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NC frontlinePollsPollsPolls support the planOxfam 7 [() “Employed, but Poor: Poverty among Employed People in Hong Kong” Oxfam Hong Kong Briefing Paper] AT Oxfam’s underlying proposal is simple: all of us — not just business and government leaders — need to get involved in making Hong Kong the society it wants to be: polls indicate that a majority of the population supports a minimum wage, for instance. All of us need to consider what responsibilities we accept as individuals, and as a community. wipwarmingChinese innovation is key to worldwide renewables which solves warming Merrill et al ’10, phd in political science from Yale and Executive Director of the National Academies’ Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (Stephen, David Taylor, and Robert Poole, “The Dragon and the elephant”, Chapter 5 research and commercialization infrastructure, National Research Council, Committee on the Research on the Competitiveness and Workforce Needs of U.S. Industry” pg 40-42) Reducing energy intensity by this amount in China and India will require a variety of innovations but is feasible, Ahuja said. Over the past several decades, for instance, the average energy intensity of all countries around the world has been declining by 1.25 percent per year. In India, energy intensity has declined by about half over the past 30 years. Trevor Houser, a director at China Strategic Advisory, discussed Chinese energy use and Chinese energy R&D (Figure 11). He noted that in 1980 the entire Chinese energy sector was controlled by the government; without any profit motive at work, investment was based purely on government plans. Since then much of the energy sector has been turned over to private corporations, resulting in large gains in efficiency. China's energy intensity today is only one-third of what it was in 1978. On the other hand, the private operators of energy companies have no incentives to limit emissions. The demand for energy in China is increasing at a phenomenal rate, Houser noted. Currently China has about 680 gigawatts of installed generating capacity, much of it added very recently. About 100 gigawatts was brought on line two years ago and another 100 gigawatts last year. It is projected that by 2020, China will have installed another 1000 to 1300 gigawatts of capacity. To put that in perspective, the total current generating capacity of the United States is now about 900 gigawatts. "When you have power demand growing that fast, it creates challenges for innovation because you are trying to throw whatever you have on the grid as quickly as possible," Houser observed. Large-scale blackouts in 2004 and 2005 pushed China to add power as quickly as possible, with very little investment in R&D and reliance instead on the technology most familiar to Chinese energy companies—pulverized coal. The Chinese power industry has become very adept at building coal-fired power plants in a period of shortage, taking about six months from start to finish. Last year, coal accounted for 90 of the 100 gigawatts added by Chinese power producers, with hydro and wind accounting for the remainder. The future will look very similar, Houser said, although Chinese companies are trying to diversify their power generating capacity somewhat. For example, China will add about 40 gigawatts of nuclear power over the next 15 to 20 years, making the country the largest nuclear power market in the world; but nuclear power will account for only 3 to 4 percent of the total installed capacity in 2020. Initially, the nuclear technology will be supplied by Westinghouse, which will build several nuclear plants and then transfer the technology to local companies that will build that next thirty plants. Hydroelectric power is the major hope for meeting China's goal of supplying 15 percent of its energy demand with renewable sources by 2020, Houser said. The plan is to have 240 gigawatts of hydro power by then, but that is the equivalent of building a new Three Gorges Dam every two years, which may not be politically feasible. Natural gas will be used to a certain extent in power generation, but it is needed for other purposes, such as feedstock in chemical plants and for household uses. Thus coal will continue to be the source of a large majority of the country's power for the foreseeable future. Because China will account for so much of the world's new power generation capacity over the next couple of decades, according to Houser, the innovation choices made in China will be crucial not just for that country but also for the rest of the world. He suggested that it is crucially important to get the incentives for cleaner technologies right in China because the country's huge market and position as a global manufacturing base for energy technology. If China builds a large amount of capacity with wind power, for example, world prices for that technology will drop significantly. But the same is true of dirtier technologies such as pulverized coal. Costs will go down, encouraging increased worldwide use. China is why renewable prices are dropping IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (September 10, Keith Bradsher, “Government subsidies help propel China into lead in clean energy; lexis) No doubt China's aggressive tactics are making clean energy more affordable. Solar panel prices have dropped by nearly half in the past two years, and wind turbine prices have fallen by a quarter, partly because of the global financial crisis but mainly because of China's rapid expansion in these sectors. Large Chinese wind turbines now sell for about $685,000 per megawatt of capacity, while Western wind turbines cost $850,000 a megawatt. Only Chinese growth can solve for warming tech A. Government subsidies IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (September 10, Keith Bradsher, “Government subsidies help propel China into lead in clean energy; lexis) The booming Chinese clean-energy sector, now with more than a million jobs, is quickly coming to dominate the