Blame Chinese for Oil issue????
I was reading MSNBC.com today and I found a blog written by Mark Mullen, a NBC News Correspondent. He wrote this article on June 26, and I thought it was worth discussing. The title of his blog was “Demand Side of Oil Issue: 1.3 billion Chinese.” Basically the article is about how the West, especially the United States is pointing its finger at China as the ”gas-guzzling energy hog responsible for driving up fuel costs worldwide and polluting the planet all at once.” Even though the average Chinese uses about one-sixth of the energy consumption of an average American, we still keep pointing our finger at them. How can this be? Well, I guess it’s because there are 1.3 billion Chinese and every day 1000 new vehicles hit the streets in Beijing alone. More and more Chinese are getting the opportunity to buy cars.
I think that this idea by Mark Mullen is ridiculous. China might have more people than the United States, so obviously they would use more gas and energy, but if you look at the consumption on the average person, let me repeat this information again…..average Chinese use ONE-SIXTH of the energy that the average American does. That says it all. There is no way that we or anyone can blame China. Yes, their gas prices are relatively cheap compared to the international prices. This is due to the fact that China is trying to encourage economic growth, so the government is subsidizing fuel costs with government money.
Many Americans do not think about the environment or even the gas or gas prices when they are driving their big SUVs and trucks, running their air conditioners non-stop, and everything else Americans do that do harm to the environment and continue to use astronmic levels of energy and gasoline. The Chinese are more “green” according to one American who has been living in China for the last year. He says that they recycle better and he has not used a clothes dryer yet since he has been there. So, I guess the United States and anyone else trying to blame China for our oil issues, need to look right in their own backyard. Everyone is contributing to this problem, some more than others…..