Carbon Footprint: Doha and Dalian

It's been a little while since I wrote anything about carbon footprint. This post will make you think about whether I should even bother. NYTimes correspondent Thomas Friedman is concerned about climate change, but he suggests (as some of my readers have) that the current American approach to the issue (tips about how you and I can reduce our individual consumption) isn't cutting it. By the way, Doha is the capital of Qatar and Dalian is in China's Silicon Valley; both have experienced enormous growth over the past years. Friedman writes:

Hey, I'm really glad you switched to long-lasting compact fluorescent light bulbs in your house. But the growth in Doha and Dalian ate all your energy savings for breakfast. I'm glad you bought a hybrid car. But Doha and Dalian devoured that before noon. I am glad that Congress is debating whether to bring U.S. auto mileage requirements up to European levels by 2020. Doha and Dalian will have those gains for lunch -- maybe just the first course. I'm glad that solar and wind power are "soaring" toward 2 percent of U.S. energy generation, but Doha and Dalian will devour all those gains for dinner. I am thrilled that you are now doing the "20 green things" suggested by your favorite American magazine. Doha and Dalian will snack on them all, like popcorn before bedtime.

A free copy of the entire editorial can be read at today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Also, check out a short video of Friedman explaining his views about what he calls the "Power of Green" and industrial growth.