"YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS ARE AS DAZZLING AS YOUR SUBJECTS"

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

HOT DURABLES FUEL CHINESE WARMING TRENDS FEAR

HOT DURABLES FUEL CHINESE
WARMING TRENDS FEAR


EARLY DAYS
REFRIGERATORS AND WASHING MACHINES
ON DISPLAY AT THE #1 DEPARTMENT STORE
IN SHANGHAI, CHINA, IN 1981

Where once upon a time, the great Chinese public
aspired to Three Rounds and One Sound (a
bicycle, a sewing machine, a watch, and a radio),
with reforms three decades ago came the new four
desiderata: washing machine, refrigerator, TV, and
camera.

Now, in the interest of promoting "harmony," the
current regime in Beijing has been subsidizing rural
purchases of refrigerators, washing machines, and
other "modern amenities," and pumping construction
money into the economy generally. Critics have
urged China to focus more on domestic demand, and
less on imports.

But, shock! all of this means energy consumption goes up, and so does China's contribution to global warming.


No comments:

Post a Comment