On August 28, Science, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, ran a news item regarding ongoing studies of the health effects caused by environmentally unsound processing of e-waste (PCs, monitors, printers, etc) in south China [subscriber only]. in part, the opening paragraph reads: China has been accepting vast quantities of discarded televisions, computers,…
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Plywood Infernal.
Generally, I never turn down the opportunity to visit a factory. At a minimum, they’re invariably interesting, especially if – like me – you’re at all interested in how the things that one takes for granted are created. At best (in my case, at least), factory visits might lead to new stories. So I was…
My gift to investigative reporters and environmental activists everywhere (but especially in Portland, Oregon)
Hardly a season passes without some esteemed media organization running a story on the export of e-wastes from the developed world to south China (Guiyu, in particular). 60 Minutes did the last major one (my thoughts here), and PBS’s Frontline is in the midst of producing the next one. I’ll spare my readers – and…
The Limits of Recycling
I’ve spent the better part of a week in Japan, now, visiting some of the most advanced recycling facilities in the world. In some ways, it’s been exhilarating: Japan’s strict regulatory structure ensures that the most difficult wastes – say, automobiles – are recycled as far as current technology and economics allow. At the same…
Very hot scrap.
Almost exactly two years ago I attended a steel industry conference in Dalian memorable for two things: the sushi buffet, and a manic sales representative for a radiation detection company. Throughout the three days that I spent there, I watched as this gentleman approached every attendee – sometimes more than once – with a brochure…
A Nine Dragons Memory
Posted on Author AdamPosted in Appreciations and Recommendations, Business and Trade, Environment, Scrap8 Replies
A very enthusiastic recommendation for Evan Osnos’s excellent profile of Cheung Yan and the Nine Dragons Paper empire in the March 30 issue of the New Yorker. Spectacular stuff. Now, Cheung’s name may not ring a bell, but her reputation, might: she was, until recently, the self-made Trash Queen, the richest woman in China, and…
The Two Cultures, Recycling Edition
Here’s something that I’ve learned: the world has two cultures of recycling. In the developed world (Europe and North America, in particular), recycling is a moral act, done – primarily – as expatiation for consumption. Little to no consideration is given to the cost of recycling; and, on those rare occasions when economics enter the…
The (year of the) Ox Arrives in Blue
Just looked out the window and saw the bluest Shanghai sky that I’ve witnessed since … the Olympics? Of course, the blue sky Olympics were achieved through a series of stringent regulations that choked off economic activity and – by extension – air pollution. In contrast, this evening’s lovely winter dusk is attributable to the…
Recycling Isn’t So Green, After All
This evening (Shanghai time) I appeared on Today with Pat Kenny, broadcast by RTÉ 1 in Dublin (I’ll post a link to the podcast as soon as it’s available), to discuss the collapse of the international scrap recycling markets over the last three months, and the negative effect that the collapse has had on municipal…
Full Bloom
Posted on Author AdamPosted in Appreciations and Recommendations, Arts, Catholicism, Environment10 Replies
I’ve been covering the design, production and installation of the new stained glass windows for Shanghai’s St. Ignatius Cathedral for nearly five years, now (this 2006 story for the LA Times Sunday Magazine is my lengthiest piece on the subject), and I’ve been witness to some very interesting moments along the way, but today –…