March 8th, 2009
Economy killing off some polluters
Here’s a piece looking at how many old and pollution-prone factories are being killed off, from Mexico to Russia and China. It’s so bad n Russia right now that even many oligrachs are threatened with financial ruin. That woill put the ownership of the country rich oil fields and mineral resources up for grabs. Perhaps the government will nationalize them? Haven’t we see this movie already?
I presume there is nobody naive enough to think it is merely labor costs that moved industrial activities from regulated areas like Western Europe and the U.S. to places where money always eases the way to polluition without punishment?
So now tight money and slumping sales are doing what no environmental activist could dream of: shuttering high-pollution factories. Question remains: if the economy does resume growing at some future point will there be enough agreement on global warming to force newer, cleaner industrial practices? Or does the world’s environmental health really depend on power and politics in Russia and China?
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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