Quote:
Originally Posted by CroFlames
I wouldn't want to see us sacrifice jobs in the name of the environment, when in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't make a difference unless it's a global effort.
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That is what makes it such a difficult international problem that requires real leadership, vision and willingness to make some short-term sacrifice. If people in Canada, where people have a pretty high standard of living across the whole country, don't want to risk changes in the job market for the sake of the environment how can people in countries like China, where a huge amount of the population is still living in poverty, be expected to give up jobs and economic advancement.
I'm actually surprised China doesn't take up a larger share of that chart. Especially considering that China's population is about 50 times larger than Canada's.
Also, while China is still the leading polluter in that graph, it's worth taking into consideration that a great deal of that pollution is the result of products made for consumption in the rest of the world. Along with outsourcing manufacturing jobs to China, Western countries have outsourced a huge amount of their pollution. I imagine that if there was a way to tie emissions quantities to goods produced and then represent responsibility for emissions apportioned in accordance with where those goods are ultimately consumed China would see a significant drop and Western countries would see significant increases.
I think it's hard for Canadians to appreciate the value of the environment that Canada has. I certainly didn't when I lived in Canada, despite being quite well-travelled. A small population that outsources manufacturing to other countries and lives in a huge land mass creates an ideal environment for combining a high standard of living and seeing comparatively little environmental impact. Having spent years living in a place where the population density is much greater and most of the manufacturing is within the country, I can tell you how much I miss that pristine environment of Canada and how tremendously valuable it is.