<Assuming the Chinese shirt-maker really is (i.e. is demonstrably) destroying the environment and the American one is (certifiably) not, how much more would you be willing to pay for the "green" shirt?>
That's difficult to say. How much unregistered pesticide or toxic contamination are you willing to consume to buy cheaper imported food or clothing? Before you can do the calculus, having the information would be good. This administration has been trying to obscure that and with "their mandate", expect that to continue.
If you really care, that information is clearly available and China is one of the biggest human rights violators in terms of labor practice AND largest polluters, especially toxic production from organic hydrocarbon production. How bad? Since they have primitive enforcement of environmental law, we have no idea . It is provable that we don't rely on the good nature of American firms, but have a world class set of environment protection policies. All this should be considered in the dollar price of the shirt.
oycf.org
The Pollution Story
The problem is that China's impressive growth has come at the cost of equally spectacular environmental degradation. Since the beginning of reforms, the most commonly measured forms of environmental pollution - particulate matter concentrations, sulfur dioxide levels, greenhouse gas emissions - have all increased literally to life-threatening levels.
The statistics are staggering. For example:
· Eight of the ten most polluted cities in the world are now located in China
· In 1995, ambient concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in over half of 88 Chinese cities monitored, exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for safety
· 85 of 87 cities exceeded WHO guidelines for total suspended particulate matter (TSPs); In many cities the concentrations were two to five times safety levels given by WHO guidelines
· The percentage of arable land affected by acid rain increased from 18 percent to 40 percent between 1985 and 1998
· China now releases 13 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This is second to only the United States (23 percent). With the increase in auto usage in China and development in general, this number is increasing rapidly. China will soon attain the top position if growth trends continue.
Moreover, the aforementioned problems all fall within the realm of air pollution. This discussion does not even touch on the issues of water pollution, loss of rare and endangered species, deforestation, desertification, or soil erosion; these problems and others, though not discussed in this article, are no less serious.
Overwhelming reliance on coal, particularly in the industrial and energy sectors, is the primary cause of particulate emissions, acid rain and greenhouse gas emissions. China's coal use topped 1.3 billion tons in 1995, more than twice the figure in 1980, and China is now the second largest producer of energy behind only the United States. Moreover, about 75 percent of China's energy demand is met by coal. No other major world economy is so dependent on coal; the world average is only 27 percent. The burning of coal (which in China is generally of low quality) is responsible for 70 percent of particulate and 90 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions. Shifting to cleaner fuels will bring about a significant reduction in air pollution in China.
The industrial and energy sectors utilize some 80 percent of China's annual coal consumption, and produce much of China's air pollution. But coal used for cooking and heating in the residential sector and auto pollution account for increasingly significant amounts of pollution.
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