To the Guardian : ” Nationwide, cancer rates have surged since the 1990s to become the nation’s biggest killer. In 2007, the disease was responsible for one in five deaths, up 80% since the start of economic reforms 30 years earlier.
” While the government insists it is cleaning up pollution far faster than other nations at a similar dirty stage of development, many toxic industries have simply been relocated to impoverished, poorly regulated rural areas. “
” Chinese farmers are almost four times more likely to die of liver cancer and twice as likely to die of stomach cancer than the global average, according to study commissioned by the World Bank. “
This came to my mind as I read about the pollution induced by a Chinese solar panels plant. Yes, solar does pollute sometimes !
To the New York Times :
In a fresh indication of growing public anger over pollution, hundreds of demonstrators in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang on Sunday were camped outside a solar panel manufacturing plant that stands accused of contaminating a nearby river.
The demonstration was the latest move in a four-day protest that has sometimes turned violent. The unrest began Thursday, when about 500 residents gathered outside the plant, in Haining, roughly 80 miles southwest of Shanghai.
Some protesters stormed the five-year-old factory compound, overturning eight company vehicles, smashing windows and destroying offices. The next day, four police cars were damaged.
Reading this, I would like to emphasize that if we got to go solar, we might as well go for local panels, built in France / Europe / India / America / other (depending of where you read this).
Not that I am saying that all Chinese solar plants are polluting, but the article from the Guardian really scared me. (Watch the video…)
what a painful article to read; the fact that it occurs elsewhere does not soften the reality of pollution–this is a warning about personal responsibility .. buy local and build locally..
to inflict such disastrous consequences upon strangers and foreigners is not socially responsible.
the Guardian often uncovers large holes in the human conscience, thanks for opening the reader’s minds to as yet remediable facts.
I too like the Guardian for their relentless work at uncovering issues and problems like that.
I think that besides buying local we need to do one thing or another to demand more action from China.
Even if they are acting big – we will see that in a post I prepared for Friday – there is a LOT to do…