Environment

Evan Osnos: U.S., China, addicted to each other

…heard from Danwei.org….

Evan Osnos, Beijing bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune, talks to Stephen Colbert about cashmere farms and their detrimental effects on the environment and the global economy.

According to Osnos, the demand for cheap cashmere from China is speeding up the desertification of grasslands in northern China, where cashmere goats trample around the land, as if wearing stiletto heels, destroying the area. (Read more about desertification on one of my previous posts, “Schizo Enviro.”)

“Ok, so it’s entirely our fault that they’re destroying their landscape?” an offended, America-loving Colbert asks.

“No, in fact, it’s both of us together,” Osnos says. “America and China are basically addicted to each other.”

The effect of our consumer preferences is an increased amount of pollution. Osnos says that up to 40 percent of dust in Los Angeles comes from China. This also exacts a cost on health care for people who have to be treated for dust pollution-related symptoms.

To read more about cheap sweaters and Chinese goats, register for access to the Trib to read Osnos’ story, “Your cheap sweater’s real cost.“

[tags]Stephen Colbert,Evan Osnos, cashmere, China, goats, globalization, desertification[/tags]

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