Daily. I'm surprised at the quality of reporting from China Daily under an authoritarian media system. I'm also pleased that the article (above) contains relatively sensible, realistic reporting on the environmental challenges that lay ahead of China.

CHINA GOOD #2

Because China is suddenly (and intensely) on the forefront of U.S. concerns about environment and energy sources, I was able to find more good rather than bad sources on China. One that would augment Woodrow Wilson Center and China Daily's sites is the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/chinaenv.html

Before delving into day-to-day news updates on China's environmental issues, it would help to get some concrete statistics and background, for example, that "China's share of world carbon emissions is expected to increase in coming years, reaching 17.8% by 2025." Not a staggering statistic, but more likely accurate than some overblown shocker published in many an environmental nonprofit's glossy brochure. This site also provides useful information about China's politics regarding environmental protection: "China is a non-Annex I country under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, meaning it has not agreed to binding emissions reductions in the Kyoto Protocol, which it ratified in August 2002" -- a detail to keep in mind when trying to reach some understanding of the complex issue of interntational environmental preservation.