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FRIDAY. MARCH 25, 2005
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Roaring -Dragon will rust In tOXIC aIr
It has becom~gen~rally-accepted wisdom to state that the 21st century will "be China's century" InnUmerable eco~omic forecasts certainly validate this' assertion. Goldman Sachs, the highly reputable global banking and investment firm, predicts that by the year 2045, China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will exceed that of the United States, marking the end of a> century of American global dominance. All sorts of alarm bells have been going off about China's rise. Double-digit increase in military spending and bellicose 'pronouncements about "reunifying" Taiwan by any means necessary have alarmed East Asian nations and the international community at large. Lostin the speculation and occasional panic that surrounds China's ascendancy is the looming question of whether any of this rapid growth is sustainable. The soaring economic dragon of Asia has fouled its own air to a degree almost unimaginable in Canada and further economic growth may push China's strained environment to a fuh-fledged collapse. A combination of statistics and anecdotes paints a harrowing picture of ecological damage
and a looming human health catastrophe. Chinese citizens going !tbout 1:heir business while wearing face masks are a common sight as 16 of the 20 most polluted"cities in the world are found in China, and some 300,000 chinese die prematurely from respiratory diseases every year. Fresh water is in an even more perilous condition. InJuly of2004, a 133 km-long black and brown plume of sludge devastated the Huai River, killing millions of fish and other wildlife. Periodic water shortages have shuttered factories and approximately 600 million people rely on water contaminated by.human and animal waste. Other problems abound. Rapid deforestation has led to rapid soil erosion, dust storms and fla~h floods. Finally, a 'country that can no longer feed itself has lost 10 per cent of its agricultural land to salinization and 15 per cent to desertification. The ultimate cause of these problems is plainly obvious: too many people are drawing upon too few resources. Returning again to the subject of water, Ch~a is incredibly poor in this life-giving resource on a per capita basis. However, its technologically outdated paper and fertilizer industries use twice and 42 times as much water respectively as compared to North American enterprises to manufacture the same quantity of finished products. Knowing this, it is no longer surprising that the Yellow River no longer flQWS all the way to the sea most days of the year. People will rightly point out that North
America and Europe followed the same highpollution path to develop before gradually reforming our ways once a c~rtain level of wealth had been achieved, thus China should be allowed to chart its own path. This argument rings with a certain amount of fairness, but ignores the problem of scale. In 1970, just before the oil-shock and the birth of the environmental movement began to change North American attitudes toward the environment, there were 205 million Americans living and polluting on 9.6 million square kilometers oEland. U sing roughly similar industrial technologies and environmental attitudes, contemporary China sports 1,400 million people in a territory of the same size. Can China's natural environment absorb SeveN times the damage that the people of America inflicted on theirs and continue 10 function? The short answer is no. China's ecological capital is being rapidly liquidated to pay for today's stunning economic gro\lrth which will ultimately undermine future growth. Already, the World Bank estimates that environmental damage is costing China between eight and 12 per cent ofits G D P every year, and this fIgure can only grow as the damage worsens. China, more than any other nation on Earth, must change its environmental practices or face ruin. Ironically, one of its advantages in this challenge is thatits highly centralized and powerful central government makes this nation of 1.4 billion people surprisingly nimble. After deforestation contributed to floods causing billions in damage, the government
banned logging everywhere. I t is r~planting an entire forestto protect Beijing from dust storms and wrestled population gtmvth to the ground through its brutal but effective one-child policy. Those fretting about China's impending world domination should relax, as that will be the least of their problems in the near future, much more frightening for the world will be the desperate challenge of more than a billion people seeking solutions to counteract the gradual poisoning of their air, water and land. cedey@imprint.uwaterioo.ca
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Spring fashion guide
Kelley Dilkes IMPRINT STAFF
\"'{'ith the snow melting and spring emerging, new fashion trends are on their way in. There are so many ways to look absolutely fashionable this spring. Starting from the top and moving dowo,- the hottest sunglasses a girl can wear this year are over-sized, round frames also known, as aviators: n9t only do. they
IMPRINT STAFF
Ditch those winter coats!
protect your eyes from the sun, they also make you look super retro! Extra long and extra small tanks are in this year. They can be worn in apy and every color. The hottest thing to do this year is to layer. Try wearing two of the tanks in different colors, one on top of the other. • You can complete your top with a cute blazer. lf you don't think the blazer look is for you, try wearing a cropped cardigan that cuts off midback. If you want to go for the more classy and sophisticated look, definitely purchase a halter . blouse or a sequined camisole. There are so many options for the bottom this spring. Firstly, the new Capriis the cropped pat\t for spring. They're not quite shorts and they're not quite pants, they come just below the ,knee but they balance with cute pumps or sexy stilettos. If you're looking for more 'of a girly look, try a silk chiffon skirt; these skirts look adorable with silk camisoles. And as always ladies, tight fitted jeans will work with any look you are going for. If you want to dre~s them up, wear a collared shirt; if you want to dress them down, go tank. Accessories are imperative for a sexy outfit. This season is full of hot new items. Bangle bracelets can become the focus of your outfit; try fun colors in a glassy material and earthy . natural tones in wood or plastic. Bare arms are a must for the new bangle look: juststack them on and have fun. Of course, every girl needs somewhere to stash her stuff-think big. Top-handle purses are vital,' but remember, the bigger the better.There is one exception to the rule; dutch. The dutch is hot, especially)n colourful, sequence designs. Spring has sprung, so let's spring into the new season looking sexy! kdilkes@imprint,uwatertoo.ca
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