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Home » Opinion » Book review
America wallows in oil while the rest of the world suffers
By Wu Jiayin |
May 9, 2009, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FOR many years, the American lifestyle was widely recognized as a symbol of modern civilization and was pursued by much of the world's population.
However, this high energy-consuming way of living has caused such serious environmental problems that people of vision have begun to reevaluate their aspirations.
The New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman is among them.
In his latest book "Hot, Flat, and Crowded," Friedman paints a dire picture of the severe consequences of global warming and environmental degradation as a result of the world's increasing addiction to energy resources.
He reflects on the world's irresponsible consumption of energy resources, led by the United States, and calls for policy makers, especially in the US, to take immediate action to change course.
Much of what Friedman says is not new. Yet given the urgency of the environment issue, there can never be too much reiteration on the topic.
The Americans' resource-intensive way of life is unsustainable, Friedman emphasizes. The world simply doesn't have enough resources to allow everyone to live the American dream, including Americans.
Indeed, the planet is already suffering as a result of climate change, although the overwhelming majority of people are far from even approaching the American dream of consumption and convenience.
For example, the snowpacks are declining in western North American mountains.
Melting tundra at the North Pole threatens to release billions of tons of carbon, amplifying the greenhouse effect caused by burning fossil fuels.
Biodiversity, which is crucial to human life, is also at risk. Many species are going extinct before science can even catalogue them.
In the words of Friedman, "The effects of our way of life on the earth's climate and biodiversity can no longer be 'externalized' or ignored or confined."
Yet the negative impacts of the world's increasing addiction to oil are more than environmental catastrophe, though the environmental issue is crucial.
The rising demand for oil causes prices to soar, and countries that have oil can make money easily.
Meanwhile, for net oil importing countries, their dependency on energy may give rise to national security problems.
Last but not least, the high energy prices worsen the energy-poverty problem in some underdeveloped countries.
The World Bank estimates that about 1.6 billion people have no electricity. Millions of them are thus forced to cook over smoky indoor fires and die from respiratory diseases.
Besides, rising energy prices are crippling infrastructure in some struggling countries, Friedman points out.
To save the environment and the world, Friedman argues that it's time for the US to set an example by starting the green revolution.
He urges enactment of US economic policies that send the right price signals - usage is costly - and provide economic incentives for environmentally sound behavior.
In his view, regulation can give companies incentives to innovate and compete.
He illustrates that regulations establishing emission caps led General Electric Transportation to manufacture energy-efficient, low-emission locomotives, which it now exports worldwide.
But, just as he himself concludes in his book, going green will be a hard road of sacrifices and trade-offs.
However, this high energy-consuming way of living has caused such serious environmental problems that people of vision have begun to reevaluate their aspirations.
The New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman is among them.
In his latest book "Hot, Flat, and Crowded," Friedman paints a dire picture of the severe consequences of global warming and environmental degradation as a result of the world's increasing addiction to energy resources.
He reflects on the world's irresponsible consumption of energy resources, led by the United States, and calls for policy makers, especially in the US, to take immediate action to change course.
Much of what Friedman says is not new. Yet given the urgency of the environment issue, there can never be too much reiteration on the topic.
The Americans' resource-intensive way of life is unsustainable, Friedman emphasizes. The world simply doesn't have enough resources to allow everyone to live the American dream, including Americans.
Indeed, the planet is already suffering as a result of climate change, although the overwhelming majority of people are far from even approaching the American dream of consumption and convenience.
For example, the snowpacks are declining in western North American mountains.
Melting tundra at the North Pole threatens to release billions of tons of carbon, amplifying the greenhouse effect caused by burning fossil fuels.
Biodiversity, which is crucial to human life, is also at risk. Many species are going extinct before science can even catalogue them.
In the words of Friedman, "The effects of our way of life on the earth's climate and biodiversity can no longer be 'externalized' or ignored or confined."
Yet the negative impacts of the world's increasing addiction to oil are more than environmental catastrophe, though the environmental issue is crucial.
The rising demand for oil causes prices to soar, and countries that have oil can make money easily.
Meanwhile, for net oil importing countries, their dependency on energy may give rise to national security problems.
Last but not least, the high energy prices worsen the energy-poverty problem in some underdeveloped countries.
The World Bank estimates that about 1.6 billion people have no electricity. Millions of them are thus forced to cook over smoky indoor fires and die from respiratory diseases.
Besides, rising energy prices are crippling infrastructure in some struggling countries, Friedman points out.
To save the environment and the world, Friedman argues that it's time for the US to set an example by starting the green revolution.
He urges enactment of US economic policies that send the right price signals - usage is costly - and provide economic incentives for environmentally sound behavior.
In his view, regulation can give companies incentives to innovate and compete.
He illustrates that regulations establishing emission caps led General Electric Transportation to manufacture energy-efficient, low-emission locomotives, which it now exports worldwide.
But, just as he himself concludes in his book, going green will be a hard road of sacrifices and trade-offs.
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