PSU Magazine Fall 2013

much oil as the U.S., it would con– ume 50 percent more than the world's current total production. Pollution from coal combustion is of major concern to the Chine e. Sul– fur dioxide and soot result in the for– mation of acid rain, which now falls on about 30 percent of China' total land areas. New laws e tabli hing com– prehensive regulations are beginning to curb this environmental damage, and the country is using less coal. The byproducts of coal burning are not the only threat to crop yield. As much as 490,000 acres of farmland turns to desert each year, and the country's cities, even its capital, are not immune to the encroaching sand. According to Chinese records, dust storms came to Beijing once every seven or eight years in the 1950 , and only every two or three years in the 1970 . But by the early 1990s, they were an annual problem. The govern– ment has responded with huge "green– ing" campaigns. In the past 20 years alone, according to the People's Daily, the country has planted more than 30 12 PSU MAGAZI E FALL 2001 billion trees. But without supporting grasses, critics, even within the coun– try, question the effectiveness of the tree planting campaigns. E nter sustainable development. The term has different shades of meaning depending on who is using it. For Rick Schulberg '71, executive director of the International Sustain– able Development Foundation, the term gives equal weight to economic development, environmental protec– tion, and social impacts of land use planning. Schulberg's staff worked with PSU on developing the program. "Real sustainability," he ay , "is being able to value both human and natural capital in a way that factors in the consequences of our actions." The key, says Schulberg, i not preaching to the Chinese, but opening a dialogue. Detailing what has and has not worked here hopefully will provide tools for decision making that will affect China's, and the Earth' , future. This summer's dialogue revealed some striking differences in the two countries' approaches. ln China, for instance, projects are mo t often directed by the central government and look primarily at feasibility. Social and environmental impacts or project alternatives traditionally have not been given much consideration . Program presenters were also told that in many instances China can't afford the kinds of large- cale water quality or transit projects common in the U.S. The country doe hope to invest 1.3 percent (about $85 billion) of it annual gross domestic product in meeting environmental objectives dur– ing the next five years. However, only 11 percent of that amount will likely come from the central government. Money for priorities such as urban sewage treatment plants, control of industrial liquid waste, and smokestack desulfurization equipment must come from indu try within the country and from foreign government , and inter– national financia l institutions. It was clear that such systemic_ differences cou ld sometimes hinder - 0 ~ ~ u.. 0 0 ~ ~ u 02 >- "' < z 15 ~ ~ :c a..