By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--January 16, 2014
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United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres said that democracy is a poor political system for fighting global warming. Communist China, she says, is the best model. China may be the world's top emitter of carbon dioxide and struggling with major pollution problems of their own, but the country is "doing it right" when it comes to fighting global warming says Figueres. "They actually want to breathe air that they don't have to look at," she said "They're not doing this because they want to save the planet. They're doing it because it's in their national interest."
"China is also able to implement policies because its political system avoids some of the legislative hurdles seen in countries including the U.S., Figueres said."Yep, that's the word from your New York based, largely American taxpayer funded, United Nations. It feels idiotic to even have to say this but, obviously, Communism has led to some of the worst environmental abuses in history. From Chernobyl, to the decimation of the Aral Sea, to the ruin of the East German forests, Communist regimes have been responsible for most of the planet's worst - and most glaring - ecological nightmares.You can argue that this pales in comparison to the fact that it's an ideology which has cause the murder of around a hundred million people in the last 75 years, but you'd be missing the point. Left-wing greenies don't particularly care about the human toll. What matters to them is the destruction of capitalism under the pretense of "compassion." As the Daily Caller points out, Figueres is not only a nut, she's also just plain wrong. If you think China is "getting it right" you probably also think Charlie Sheen is "winning."
"The country still gets 90 percent of its power from fossil fuels, mostly from coal. In fact, Chinese coal demand is expected to explode as the country continues to develop. China has approved 100 million metric tons of new coal production capacity in 2013 as part of the government's plan to bring 860 million metric tons of coal production online by 2015. China has publicly made big efforts to clean up its environment. The country's booming industrial apparatus has caused so much pollution that the skies have been darkened over major cities and the air quality has heavily deteriorated. The Wall Street Journal notes that China's air quality was so bad that about "1.2 million people died prematurely in China in 2010 as a result of air pollution" and Chinese government figures show that "lung cancer is now the leading cause of death from malignant tumors. Many of those dying are nonsmokers."If that's the definition of "getting it right," I'm more than happy to sit here in my frustratingly Democratic backwater country, getting it dead wrong. After all, here in the United States, despite our deeply complex system of non-totalitarianism, I don't have to wear a mask when I go outside. That's what happened this morning in Beijing, where NBC News is reporting that a "Dangerous giant smog cloud" is choking the city. In fact, pollution is so bad that children and the elderly were told to stay inside and avoid the toxic fog that had settled across the skykine.
Air pollution readings spiked across China's capital Beijing on Thursday, prompting residents to don air masks and offices and homes to put electric air purifiers on overdrive. Commuters across Beijing found themselves cloaked in a thick, gray haze as air pollution monitors across the city registered readings over 20 times the recommended exposure levels suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO). Officials in Beijing issued a severe air warning and urged residents to wear protective masks while outdoors, and said the elderly and schoolchildren should stay indoors until conditions improved.Congratulations, China! You've managed to redefine "getting it right!"
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