On Clean Energy, China Skirts Rules

China is now the world's leading producer of solar panels and other key technologies to implement Green Power (above, a wind turbine made in China being unloaded at the port in Los Angeles).  It got that way through heavy government subsidies such as free land grants and low interest loans.  Those measures are not WTO-compliant, and today a U.S. union filed a complaint with the Obama administration, forcing it to open an investigation into Chinese practices into growing its green manufacturing industry.

On Clean Energy, China Skirts Rules - NYTimes.com

Maersk to Use Cleaner Fuel in Hong Kong Shipping

Hong Kong has a pollution problem.  Air pollution there regularly soars above the levels deemed safe for humans by the World Health Organization.  A major contributor to the problem is the city's proximity to deep sea ports, and the ships that dock there.  Container ships that dock in Hong Kong as well as other Asian cities use bunker fuel, a cheap fuel that is high in sulfur and nitrogen.  When the same ships traverse European shipping lanes, however, they have to use a far cleaner low-sulfur fuel.  Now, Maersk shipping lines is voluntarily adopting the use of low-sulfur fuel for all its ships that dock in Hong Kong port.  The move will cost the company $1 million a year, and already other companies have said they will follow suit.  The most interesting thing about this story is that the Hong Kong government had nothing to do with this move to clean up the air.  It dd, however, issue a statement that it welcomed the move.

Maersk to Use Cleaner Fuel in Hong Kong Shipping - nytimes.com

BAN to Certify and Audit E-Waste Recycling

One of biggest scams currently being perpetrated on the American public is in disposal of old electronics, also known as e-waste. Much of our e-waste is eventually exported to developing countries with no environmental protections. A group called the Basel Action Network is seeking to change that, as I report in my other blog this morning.

BAN to Certify and Audit E-Waste Recycling - NYTimes.com

In China, Wal-Mart presses suppliers on labor, environmental standards

Workers at this soap plant in China are paying more attention to how the soap is packaged so that the packaging is more environmentally friendly, including a switch away from styrofoam. The reason isn't entirely altruistic -- it's because Wal-Mart insists on it. The giant retailer -- which if it was a country would be China's fifth largest export market -- is insisting that all its suppliers, including ones in China, clean up on environmental and labor practices in order to keep Wal-Mart's business. It's a great example of companies affecting social change when governments are unable -- or in the case of the United States, unwilling -- to do so.


In China, Wal-Mart presses suppliers on labor, environmental standards - washingtonpost.com