For years China’s economy has enjoyed unstoppable economic growth, but it can no longer hide the impact of it’s exploding 9% economic growth at the expense of the wellbeing of its people and relentless depletion of its natural resources. A recent article by David Barboza from The New York Times reports on the misery brought upon the people of Shangma Huangtou, China, by the 24/7 operation of one of the many Chinese coal mines in the area. Local water sources have disappeared and acres of land are sinking because of the ravages of underground coal mining, forcing the people to flee their land. Meanwhile, as the already 500-foot tall coal-waste pile keeps growing outside their village, the Chinese government refuses to help the villagers find a new home.
In the meantime, China expects to see their economy roar while burning the lives of their people and endangering life on earth as they pump yuans and carbon in the atmosphere. For how long? In the interest of protecting their economy, China will need to realize that their coal dependency wont take them far, and that damning, burning, flooding, and melting their own people is not an engine of real growth.
