China's Economic Growth "Unsustainable On All Counts" - AFP

China's growth model, based on the West's economic model with its massive appetite for resources and increasing environmental degradation is unsustainable and will have to change, a leading environmentalist said Tuesday.

Lester Brown, head of the Washington-based Earth Policy Institute, told reporters in Beijing that China's current path could not be maintained at either the national or international level. "The Western economic model -- the fossil fuel based, automobile-centered, throwaway economy -- will not work for China," Brown said. "If it doesn't work for China, it will not work for India or the three billion other people in developing countries who are also dreaming the American dream."

Brown, in Beijing to promote the Chinese edition of his new book, "Plan B 2.0, Rescuing a Planet Under Stress," said China had overtaken the United States as the leading consumer of most basic commodities and would soon face major shortages.

"Among the five basic food, energy and industrial commodities -- grain and meat, oil and coal and steel -- consumption in China has eclipsed that of the United States in all but oil," he said. If China's economy continues to grow by 8.0 percent annually, per capita income will equal that of current levels in the United States by the year 2030, when the nation will boast a population of 1.45 billion people, Brown said.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/China_growth_unsustainable_on_all_counts_must_change_economist.html

How long will it take for them to notice that it doesn't work and how much ir-repairable damage will be done in the meanwhile?

...than in the western nations, especially the U.S.



For example:



Source: http://atlas.aaas.org/index.php?part=2

I realize this is somewhat out of date-- it was the most recent data a google search turned up on short notice.

:crazy:

That's what the snippet quoted implies, "If it <automobile centered, throw away economy> doesn't work for China, it will not work for India or the three billion other people in developing countries who are also dreaming the American dream."

Maybe that's what it comes down to for the marketers and corporatists. But for myself, I'm very uncomfortable with that assessment.

The American Dream, in its current stage of evolution, IS predominantly characterized by automobiles and throw away anything and everything.

It worked when there we 50 million people here and huge amounts of oil under places like Texas and California. It worked in the 1950's, the 1960's and the 1970's without recourse to debt.

After that it worked by intimidation and by the fact that everyone believed in it and so they were willing to loan us the resources/money.

But the skin is off the sow now.

The American dream won't work in America anymore either.

I don't know that the Chinese deserve what is coming, but I do Americans deserve what is coming.

Once we consumed only what we produced, then we produced more than we consumed. Now we only consume. There will be hell to pay, and because of our own inaction we will have only ourselves to blame.