ebb and flow ... Guilt in delight and delight in guilt
  from: Offshore Engineer
  by: Michael J Economides
  Wednesday, April 09, 2008

It is amazing how 12 hours of traveling can run the spectrum of human emotions in that potent mix of established versus developing wealth, the use of energy sources and the increasing concerns for the environment. There is hardly anybody that hasn’t personally lived through two very powerful emotions: feeling some guilt when so many good things seem to come your way. But equally potent is the feeling of some delight when guilty of something. It’s the cat that ate the canary. National psyches often traipse on exactly the same feelings and no countries seem to mirror them today more than Australia and China.

To begin with, the two countries are linked by a lot of things: galloping trade and ever increasing choice destinations of businessmen, tourists and students from both countries, both ways, to the gleeful eye of Japan and the United States, until recently the almost overwhelming trading partners of Australia.

In the energy business Australia is bound to be the Chinese El Dorado.With vast resources of natural gas, the country will provide copious volumes of LNG much of it destined for energy starved China. Already some of the largest deals anywhere have been signed or slated to be signed between Australian producers and Chinese importers. A recent uranium deal between the two countries is the largest ever and it was significant that it went through with nary a whimper from Iran-jumpy United States. The uranium sold by an ostensibly close American ally to (do we really forget?) communist China could build literally thousands of nuclear bombs. How times have changed.

But in spite of all their links Australia and China are worlds apart in their energy consumption and environment postures. What should be far more than a fine line between reasonable stewardship of the environment and morose, guilt-ridden ideological environmentalism seems to have been blurred in Australia in the last couple of years. The national debate seems to have shifted way past even the most outrageous claims of the anthropogenic greenhouse-linked global climate apologists. An entire society seems to have been thoroughly Gored.

And while the country is as pollution free and in many places pristine, the question of what to do with carbon dioxide emissions now rules the day. A sense of guilt in what should be an obvious delight in a wonderful Australian life permeates the atmosphere, guilt for what some consider past energy profligacy, and even worse, guilt for the comforts that modern life has been associated with. There is an additional undercurrent, barely below the surface. Environmentalism is sensed by many as an independence manifesto from George W Bush’s policies. After all, he dragged Australia into the Iraqi misadventure and he opposes Kyoto. By God, let Australia’s environmental position become a poke in Bush’s eye. One global mistake is enough.

Such Australian notions could be at least silly if not expensive but they are powerful stuff. More to the point, though, they are irrelevant in the world, irrespective of whether anthropogenic climate change is a fact or hoax (as I believe.) Economic reality will eventually triumph even in Australia but for the moment, grandiose environmental proclamations seem to win.

Rendering Australian environmentalism flaccid many times over is the country’s erstwhile new and overwhelmingly bigger trading partner. China could not be guiltier in making shambles of mere environmental stewardship. Fifteen of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in China. In dozens of cities blue sky is a long-bygone memory. The country still draws almost 70% of its energy from coal with hardly any coal-fired power plant meeting the developed world’s standards for pollution. If particulates, which are the main culprits of the permanent smog, are not taken care of, who is going to think about the nuances of carbon dioxide emissions? And it’s not just air pollution. According to official estimates 80% of China’s population has no access to safe drinking water. I think it’s probably worse.

And here is the conclusion to this modern tale of two countries. In China I sense a certain delight in their guilt. Pollution is of course self-destructive, a menace to public health and the country will have to cope with it. But industrialization and the obvious emerging economic prowess, along with the necessary huge increase in energy demand, meet the nation’s need for what many Chinese intellectuals and government officials alike believe is their deserved place in the world. Pollution, at best, is something to think about in the far future except for the occasional beautification required from a showcase like the upcoming 2008 Olympics. China acts like the new big kid on the block, delighted with its newness, its ability to earn cash and the fact that badness may in fact be a tad attractive to all other admiring kids, eager to be friends. OE

Michael J Economides is a professor at the Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston, and editor-in-chief of the Energy Tribune. The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect OE’s position.