Green Hops: Supercities; Rule of Law; Auto Parts Recycling
Newsy tidbits on green developments in China, sans analysis.
Super eco-cities? The unstoppable drive in China towards increased urbanization in the midst of the massive scale of
rural-to-urban migration is well known. A report by McKinsey, the prestigious global consulting firm, advocates that China undertakes a more concentrated form of urbanization by building 15 “supercities” each with populations of 25 million each, in order to facilitate the massive scale of rural-urban migration. This is in contrast to the more dispersed approach of developing dozens of smaller cities, and the development of the rural western inland regions of the country.
As stated in the press release announcing the report:
MGI [McKinsey Global Institute] finds that concentrated urban growth scenarios could produce 20 percent higher per capita GDP than that yielded by China’s current urbanization path, would have higher energy consumption but also higher energy efficiency, and would contain the loss of arable land. Concentrated urbanization would also have the advantage of clustering the most skilled workers in urban centers that would be engines of economic growth, enabling China to move more rapidly to higher-value-added activities.
Rule of Law. Earlier, I lamented about the need to improve environmental governance at the provincial and local levels. The head of the newly-named Ministry of Environmental Protection is vowing to tighten up enforcement of environmental laws.
Increased Government Investment. The government plans to pump in 41.8 billion yuan (about US$5.9 billion) this year to help meet its 2010 environmental targets, which include reducing energy intensity by 20% compared to 2005 levels. According to Xinhua News, 7.5 billion yuan would be invested in ten energy-saving programs, 4 billion yuan in closing inefficient coal-fired power units and outmoded steel plants, and 5 billion yuan to tackle water pollution.
Government White Papers. Charlie McElwee of China Environmental Law blog breaks down the National 11th Five-Year Environmental Protection Plan (2006-2011), the English version of which has only be been released earlier this month. While I’m at, I should mention the official white paper on China’s energy policy, available in English here.
Recyling Auto Parts. As part of China’s Circular Economy initiative, the National Development and Reform Commission has signed and agreement with three auto makers and 11 parts manufacturers letters of commitment to set up a pilot auto parts recovery program. As the New York Times reports, China is becoming a big player in the auto parts industry.
April 8th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
[...] in human history being experienced in China (we’ve talked about this phenomena previously here and [...]
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
[...] in terms of stringency. Another encouraging move is the auto parts recycling scheme that I have previously highlighted (more details [...]
May 12th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
To the comment of supercities and ecological friendly cities. While it is often neglected, but are there plans for minimum housing standards, proper sanitation and the possibility of creating a city without homeless, hunger, and poverty. I believe that is aways the challenge of the future. In an area of 2 million people for the educated elite, how long should it take to find a job. If you are willing to take a resteraunt waiter job, a shop clerk job, or janitor, the odds are still very challenging. We strive for innovation matched with education. Will the cities of the future create an internet job placement system where anyone reasonable can find a job with in a week.
This is often the excuse I have heard about big business where one individual has $1 billion and another is a beggar. While I argue the fruits of capitalism or more properly socialism. I remember in 1990, I was in the United Arab Emirates. To have a place to live and to eat were guaranteed. The question of the billionaire, did he really work harder, is he better educated. Clearly, I believe someone in power truly mentored him.
While I do not question the need for the people to gainful employment. I think of the Sheik of the Dubai, thousands of Pakistanis, Indian, Philipinos and Iranians come for jobs.
I live in America, low wage jobs by American Standards are plentiful.
Think of the Ubiquitous Call-center. Often times, it can be a great job selling vacations.
Or it can be a torture from the day the job begins collecting deliquent bills. To become the millionaire, the boss will cut half the staff a year. Keeping the wages low is the priority. A person begins to have a hearing problem. A girl cracks because of the pressure to make an over ambitious sales quota. A boy asks attractive woman, but the woman is vindictive and complains to boss. The woman becomes pregnant with a child. A man is late because he travels a greater distance and the bus breaks down. A person speaks out against a corrupt policeman. The boss makes an unwanted sexual advance on a powerless coworker. Each time, he or she is fired. Any reason to create turn over. The millionaire is created and 1000 people go home in shame because they lost their job. The unemployed person becomes another number of the lost thousand.
The power of the Union should be where each can immediately go to the Union or the manager in a large company and hopefully replaced. My hope is in the cities of the future, these talent people can go back to work immediately, through a proper system of unemployment and re-education. I believe that is the challenge of the future. Some of these people may have moved out from the rural farm and do not have the educational opportunity of a wealthy merchant’s child. It is not fair, but that is any society.
I think that is the failed part of any society.
One of the biggest failings of American Society is the Highly Expensive education system. It caters to the young. Several people compete for that important worker-retraining spot. However, if you get laid off in the middle of the school year, a person may be out of luck. He continues the cycle of poverty because he or she has to take another low wage job.
Truly my story is tragic, but not uncommon. I trained for 2 years to learn a computer program. The problem was, one year later, the software did a major update and I completed my internship program with the old software. Everybody updated, but I have lost several years because I am always playing catch up on trying to learn the latest software. 5 years ago, you needed to know 2 software languages, now you need to know 5. Ironically, I was the one who made the recommendation to the State (regional) counsel on how better to train the workers of the next school year so they did not suffer my fate. My former intern boss stated I did a poor job.
Here is the tragedy of the story. At that time 9 years ago, I had a chance to work for a free internship at a large county with far more opportunity. I took the short sited paying internship at the city. The boss refused to give me a good recommendation when I asked when I wanted to go full time. Add a chronic shoulder injury, working a second job as a janitor. My career is held in the hands of a former boss. Two years of my life are now lost. Working nearly to the point of losing the lose of my shoulder. Several of my friends at the Unpaid internship are all making $100,000 almost double the US average wage. I am stuck in the cycle of poverty. 5 times I have been fired literally because they knew I was getting close to having enough money to saved to take the updated software and readjust my schedule to attend school to get that magic class for the software update and new program. 9 years, in the political world, I have fought and made national change, but because of the bad boss.
The moral of the story is had there been a program for immediate worker retraining, had I would have been one of the chosen losing 4 months rather than nine years. Ironically, I am now a commercial building expert and have adviced my entire congressional delegation as a volunteer aide. I have power, but not wealth. One of the chosen in my family supports me periodically in between temporary jobs.
My belief is if that person become unemployed. In the city of the future, with the opportunity of television, and education software, there should be opportunity so an individual if they can immediately be retrained. Also, I believe support with food, clothing and housing the individual will never suffer my fate again. In China’s One Child policy, there will be no brother or sister to bring support. The cities of future will have opportunity and equality. I above all, if one of your workers shows promise. They are brighter. You should support their education. Then Society is truly served.
December 31st, 2008 at 3:10 pm
[...] just one more thing. I am completely flummoxed as to why “Green Hops: Supercities, Rule of Law; Auto Parts Recycling” (Mar 26) was the absolute runaway leader in terms of page hits (more than 50% of the next [...]