China Importing Rhinos to Harvest Their Horns?
Photo via Flickr
Since 2000, China has reportedly purchased 141 rare white rhinos from South Africa–an amount that has drawn the suspicion from conservationists that the animals aren’t being used for friendly purposes. Instead, it is believed that the rhinos are being farmed on wildlife reserves for the sole purpose of <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12…Read the full story on TreeHugger
China’s Changing Economy
In Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, I have presented a plan to dramatically reduce carbon emissions by increasing energy efficiency and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. In the push to reduce emissions, all eyes are on China, the world’s most populous country and now also the world’s top carbon emitter. Here are some highlights from the Plan B 4.0 datasets on China’s energy economy:
…Read the full story on TreeHugger
‘Behemoth’ Golf Development on China’s Hainan Island Will Be As Big As 1.5 Manhattans
Workers at a golf club in China. Photo by Ryan Pyle via Foreign Policy.
It sounds like a story from The Onion or a goofy riff on an episode of The Simpsons: China, a country where golf was still banned 25 years ago and few people play the sport, is now building the world’s largest golf club, a 22-course development that could more th…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Daimler Partners with BYD to Make Electric Cars for China
Photo: Michael Graham Richard
BYD Figured Making Cars Was Hard?
Daimler is positioning itself for the electric car era. Last year it bought a 10% stake in Tesla Motors (40% of which was then bought by Abu Dhabi), and now they’re partnering with China’s BYD (which is <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/warren-buffett-china-byd-electric-cars-plu…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Himalayan Yak Wool Reaches New Heights in Khunu Sportwear
All Photos: Khunu.
The other day we mentioned outdoor clothing company Icebreaker. They started out as a small New Zealand company, but almost single-handedly created the burgeoning international market for fine merino wool sports clothing. Might Khunu achieve the same success with their collection of Himalayan yak wool garments for active use?
Based in Beijing, China, but run by American Aaron Pattillo, an ex-Clinton Foundation staffer and Julian Wilson, former British Army officer, this fledgling business recently picke…Read the full story on TreeHugger
China Plans For Ice-Free Arctic Shipping – Would Shorten Trip to European Ports by 4000 Miles
photo: Mad Smith via flickr.
It’s not great secret that one of the consequences of the Arctic ice melting is that at some point in the next decade or two, in all likelihood, a permanent sea route will open up. Nations bordering the region have been arguing/discussing what will be newly important national boundar…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Rust in Peace: GM Most Likely to Shut Down Hummer Division For Good
Rust in Peace, and I don’t mean the Megadeth album. Photo: Flickr, CC
The Sale to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Fell Through
GM has been trying to sell its Hummer brand for about two years now. It has a preliminary deal with a Chinese company, but that collapsed when they couldn’t get approval form the Chinese government. There’s no solid timetable yet for the closure of the Hummer division, and there’s always the possibility that new bids will emerge, but after this long, and considering that Hummers aren’t exactly s…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Living With The Side Effects Of Lithium-ion Batteries
Lithium carbonate tablets & lithium-ion battery. Image credits:Viewpoints; and, Wikipedia
There is so much excitement and so little risk management awareness shown for the prospects of a future driven by lithium battery-powered vehicles. It makes sense that prospective risks of that future remain overlooked, though, because the…Read the full story on TreeHugger
China’s Fertilizer Fetish Making Soils More Acidic – Up to 100 Times Worse Than Acid Rain
photo: Simply Lori Ann
Brian recently told us about how China’s water pollution problems are probably twice as bad as official government statistics show. Part of that is due to agricultural run-off from excessive fertilizer use. But water isn’t the only thing being polluted by too much fertilizer. Mongabay highlights a new article in Science which d…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Don’t Oversimplify Glacier Retreating (and Advancing) Reports
photo: Joe via flickr.
With all the recent brouhaha over inaccurate and since retracted statements in the 2007 IPCC climate change report about the speed with which Himalayan glaciers are melting, a recent series of posts over at China Dialogue is particularly poignant. In it Professor Kenneth Hewitt, research associate at the <a href="http:/…Read the full story on TreeHugger
