China (again!) and air pollution

Continuing with this whole China and Olympics thing (and why not!), a lot is being said on the air quality in China and how this will affect athletic performance. I've seen everything from athletes petitioning the IOC to be allowed to use potentially performance enhancing inhalers (only in this case just so they can actually breathe, if you call that performance enhancing) to discussions on each country's specific (and top-secret) strategies for combating the effects of polluted air (apparently the U.S. team is planning on wearing masks 24/7 when not in competition - not kidding). Well, there is not much to say about this other than yes, the air is likely to be very dirty, and yes, this will likely cause trouble for the participants. The only question is how much of a relations issue will the measures taken become!

This does however raise the issue of the effect China is having on the environment as it rapidly industrializes. Surely, we must do something to make them understand that what they are doing is wrong! But was it any less wrong for the United States and Western Europe during the 1800s? The difference is that during the Industrial Revolution polluting was the "modern" thing to do. Well guess what - China is playing catchup. The new modern thing is to be environmentally aware, but this is a luxury that is only affordable by those who have already done their fare share of eco-trashing. For us to demand that they cease and desist is hypocritical at best.

That doesn't mean there is nothing that can be done. However, any inducement made to alter China's behavior must be positive and not negative, carrots not sticks. We should approach the issue accepting that China has the "right" to pollute, and think about what we can do to entice them into giving up that right. One way is by treating the right to pollute as a commodity, and simply "buying" that right from the Chinese. It all depends on how much we value a world with less pollution, because there must be some price which equals the benefit received by China from actions which pollute, and by compensating accordingly we can alter their "consumption of pollution." And after all, who really wants to eat that stuff anyway.