Hello Guangjie,
You raise all the right points and I could respond at some length to each of them. But none of it justifies a "business as usual" approach to economic development. This is about much more than just global warming although that is certainly a large component. The projections I have seen indicate there are simply not enough resources for developing countries to duplicate the western model. These projections are readily available for review and if you think they are wildly wrong then I can see why you believe any suggestion of alternative models for economic development are wrong-headed or jingoistic. If you do think there are ample resources for 7 billion (or more) people to consume them at the current mean per capita rate of western societies please provide references so I can review them. Regards, Daniel L. Tufford, Ph.D. University of South Carolina Department of Biological Sciences 209A Sumwalt (office) 701 Sumter St, Room 401 (mail) Columbia, SC 29208 Ph. 803-777-3292, Fx: 803-777-3292 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.biol.sc.edu/~tufford _____ From: Guangjie Chen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 3:32 PM To: Dan Tufford Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: Climate Change and Economic Growth There is a reason that China, the most populated country around the globe, adopts this strategy: if you have achieved a high standard of living without signing the Kyoto, why should we sign it? I don't want to find an excuse for China and other developing countries, but the western countries should take the lead, particularly the US. You say the west growth model is a problem and many people would agree with that. But why the western countries havn't changed their way of development and living, instead asking the developing countries to change their way of economic growth? This is impractical, and only global cooperation can in the long term alleviate the effect of climate change. best Guangjie Chen, Postdoc Fellow Department of Biology McGill University Stewart Biology Building 1205 Docteur Penfield, Room: W6/5 Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1 Canada Tel: +1(514) 398-4117 Fax: +1(514)-398-5069 On 7-Dec-07, at 12:55 PM, Dan Tufford wrote: And another way to look at it is that China is just trying to duck any responsibility in this regard. But on a broader level I am surprised to read that you seem to be giving China the latitude to achieve a western standard of living before dealing with consumption. (And if China, then why not all developing countries?) Every projection I have seen suggests that is much too late. Earth does not have the resources etc. etc. Growth that does not follow the western model seems to be the key. Yes, I know that is a very difficult issue and no, I do not have the answer. It just seems that you, and all of us, should be looking for that answer rather than excusing China in this process. Regards, Daniel L. Tufford, Ph.D. University of South Carolina Department of Biological Sciences 209A Sumwalt (office) 701 Sumter St, Room 401 (mail) Columbia, SC 29208 Ph. 803-777-3292, Fx: 803-777-3292 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.biol.sc.edu/~tufford -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rob Dietz Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 12:02 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Climate Change and Economic Growth Check out these quotes from Su Wei, a member of the Chinese delegation at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Bali: "I just wonder whether it's fair to ask developing countries like China to take on binding targets or mandatory targets. I think there is much room for the United States to think whether it's possible to change (its) lifestyle and consumption patterns in order to contribute to the protection of the global climate." "China is in the process of industrialization and there is a need for economic growth to meet the basic needs of the people and fight against poverty." "China is acting. We will do what we should and what we can do. All we care for is the well-being and the future of mankind." Su seems to be advocating that the U.S. and other wealthy nations stop obsessing over economic growth (i.e., move toward a steady state economy), and that poorer nations follow a short-term policy of growth before stabilizing economic conditions. This line of thinking is right in step with the position on economic growth being proposed in ESA. We won't see much action on abating climate change if we don't address economic growth around the globe. Thanks, Rob Dietz, Executive Director Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy www.steadystate.org