production of technologies essential to slowing global warming and other forms of air pollution. Such technologies are needed to assure adequate energy, with the world's population expected to grow nearly a third, to nine billion people by the middle of the century, while oil and coal reserves dwindle. But much of China's clean-energy success lies in aggressive government policies that help this crucial export industry in ways most other governments do not. These measures risk breaking international rules to which China and almost all other countries subscribe, according to trade experts. B. Low labor costs, surplus raw materials, inexpensive construction IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (September 10, Keith Bradsher, “Government subsidies help propel China into lead in clean energy; lexis) Chinese wind and solar power manufacturers further benefit from the government's imposition of sharp reductions this summer in exports of raw materials, known as rare earths, that are crucial for solar panels and wind turbines. China mines almost all of the world's rare earths. Of course, China's success in clean energy also stems from assets enjoyed by many of the country's industries: low labor costs, expanding universities that groom lots of engineering talent, inexpensive construction and ever-improving transportation and telecommunications networks. But the fuel propelling clean-energy companies in China lies in advantages provided by the government, executives say. C. Permit and construction times IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (September 10, Keith Bradsher, “Government subsidies help propel China into lead in clean energy; lexis) But the Hunan government's backing of Sunzone is much more extensive than anything in the United States.With government help, Sunzone lined up financing and received all the permits necessary to build a factory in just three months under an expedited approval system for clean-energy businesses. It took only eight more months to build and equip the factory. ''The construction teams worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week in three shifts,'' Mr. Zhao said. Building and equipping a solar panel factory in the United States takes 14 to 16 months, and getting environmental and other permits can take years, said Thomas Zarrella, the former chief executive of GT Solar in Merrimack, New Hampshire, a big supplier of solar manufacturing equipment to factories in the United States and China. D. Cheap startup loans IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (September 10, Keith Bradsher, “Government subsidies help propel China into lead in clean energy; lexis) But the U.S. clean-energy programs carry many time-consuming and difficult requirements. Companies must show they can repay loans and have innovative technology. The department has given conditional approval to 18 renewable-energy loan guarantees, although only four so far have led to the actual issuance of loans. But the administration is moving quickly to accelerate the process, said Jonathan Silver, the executive director of the Energy Department's loan guarantee program. China has been pumping loans into clean energy so rapidly that even $23 billion in credit offered by the China Development Bank to three solar panel exporters and a wind turbine maker since April has barely raised eyebrows. China Development Bank, owned by the government, exists to lend money for strategic priorities. Western clean-energy companies complain of much higher financing costs, when they can raise money at all. Banks have been cautious about the sector, which leans heavily on venture capitalists and private equity firms that demand implicit interest rates as high as 9 percent in the United States, said Thomas C. Maslin, a senior solar analyst at IHS Emerging Energy Research. Evergreen Solar, the Massachusetts company, struggled for three years to raise money in the United States, but had no trouble doing so in China. Chinese state banks were happy to lend most of the money for the factory on very attractive terms, like a five-year loan with no payments of interest or principal until the end of the loan, said Michael El-Hillow, chief financial officer of the company. ''You can't get a penny in the United States. It doesn't matter who you call - banks, government,'' Mr. El-Hillow said. ''Therein lies the hidden advantage of being in China.'' Many Chinese clean-energy executives argue that China should offer more subsidies for its own people to buy renewable energy, in addition to helping export-oriented manufacturers. But until that domestic demand takes off, government support will remain crucial. ''Who wins this clean energy race,'' Mr. Zhao of Sunzone said, ''really depends on how much support the government gives.'' US consumer subsidies IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (September 10, Keith Bradsher, “Government subsidies help propel China into lead in clean energy; lexis) Barely a player in the solar industry five years ago, China is on track to produce more than half the world's solar panels this year. More than 95 percent of them will be exported to countries like the United States and Germany that offer generous subsidies for consumers who buy solar panels. China winning IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (September 10, Keith Bradsher, “Government subsidies help propel China into lead in clean energy; lexis) China's expansion has been traumatic for U.S. and European solar power manufacturers, and Western wind turbine makers are now bracing to compete with low-cost Chinese exports. This year, BP shut down its solar panel manufacturing in Frederick, Maryland, and in Spain, and laid off most of its employees while expanding a joint venture in China. Solves warming IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (September 10, Keith Bradsher, “Government subsidies help propel China into lead in clean energy; lexis) Mr. Zhao said that whatever the global trade rules might be on export subsidies, the world should appreciate