China officials blame foreigners for pollution.
Interesting, except that Chinese officials have been often the ones driving around in Mercedes and buying Prada, and some reports say, paid by local factories bribing to get away with pollution. This can happen in any country, but Chinese officials do need to start to connect their acknowledgement to corruption to their acknowledgement of pollution. Only then can one of the greatest root causes be dealt with. Denial holds back progress. The article here:
http://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/5801-Official-blames-foreigners-for-China-s-pollution/en
Some reasons for pollution in China
A further cause for rampant pollution in China is that China apparently invests something like 1/10th as much money in it's Environmental Protection Department (Ministry, in USA is EPA) as does e.g. the USA. So this is the fault of foreigners?
No, again, this requires admission, and the beginning of further investment in qualified people (and people to monitor their ethics) to advise and monitor factories in better environmental practises.
Goodness knows I know enough smart, hard-working, qualified Chinese people who would love to be able to pursue a decently paid and corruption free proudly protecting China's environment in the government, but don't even consider it as a career option as there are so few decent jobs in China's Ministry of Environment, which this article says as been so "toothless" lately anyway:
And where are China's talented environmentalists?
Ironically most said Chinese smart, educated environmentalists I know work, with decent pay and career opportunities (and I believe very little corruption) for foreign brand firms,...getting out to Chinese factories to train, encourage, and monitor against waste, air and water pollution, as the Chinese Ministry for the Environment's local offices should be doing!
http://sstblbyondindustry.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/most-saddened-by-tragic-death-of-aaron.html#links
Many other talented Chinese work for extremely low pay, risking their lives in environmental NGOs (non-governmental organisations) pushing every day that the Chinese Ministry of Environment (and its local offices) do their job! At times they are pushing that the Ministry CAN do it's job without being pressured to turn a blind eye to a polluting foreign investor (there are many more from Hong Kong, etc) or local factory that provides jobs, but often they are pushing the Ministry to just do it's job!
Photo from early days (1996) in hazy air pollution of Wuhan, China. I got an extremely bad cough, worst in my life and spent quite some time visiting doctors in the hospital and taking a huge pile of medicine. Fortunately the smart young Chinese who reached out to make friends inspired me that there are many good people in China wanting to take responsibility and cause social justice and environmental protection advancement through sustainable development in China.
