SinoTexas

Yirong, While I rarely visit here anymore, I am saddened by the loss yet happy that you two made such good memories. May peace be with you and that you feel his warmth in the morning sun. May God bless you and your family. As aye, Jim

flexible and adaptable As aye, Jim

China's population policy is based on political judgements, not the ability of the planet to support increased population. The carrying capacity of Earth is far beyond today's population. Most famine is caused by political repression. Most "drought" is a direct result of misallocation of resources. Malthusian propaganda aside, let's not turn this into a political thread, OK? P.S. Planet Earth doesn't possess a "self", it's an inanimate object. It's doesn't "heal", it is a constantly changing eco-system of almost unimagineable dimension. Every human on earth could live in an area the size of the state of Texas. Population density would be approximately that of the City of San Francisco. This would include streets, stores, parks, government buildings, residential lots.... all of it. Our planet is HUGE, as anyone who has travelled overseas should know. Yes our planet is huge. Texas has a land area of 2000 square miles. I don't think the math would support this. Sorry, Charles, Texas has a land area of 268,601 square miles. If you divide the estimated population of China, 1,300,000,000 by that number, you end up with 4839 people per square mile. At 27,880,000 square feet per mile, you end up with about 5,761 square feet per person, enough for a 1500 square foot home on a 4000 square foot lot with room left over for streets, shopping centers, etc. This population density wouldn't be to my liking, but it isn't outrageously overcrowded, either. Population densities of some American cities are: New York City, 23,705 per square mile; San Francisco, 15,502; Jersey City, 15,338; Salinas, CA, 5848; Long Beach, CA, 8589; Evanston, IL,9389; Los Angeles, 7427; Springfield, MA, 4890; even little Lodi, CA (remember the Creedence Clearwater song, "Stuck in Lodi"?) has a density of 4894! (Stats from demographia.com) The point isn't that such a place would be pleasant to live in. I think MY town is too crowded, but.... there is so much mis-information about this topic that people need to hear the truth and recognize that almost ALL of our problems are political in nature. China's family and population policies are based on something other than gross population and/or population growth. It has to do with economic growth, productivity, the governments ability to control the population and factors of that nature. China may or may not be able to feed it's population (I don't know how much of their food they have to import, nor do I know how much of their land is viable from an agricultural point of view) but I do know that they are capable of generating enough economic activity to provide for themselves. I also know that limiting their population growth will make it easier for the government to control the population in the "countryside", which is where most of the poor live. Thanks for listening. Please resit the math portion of the GREs. Your claim was "every human on earth," not the population of China. That would give each and every person a grand total of 1,134 sq. ft. If that's not outrageously overcrowded, pigs can fly. Your truth is moronic. As aye, Jim

China's population policy is based on political judgements, not the ability of the planet to support increased population. The carrying capacity of Earth is far beyond today's population. Most famine is caused by political repression. Most "drought" is a direct result of misallocation of resources. Malthusian propaganda aside, let's not turn this into a political thread, OK? P.S. Planet Earth doesn't possess a "self", it's an inanimate object. It's doesn't "heal", it is a constantly changing eco-system of almost unimagineable dimension. Every human on earth could live in an area the size of the state of Texas. Population density would be approximately that of the City of San Francisco. This would include streets, stores, parks, government buildings, residential lots.... all of it. Our planet is HUGE, as anyone who has travelled overseas should know. As aye, Jim

Exactly. It's the height of cultural arrogance for people in this country to expect an emerging economy to live by "our" rules. What would we do, have China build more coal fired power generation plants? Maybe nuclear power would be preferable? It's even more amazing to read the stuff some of the more "environmentally conscious" among us post. It seems that NOBODY can do ANYTHING that will allow any kind of move towards progress, and progress is what we're talking about when we look at China. My wife isn't that old. She moved to Nanning about 20 years ago. She remembers growing up in a small hut with no electricity and no indoor plumbing. I would have a very hard time explaining to her that she should have continued to live that way so as to soothe the sensibilities of those who can't stand progress. While I deeply sympathize with those who are being displaced, sometimes things like that are necessary. Just a reminder, in OUR country, local government can now condemn property through emminent domain for the benefit of whatever development that government deems to be "important", whether the development be for public or private purposes. I put rural electrification a little higher on the scale than any of the eminent domain cases I've read about lately. Best Regards P.S. I remember a breathless panic over the silt buildup behind Grand Coulee and Hoover Dams back in the '60's. Wow, the silt was going to be so deep that the water would just spill over the top of the dams!!! Problem was, it was never a problem. Never happened. As aye, Jim My Daddy used to say: "You can always tell a Texan, you just can't tell 'em much!" As aye, Jim

Dennis...my good buddy....and I can't sing, so you are spared, "Come ride the little train that is rolln' down the track to the Junction. Forget about your care, it is time to relax at the Junction. Lots of curves you bet, even more when you get, to the Junction". Amtrak time... As aye, Jim

Gads! I have passed through Roger's town???? As aye, Jim

CONGRATULATIONS DON!! Welcome to the CFL class of '07! http://i8.tinypic.com/52f1tzk.jpg As aye, Jim & Ji

Exactly. It's the height of cultural arrogance for people in this country to expect an emerging economy to live by "our" rules. What would we do, have China build more coal fired power generation plants? Maybe nuclear power would be preferable? It's even more amazing to read the stuff some of the more "environmentally conscious" among us post. It seems that NOBODY can do ANYTHING that will allow any kind of move towards progress, and progress is what we're talking about when we look at China. My wife isn't that old. She moved to Nanning about 20 years ago. She remembers growing up in a small hut with no electricity and no indoor plumbing. I would have a very hard time explaining to her that she should have continued to live that way so as to soothe the sensibilities of those who can't stand progress. While I deeply sympathize with those who are being displaced, sometimes things like that are necessary. Just a reminder, in OUR country, local government can now condemn property through emminent domain for the benefit of whatever development that government deems to be "important", whether the development be for public or private purposes. I put rural electrification a little higher on the scale than any of the eminent domain cases I've read about lately. Best Regards P.S. I remember a breathless panic over the silt buildup behind Grand Coulee and Hoover Dams back in the '60's. Wow, the silt was going to be so deep that the water would just spill over the top of the dams!!! Problem was, it was never a problem. Never happened. As aye, Jim

Maybe Edward Abbey and the Monkey Wrench Gang could help out. As aye, Jim

An interesting read (for those with an open mind). Chicago Tribune As aye, Jim

Well this has been a very interesting and thoughtful thread. Jim sounds like you have the best solution. I hope you find that burger. We did Dan and it was great sharing that $100 hamburger with my daughter and Jiangyi. "Hunting for the $100 hamburger" is an aviation term my daughter taught me. As aye, Jim

We obviously have the "experts" to solve China's environmental problems right here on this thread. I'll leave ya'll to it. It's a beautiful and clear fall day and I'm going with my daughter hunting for the $100 hamburger. As aye, Jim

CONGRATULATIONS! http://i8.tinypic.com/52f1tzk.jpg As aye, Jim

CONGRATULATIONS! http://i8.tinypic.com/52f1tzk.jpg As aye, Jim