Unleash the Future

Although friends are quick to point out how polluting China is as a nation, the following articles point out that the US still has the highest per capita production by almost four to one:

Pump Up the Volume

China's carbon emissions highest in the world last year, study says
China's carbon emissions were the highest in the world in 2007, exceeding those of its closest rival, the United States, by 14 percent, according to a new study from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The NEAA also found in a study last year that China was the world's top polluter in 2006, a finding some other energy agencies disputed. However, the emissions increase in 2007 was so massive -- 8 percent, according to NEAA -- that there's now little doubt China's in the lead in overall carbon emissions. Its booming economy, terrible energy efficiency, and substantial appetite for coal are thought to be the main drivers of the increase. According to the study, China's emissions jump last year accounted for about two-thirds of the world's total greenhouse-gas increase in 2007. Some things haven't changed, though. The U.S. is still the world's pollutingest nation on a per-person basis; its citizens out-polluted the Chinese by nearly four to one. GRIST

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In spite of the level of pollution, it appears China is working to address its energy and pollution issues:

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Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change .... added that China had been “acting progressively on environmental policy” in the past year, developing plans to shut down highly polluting small- and medium-size industries and to find more alternative energy, for example. NYT

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Bloomberg had this to say:

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China now accounts for almost a quarter of global emissions, followed by the U.S. with 21 percent, the EU-15 countries (12 percent) and India (8 percent), according to preliminary estimates from the Dutch agency. Bloomberg

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What the Bloomberg comment fails to point out is that the EU-15 has a comparable population and GDP to the US.

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Even Wal-Mart, with its slim profit margin, is working to reduce energy costs in transportation and packaging:

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Wal-Mart reaching fuel goals for truck fleet: exec

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is on track to reach its goal of increasing the fuel efficiency of its truck fleet by 25 percent this year and has already reached a 20 percent improvement, an executive said on Friday.

The world's largest retailer also plans to introduce hybrid trucks into its fleet of more than 7,000 trucks later this year, said Matt Kistler, senior vice president of sustainability for Wal-Mart.

"With gas at $4 a gallon, we're keenly working on reducing costs," Kistler said at a conference on climate change at the British Embassy.

Kistler said to reach the goal of increasing fuel efficiency, Wal-Mart has reduced the size of its diesel tanks to lighten the truck load and has outfitted the trucks with more fuel-efficient tires.

Wal-Mart has worked on more high-tech initiatives such as a system that allows a driver to turn off the engine but keep the refrigeration component running.

"I think we're on plan to hit the target" of 25 percent increased fuel efficiency by the end of 2008, Kistler said. "We're hoping to roll out some more things."

Wal-Mart has set a goal of one day using only renewable energy and creating zero waste, and it has challenged its suppliers to remove nonrenewable energy from their lives.

Because of its status as the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart is considered one of the few retailers with enough heft to make direct changes to global energy consumption. Reuters

We have a future filled with rapidly improving technologies and great potential that excludes fossil fuels.