the generous assistance of Chinese government agencies to the country's clean energy industries. That support has made possible a sharp drop in the price of renewable energy and has helped humanity address global warming, he said. Cheap loans key to China’s energy sector IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (September 10, Keith Bradsher, “Government subsidies help propel China into lead in clean energy; lexis) Low-interest loans from government-run banks are crucial to China's clean-energy success, some experts say, because of the high cost of factory equipment. ''If you change the interest rate half a percent or 1 percent, the difference is amazing, because the cost is all at the beginning,'' said Dennis Bracy, chief executive of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Forum, a group of Chinese energy officials and former U.S. cabinet officials. Chinese energy efficiency will limit emissions IHT ’10, International Herald Tribune (May ‘8, “Despite lofty goals, China spews out more gases;”, Keith Bradsher, Lexis) Rajendra K. Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations unit, said by e-mail that he believed China was serious about addressing its emissions.''There is a growing realization within Chinese society that major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would be of overall benefit to China,'' he wrote after learning of the latest Chinese energy statistics. ''This is important not only for global reasons, because China is now responsible for the highest emissions of greenhouse gases, but also because its per-capita emissions are increasing at a rapid rate.'' To some extent, China's energy consumption now might actually help limit its global warming emissions in the future. China, for example, used 200 million tons of cement in building rail lines last year, while the entire American economy only used 93 million tons, said David Fridley, a China energy specialist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Although production of that cement raised energy use and emissions of global warming gases, it also expanded a rail system that is among the most energy-efficient in the world. China currently moves only 55 percent of its coal by rail, for example, which is down from 80 percent a decade ago, as many coal users have been forced by inadequate rail capacity to haul coal in trucks instead. The trucks burn 10 or more times as much fuel as trains to haul coal, Mr. Fridley said. But now, with new high-speed passenger lines leaving more room on older lines to haul coal and other freight, the percentages could begin shifting away from energy-inefficient trucking, he said. EvDeane 05 [(Michael J. Deane, member of the professional staff in APL’s National Security Analysis Department) “THE COLLAPSE OF NORTH KOREA: A PROSPECT TO CELEBRATE OR FEAR?”] AT Since the late 1980s, the key issue for US policy-makers has been the speed of DPRK collapse. In practice, US policy and behavior toward North Korea have been formulated consistently on the assumption of a rapid collapse. The fact of a non-collapsing DPRK compels us to seek a different key issue on which to predicate US policy and behavior. One possible issue is the DPRK’s level of military power, namely, the DPRK’s combat capabilities and order of battle. In itself, however, level of military power is insufficient. There are several states—Britain, France, Russia, and China—that have even greater military power but do not evoke equivalent fear. Clearly, the DPRK’s level of military power is important in assessing the outcome of a conflict but not the likelihood of a conflict. If level of military power were the key issue, the simple answer for US decision-makers would be to build a higher level of military power. Then, relations and interactions with the DPRK would become irrelevant. Another possibility is the DPRK uses of military power, namely, the DPRK’s military doctrine and strategy. The time-honored answer is that the DPRK, like all states at all times in history, develops its Armed Forces to deter its enemies in peacetime, manage escalation during crisis times, and defeat its enemies in wartime. This provides no differentiation, no threat per se, and, thus, no guidance to decision-makers. A third possibility concerns DPRK intentions, namely, the purpose for which the DPRK is building its military power in general and its nuclear and missile programs in particular. With a propensity for legalistic and technocratic worldviews, most US decision-makers shy away from the issue of intentions. “Actions speak louder than words” is the standard US mantra. “Trust, but verify” is the skeptic’s alternative. “Intentions are unknowable” is the lazy man’s retort. However, the very question of whether the DPRK of the future is a threat to the United States and US interests and, thus, the correct policy for the United States to pursue forces decision-makers ultimately to address the issue of intentions. In the third possibility, the essential choice for US decision-makers is between two stark alternatives. The DPRK is building its military power, especially its nuclear and missile capabilities • Because DPRK survival depends on a benign environment and foreign economic assistance. DPRK nuclear and missile power are critical as bargaining chips in diplomatic blackmail. The DPRK regime assumes that external largesse will be directly equivalent to DPRK military power, military threat, and nuclear and missile capabilities. • Because DPRK survival in an inevitable future war depends on its military power. DPRK nuclear and missile power are critical as instruments of war-fighting and war-winning. The DPRK regime views external negotiations as buying time and bargaining as acquiring resources in support of its war-making requirements. If the first alternative is the DPRK version of a “soft landing” intention, the second is a decidedly “hard landing” intention. Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 1.87 Mb. Share with your friends:
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