China¡¯s Green Leap Forward

[lostinblue]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/opinion/10friedman.html?

I cannot decide where this should go. It is an interesting read about investing in the "green dream" China VS United States

 

C. H. Tung, the first Chinese-appointed chief executive of Hong Kong after the handover in 1997, offered me a three-sentence summary the other day of China¡¯s modern economic history: ¡°China was asleep during the Industrial Revolution. She was just waking during the Information Technology Revolution. She intends to participate fully in the Green Revolution.¡±

 

I¡¯ll say. Being in China right now I am more convinced than ever that when historians look back at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, they will say that the most important thing to happen was not the Great Recession, but China¡¯s Green Leap Forward. The Beijing leadership clearly understands that the E.T. ¡ª Energy Technology ¡ª revolution is both a necessity and an opportunity, and they do not intend to miss it.

 

We, by contrast, intend to fix Afghanistan. Have a nice day

O.K., that was a cheap shot. But here¡¯s one that isn¡¯t:

[a2784]

Very interesting to see that the carbon tax is the cure to the problem.

 

1: Here¡¯s e-mail from Bill Gross, who runs eSolar, a promising California solar-thermal start-up: On Saturday, in Beijing, said Gross, he announced ¡°the biggest solar-thermal deal ever. It¡¯s a 2 gigawatt, $5 billion deal to build plants in China using our California-based technology. China is being even more aggressive than the U.S. We applied for a [u.S. Department of Energy] loan for a 92 megawatt project in New Mexico, and in less time than it took them to do stage 1 of the application review, China signs, approves, and is ready to begin construction this year on a 20 times bigger project!¡±

 

The carbon tax will fix this govt. problem???

 

2: Or is he going to seize this moment before the midterms ¡ª possibly his last window to put together a majority in the Senate, including some Republicans, for a price on carbon ¡ª and put in place a real U.S. engine for clean energy innovation and energy security?

 

The carbon tax will give us a real US energy policy?

 

The supply of cheap crude oil and the lobby interests have kept us from having a real energy policy. Now that oil supply and sustainability is more and more on the front burner the issue of supply and demand should drive the free market to alternative technologies assuming govt does not get in the way (see lobbyists, grants and tax breaks to big oil, and cave-in to populist fear over nuclear power driven by people similar to this author, etc).

 

3: In the process, China is going to make clean power technologies cheaper for itself and everyone else. But even Chinese experts will tell you that it will all happen faster and more effectively if China and America work together ¡ª with the U.S. specializing in energy research and innovation, at which China is still weak, as well as in venture investing and servicing of new clean technologies, and with China specializing in mass production.

 

Why do so many people think the USA can not compete in manufacturing and are so eager to let this vital part of our ecomony go away or "prop up" the ones who have demonstrated for years they cannot compete while doing nothing for those that have proven they can.

 

4:America, care about our energy security, economic strength and environmental quality we need to put in place a long-term carbon price that stimulates and rewards clean power innovation.

 

We need an energy policy and some real direction from govt leaders not a carbon tax.

 

5. China is also engaged in the world¡¯s most rapid expansion of nuclear power. It is expected to build some 50 new nuclear reactors by 2020; the rest of the world combined might build 15.

 

Ditto ....

 

6. This is creating a surge in energy demand, which China is determined to meet with cleaner, homegrown sources so that its future economy will be less vulnerable to supply shocks and so it doesn¡¯t pollute itself to death.

 

The chinese govt better understands supply and demand than our own govt. They are not doing this primary for the environment (as they would have you beleive and tell you) but rather for energy cost and security.

 

But I had it to him ... he always knows how to create a yarn to support a tax ...

[A Mafan]

I think the word choice is truly ironic.

 

Consider how China's last Leap Forward turned out.

[david_dawei]

I think the word choice is truly ironic.

 

Consider how China's last Leap Forward turned out.

very true !

 

and which may be a nod towards why symbolism is more important than literalism.