The way things are currently going it seems like China is our last hope at saving the planet. After reaching an all time high level of air pollution( along with water pollution, and soil pollution), China has started to make a big change for the best. It took China a long time to realize that ecomomic benefit should not be achieved at the expense of the environment. It is more expensive to clean up the environment, than to avoid polluting it.

Unfortunately the other world big player, United States of America, under the current administration has done a big u turn on the protection of the environment. Trump has claimed that global warming is a Chinese hoax, and withdrew the United States of America from the Paris Accord. Currently the United States is the only country in the world that is not part of this accord. Currently the United States policies are favoring economic profit over the environment, a big step backwards from former policies that offered more protection to the environment.

https://vimeo.com/189466561 (The Paris Agreement in a Nutshell)

The reading and lecture were very eye-opening for me. I already knew about the problems with our environment and the negative effects industrialization have had on it. What was new for me was the impact a few changes can have. I'm very impressed by the changes China has made and the improvements that have come from those changes. It was also disappointing to see just how much the US has gone backwards in its efforts to improve the environment. Growing up in the sixties and seventies I saw how bad pollution was and how the US was making strides to improve it. Even though we still have a long way to go, the current administration has halted all progress and work towards improving the environment. We definitely need to follow the example of China and take a much more active role in not only lessening the negative impact on the environment, but doing our part ot help clean up the mess we've made. Barbar Finamore should be applauded for her efforts and the efforts of her organization at working to make the world a cleaner and better place.

The presentation was very eye-opening for me. While I was aware of China's contributions to pollution, I was unaware of how much China has done to counteract and slow down pollution. China's leaders have made many explicit policy decisions focused on cleaner energy, while the leaders of the U.S. continue to support fossil fuels. It was a reminder that, for all the U.S. attempts to regulate global policy, we often excempt ourselves from the same standards. There are many ways to use this information in a classroom - as an environmentalism case study, in a government class, as a comparison with U.S. policy, and as a project where, when faced with the same challenges as China, they could determine how they would respond. 

I agree Amy, unfortunately, our country is the largest producer of air pollution after China, (https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/science/each-countrys-share-of-co2.html) As far as waste pollution, we are #1 especially because our love for and dependance on disposable items (https://sites.google.com/site/iilyear4/top-10-countries-that-produce-the-most-waste). We use things once and throw them out, thinking that it's gone and disappeared because after all, out of sight out mind.  America has to face the hard truth that we are a largest contributor to the problem and must work to find soutions to our country's behavior that causes effects on a global level. This will take a huge shift in our behaviors and the way we live our everyday lives because it will take a collective reflection of our wastefulness and the conscious changes we will need to make to change them. 

In her book, Barbara Finamore describes how she witnessed "China's emergence on the internaional climate stage in June 1991."  China's economy has been built on coal leading to a sharp increase in China's CO2 emissions starting 1991 (about 2.23 metric tons) continuing through to 2010's (about 7.54 metric tons). These emissions went down from 2013 to 2017. Barbara Finamore asks these important questions in her book: How did China evolve from being a "climate change resister to being a forceful advocate of global climate governance"?  I would love to pose these questions to my class and give them guidelines on the research the students could do.  Then, we would have a class discussion or group presentation about their findings.  A very helpful website mentioned in class is https://www.chinadialogue.net/

What a pleasure to learn about China and its unique position to impact global environmental quality from someone who has worked on all aspects of the issue for decades!  Barbara Finamore was engaging and informative.  Due to our interactions, I went out and bought her book, "Will China Save the Planet?".  I look forward to reading it and gaining more insight about "behind-the-scenes" things that are happening regarding US and Chinese involvement in the fight for global environmental quality.  I thought one of the telling quotes of the presentation was, "When the winds of change begin to blow, some build walls while others build windmills."  How appropriate for today's political climate!  The winds of change certainly have been blowing across our globe.  Which nations will step up to be leaders in renewable energy?  Which nations will benefit economically from solutions which work?  How will all global citizens benefit as the quality of air and water improves?  Solar power, wind power, and electric vehicles have been experimented with for years.  Now is the time to make tougher decisions regarding their priortity in funding and research and development. While companies are involved, we also need a stronger government involvement in order to make our future energy situation secure.  The future seems to be now!

I’m also curious about Barbara’s book and may just read it this year.  We’ve abused our planet for so many years.  I remember when Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth came out in 2006 and there were still people who thought that climate change was a hoax. And to know that Trump still calls climate change a hoax is unbelievable!  I admire that China is investing in solar panels and tapping into renewable energy. If we just ignore the problem, nothing gets resolved.