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| Making 'green' off China's dirt |
By:
Tom Watkins |
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Quick, name three things that Michigan has that China does not? No, the correct answer is not the "trinity" of Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson, Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano and the larger than life Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
It is clean air, clean water and a pristine environment.
Certainly, we have yet to reach any "environmental nirvana" as any Michigan environmental group will be quick to point out. However, by nearly any measure, we have come a long way.
If you have traveled in China recently, your burning eyes will testify that, along with their economic boom over the past quarter of a century and double-digit economic increases on an annual basis, economic development has come with a stiff environmental price — polluted air, rivers, streams and lakes.
China's environmental problems are not just limited to their political borders. Air and water pollution do not stop at the artificial political boundaries marked on world maps. When we talk about "China's rise" it is more than just their economic mass, it is also pollution that is rising as well.
Clearly China's economic rise has come with a heavy and choking toll on the environment. The factories that are producing much of what will under your Christmas tree this year are fueled by dirty coal spewing out soot and fouling the air and water. Further complicating the problem is growing auto pollution. It is predicted that the Chinese auto market is expected to surpass the U.S. market in 10 years, and there will be seven times the number of cars on China roadways in 2020 than there were in 2004.
China's energy needs are as great or greater than their environmental needs as they continue to emerge from the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and other ill-gotten national policies that held the sleeping dragon back for much of the 20th Century. The Chinese will need to invest in energy production in an environmentally sensible way. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, the Chinese will need to invest nearly $2 trillion in new power plants and transmission by 2030. Will the energy be clean? Can Michigan clean up by helping the Chinese meet these two mounting demands?
Many reports coming out of China point to the fact that Chinese leaders are recognizing the huge problem of pollution and encouraging new green technology to address these issues lest they choke off the economic dragon that is lifting many Chinese out of poverty and providing the stability the Chinese Communist Party will pay any price to maintain.
America remains number one in two categories today: Economic output and the world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases. However, according to the International Monetary Fund, by 2040 or sooner, China could surpass us in both categories.
There is an economic doom and gloom hanging in the Michigan air like a smoggy day in Beijing. With the daily barrage of bad news from the auto industry and the continued loss of manufacturing jobs polluting our minds, it is easy to lose the forest for the trees.
Yet, China's problems could and should been seen by Michigan's leaders and entrepreneurs as our opportunities. China is sitting on an escalating energy and environmental crisis, in addition to as much as $1 trillion of foreign currency, much of U.S. currency, seeking investment opportunities. Can Michigan help build environmentally-friendly power plants, clean the air, help purify the water and put our people to work cleaning China's environment?
Michigan has recent rich history of protecting our drinking water, reclaiming our rivers, streams and lakes while fueling our industrial needs. Through our creativity, innovation and can-do spirit we have the ability to take Michigan off economic life support and export our knowledge and products to the global stage
Michigan must set the goal of becoming the brain bank of the world when it comes to auto technology, alternative energy and environmental entrepreneurship. The state that protects our streams, air and stands tall as the protector of the Great Lakes needs to seek ways to export this knowledge, technology and products to China.
How is that for clearing the air with China?
Tom Watkins is a business and education consultant. He served as state superintendent of schools from 2001-05 and as president and CEO of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, Fla., 1996-2001. He has a long standing interest in China and has traveled their many times. He can be reached at tdwatkins@aol.com. |
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