Tawei Liao

Economic Growth By Any Means Necessary

Lu Guang Pollution in China

That picture is from China Hush.   In Haimen city, Jiangsu province Chemical Industrial District sewage treatment plant discharges waste water into Yangtze River. June 5, 2009.

Water is life.

Without water, there is no life.

With polluted water, there is much pain and suffering in life.

Economic growth by any means necessary is the reason why the water is polluted and why life is unbearable in certain parts of China.  That is what you get when you measure your country’s success by GDP growth.

China, of course, is not the only country that obsesses over GDP growth.  The United States leads the world in this obsession with GDP.  Politicians in this country cannot win elections by promising Zero Growth.  They always promise more growth.

More cars.

More roads.  More highways.

More jobs.

More houses.  More swimming pools.  More shopping malls.  More golf courses.

More oil.  More coal.  More natural gas.  More copper.  More plastics.

More of everything.

It seems most people want more of everything.  Very few people want less.  The world will be a much cleaner place if more people wanted less.