Wikipedia continues to rock.............

[Martin]

God forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the West...keeping the world in chains. If our nation took to similar economic exploitation, it would strip the world bare like locusts.
— Mahatma Gandhi
from the front page of the very worthwhile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Sus ... evelopment

[ina]

And is anybody listening?

[Martin]

well, there's the two of us............

[justskint]

three.

[mybarnconversion]

As that's the path that India (& China) are now beginning to follow that's one of the scariest things I've read for a long time...

strip the world bare like locusts

[Martin]

and I heard the frightening news that China is also considering ditching it's "one child" policy which has done a great deal to curb their mushrooming population growth..........
they are worrying about an increasingly ageing population!

[Andy Hamilton]

Brilliant Martin Cheers for that, I have added it to my book marks and I only have 4 non-self sufficientish related book marks. Looks like a very useful portal.

*mutters* must remember to donate to wiki.......

Perhaps it is up to the older economies in the west to lead the way in green economics; after all China and India only want what we have been very lucky to have for many years. Some economists state that not only is it possible to have sustainable capitalism but it can be more profitable than non sustainable. I am not an economist but surely it is in the best interests of any business to still have people to sell to? Not have the whole world polluted and starving?

[oldfella]

The problem for the west is our past history, where we have stolen the natural resources of these countries and used them for our own benefit but to the detriment of the whole of the world. We in the west must accept our responsibilities, before we ask other nations to accept theirs, and remember that a majority of the developing countries have a population that have no schooling and only have memories of past contacts with us. Vast numbers of of the worlds population see films and TV from the west and envy the sight of, for example, an image of a child eating a chocolate bar in a school playground, when their own child has had no food, and no school. So until we in the west demonstrate our commitment to the problems WE have caused, do not expect the underdeveloped nations to lead the way.

[MKG]

Seconded, thirded and fourthed, Oldfella.

[ina]

And fifth...

[MrFalafel]

Looks like we can learn a lot from China. They are building Dongtan, a completely self sufficent city with zero greenhouse emission public transport and generating their own power and water.

http://www.arup.com/arup/newsitem.cfm?pageid=7009

[Ellendra]

And yet, China's idea of "recycling" often involves just piling the plastics in heaps and lighting them on fire. They have one of the worst human-rights records in the world. I'm not sure I want to take a page from their book.