They're getting better with it. Part of the reason for the whole Three Gorges Dam project was so they could not only cut back on burning coal for power generation, but also on energy consumed by mining, processing, and transporting said coal. It's working thus far. In fact, the dam will soon pay for itself not only in generating electricity, but also money saved from cutting back on coal production. It's even made it safer to send large barges up the Yangtze River, which is more efficient than sending goods overland. The only real concerns are soil erosion in the newly flooded areas and whether enough silt to shore up river beds downstream is getting there. Time will tell, but it looks like all concerns aside, Three Gorges is a huge win for the Chinese.
They're now looking to build even more hydro power along the Yangtze. I wish them honest good luck in that endeavor.
Really, they do understand that pollution is a serious issue. Nothing underscored this better to the PRC than the Beijing Olympic Games. The Chinese are conservatives, and sometimes that means you want to conserve your natural treasures, of which China has quite a few. The problem is that they want to do so while maintaining the economic growth they've been enjoying. Coal is their biggest energy resource. They hardly have anything else, and renewables are just out of reach by virtue of the technology still being out of their pricerange for the scale of their demand - it's not cheap to force one billion people to suddenly start buying LED lighting or even CFLs as opposed to good old incandescents. Simply put, they have to take the time to build themselves up to that point, and unfortunately that means more coal powerplants until they can afford to go green.
Until that day, burn baby, burn.
Another thing to keep in mind: the Chinese Government can be coldly pragmatic. In a country where the population hovers just over one billion, losing a few thousand in an 'industrial accident' is of no major concern in the long run. It is merely a setback, and there are many more hungry workers out there. People are a resource and few countries take that to the sort of extreme the Chinese do. (Note that this is one of the manifold reasons the Chinese want to keep the general population out of the political loop. They're in the business of getting things done, and nothing gums things up faster than having to give voice to a billion people. Like I said, coldly pragmatic)
Would the Chinese do something like this? If it nets them a profitable enough return, then yes, in a heartbeat.
Also, they'd be practical enough to set it down in a spent open-pit mine. This way, they have a safe place to put it that will not only keep it from suddenly shifting, but also all the infrastructure and equipment they need will be in place already.
They're now looking to build even more hydro power along the Yangtze. I wish them honest good luck in that endeavor.
Really, they do understand that pollution is a serious issue. Nothing underscored this better to the PRC than the Beijing Olympic Games. The Chinese are conservatives, and sometimes that means you want to conserve your natural treasures, of which China has quite a few. The problem is that they want to do so while maintaining the economic growth they've been enjoying. Coal is their biggest energy resource. They hardly have anything else, and renewables are just out of reach by virtue of the technology still being out of their pricerange for the scale of their demand - it's not cheap to force one billion people to suddenly start buying LED lighting or even CFLs as opposed to good old incandescents. Simply put, they have to take the time to build themselves up to that point, and unfortunately that means more coal powerplants until they can afford to go green.
Until that day, burn baby, burn.
Another thing to keep in mind: the Chinese Government can be coldly pragmatic. In a country where the population hovers just over one billion, losing a few thousand in an 'industrial accident' is of no major concern in the long run. It is merely a setback, and there are many more hungry workers out there. People are a resource and few countries take that to the sort of extreme the Chinese do. (Note that this is one of the manifold reasons the Chinese want to keep the general population out of the political loop. They're in the business of getting things done, and nothing gums things up faster than having to give voice to a billion people. Like I said, coldly pragmatic)
Would the Chinese do something like this? If it nets them a profitable enough return, then yes, in a heartbeat.
Also, they'd be practical enough to set it down in a spent open-pit mine. This way, they have a safe place to put it that will not only keep it from suddenly shifting, but also all the infrastructure and equipment they need will be in place already.