Having read Wang Chien's (王健) piece ("Economic strategies hurtling us toward ruin," April 25, page 8), I think his argument is full of holes.
The first problem is citing individual weather events as proof of environmental deterioration. There is plenty of evidence of changing environmental conditions around the world, such as retreating or disappearing glaciers, collapsing ice shelves and higher average temperatures, but isolated weather incidents such as a record snowfall in New England do not conclusively prove anything about the environment.
Sandstorms in western China and torrential rains in southern China are not freak weather patterns. They may be more severe than in the past, but I doubt anyone would see them as strong evidence of permanent environmental change.
Wang also blames the aggressive pursuit of economic growth for the world's environmental problems and high oil prices. If fast economic growth is the real problem, can we truly solve the world's environmental problems by slowing growth? One good example is Haiti. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and has serious environmental problems such as deforestation -- which are not at all related to rapid economic growth.
Many of the environmentally friendly countries in the world are rich and developed. It is growth and progress that have enabled these countries to pursue environmentally sustainable development. Should people in affluent societies have the power to force people in developing countries to rein in growth to protect the global environment? Can you imagine Holland telling China to slow down?
Fast economic growth may actually offer some solutions to environmental problems. Economic growth brings more educational opportunities to women. More educated women tend to have fewer children. This reduces population growth, which in turn reduces environmental impact.
Wang cited high oil prices as another problem caused by unrestrained growth. If the writer is really concerned about global environmental problems such as the greenhouse effect, higher energy prices are not a problem. Rather, high oil prices may accelerate the changeover to more environmentally friendly energy supplies. Low-priced fossil fuels make it more difficult for countries to invest in renewable energy sources.
It is not hard to form a vision of what our world should be like. Wang wants people to "live in peaceful and loving unison with nature." It is a nice idea, but it is just a vague ideal. If we cannot appreciate the complexity of the world's problems, we will never find real, meaningful solutions.
William Hoyle
Taichung
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