As if China hasn’t damaged the global environment already enough by emitting nearly a quarter of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, it now wants to proceed with another plan that could potentially have disastrous ecological effects by removing 700 mountains. In a move that confounds environmental scientists, the Chinese government announced that it will proceed with its plan to bulldoze the 700 mountains in Lanzhou City. The project, estimated to cost more than $3.5 billion dollars, will flatten more than 500 square miles of land. Once finished, the territory will hold a new urban district with high-rise buildings to meet the demands of China’s rising population. In an article published in the magazine Nature, scientists cautioned that the Lanzhou Project has not been vetted “environmentally, technically or economically.” They also warned that the mountain removal project could have disastrous effects on the environment and that while flattening mountains is common practice in strip mining, “[s]uch infill has never been used for urban construction.” The Chinese government, however, does not seem concerned about the plan’s potentially disastrous effects. In 2012, a spokeswoman representing the Lanzhou project, sought to temper criticism about environmental harm. Lanzhous environment is already really poor, its all desolate mountains which are extremely short of water, Wong told The Guardian. Our protective style of development will divert water to the area, achieve reforestation and make things better than before. Maybe after the Chinese government removes these mountaintops, someone else will remove the Chinese government.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 16:25:38 +0000
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