Fragile China

I recently caught up with a friend of mine who live in China with his family. He told me horror stories of pollution and contamination all throughout China. So I read this article in the New York Times with great interest, on proposed market-based solutions to controlling air quality.

Even as a cold-blooded capitalist, I understand that life is full of trade-offs. Economics and the environment must be held in balance; externalities do exist, necessitating some form of intervention; and market-based solutions can align incentives more efficiently.

Climate change, environmental awareness, and massive urbanization in developing countries is nothing new, of course. But, based on my friend's experience, China is at a particular make-or-break moment. Let's hope we can look back on this moment and say things got better from there.