Op-Ed: Chinese environmentalism

An essay by my friend and former classmate Timothy Gutmann, who currently teaches English in Beijing and studies Chinese.  A Boston University graduate, he hopes to return to America to study East Asian and Islamic modern philosophy.
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By Timothy Gutmann
Environmentalists have felt justly skeptical of China’s claims of a “Green Olympics.” Quantitatively, greens can find [...]

What the Olympics mean to China

My comments about “what the Olympics mean to China” were published in last week’s San Francisco Chronicle. Since today mark’s the first day of the Games, I thought I’d share my thoughts again:
“This year’s events may indeed be rife with mishaps, but we shouldn’t forget about the “Olympic spirit,” which should be about harmony and [...]

Green Glam in China

(Editor’s note: Please welcome our first post by contributing blogger Sophia Mendelsohn about some of the benefits of luxury consumption and “lifestyle” publications in China!)
China’s public is receiving a mixed message from mainstream media. On the one hand, they are told development is destroying the environment. On the other hand, the messages equate luxury [...]

Bosshard: Clean up your own act before telling China to do the same

Peter Bosshard, policy director of International Rivers, a nonprofit group based in Berkeley, Calif., urges Chinese companies to more carefully consider the environmental and social impact of their investments, but he says China is not alone. Other superpowers–namely, the U.S.–must also halt wasteful consumption and adopt more environmentally friendly policies before expecting China to reduce [...]

Trashy Taiwan

(Original photo via Uncle Mut at 34)
No, I’m not trashin’ Taiwan. I’m talking about trash in Taiwan, thanks to a recent opinion piece by Julia Ross in the Washington Post.

What I Picked Up About Trash in Taipei
By Julia Ross
December 2, 2007

When I planned for my year in Taiwan two summers ago, trash was the [...]