IN 1991, Ottawa used similar words to describe two source countries of many of Canada’s immigrants : China and India. In that year, Ottawa’s Intelligence Advisory Committee published a report called “The Environment : Marriage Between Earth And Mankind”. That report described China as “An Environmental Catastrophe” and India as an “Environmental Disaster”.
According to sources such as “When A Billion Chinese Jump”, which was published in 2010, environmental conditions in China have not improved much since 1991. See http://immigrationwatchcanada.org/2011/09/25/september-22-2011-when-a-billion-chinese-jump-part-1/
The text below quotes only from the China section of Ottawa’s Intelligence Advisory Committee report. We will deal with the India section in a subsequent bulletin.
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CHINA : ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE—MAY, 1991
(1) As of 1991, when China had a population of 1.1 billion, its population increased by 15.5 million per year. In other words, every two years, China’s population was increasing by almost the total population of Canada. (P.40) (Editor : To informed humanity, the demands these increases make on resources are unsustainable.)
(2) By 2001, it was predicted 450 of China’s 644 cities would have chronic water shortages. Already in 1991, the ground waters of large cities such as Beijing and Tianjin were exhausted. (https://www.nature.com/news/sustainability-transfer-project-cannot-meet-china-s-water-needs-1.18792 ) Most of China’s water and population is in the south while most of its industry is in the north. A South-to-North Water Diversion Project was considered (P.40) and is now well underway.
(3) In 1991, approximately 25% of China’s total water resources had been polluted to varying degrees. Over 80% of the water that passes through cities is considered not clean enough for drinking or fish breeding. “Official Chinese estimates, which undoubtedly understate the problem, indicate that over 150 million people drink polluted water.” (P.41) (Editor : When Canada accepts large numbers of Mainland Chinese immigrants, it potentially accepts huge numbers of people with immediate or imminent health problems. This means a major immediate or imminent drain on Canada’s Health care system. It also means adding to Canada’s Health Care line-up large numbers of people who have never paid into Canada’s Healthcare system. Worse, , the Trudeau government announced in 2018 that it would make it easier for immigrants with diagnosed health problems to enter Canada. Vancouver Chinese MP Jenny Kwan led that campaign. )
(4) In 1991, Chinese industry was dumping 30 billion tonnes of liquid waste annually into its rivers. Almost all of it was untreated. (Editor’s Note : Trump’s phrase (“Shit-Hole) has annoyed sensitive ears. But the enormity of the liquid waste alone justifies his use of words–as well as thephrase “environmental catastrophe” that Ottawa used to describe all of China. Furthermore, huge areas of China’s coasts are classified as “Dead Zones”. The overall point is that the dumping of enormous amounts of industrial waste is viewed as almost “normal” by many Chinese immigrants who, when called on to contribute to environmental clean-up costs, may strenuously object.)
(5) For centuries, China has relied on intensive land use to achieve food self-sufficiency. But with nearly 25% of the world’s population in 1991, China has only 7% of the world’s farmland. In 1991, China was losing farmland at an alarming rate. In 1991, it was estimated that each year, one million hectares of farmland were being lost to industry, poor irrigation, erosion or desertification. Given the difficulties of further enlarging the cultivated area, China may find it increasingly difficult to feed itself. (P.41) (Editor : China’s declining supply of farmland has spurred it to increase its efforts to obtain farmland in many parts of the world, Canada included. An increasing number of Chinese immigrants to Canada will probably result in political pressure by immigrants loyal to China to accept Mainland Chinese purchases of Canadian farmland. If this happens, it will definitely undermine Canada’s sovereignty over its farmland)
(6) In 1991, understated Chinese statistics indicated that forests covered approximately 12 % of the land. This compares to Canada’s 37% or to Japan’s 66%. By the year 2000, it was estimated that China would have only 8% forest cover. The Great Dragon Forest Fire of 1987 destroyed 3 million acres of prime timber. A national program of planting 5 trees per person had only limited success. (P.41) (Editor : According to “When A Billion Chinese Jump”, it was common in China to describe forests as “useless trees”. The fact that forests might play a vital role in the health of humans and the planet had not entered the consciousness of many in China. Bringing large numbers of such potential voters here does not bode well for Canada’s forests.)
(7) Deforestation is speeding up desertification and erosion in China. In 1991, deserts covered one sixth of the country. Dust storms will once again become a major problem for many major cities, including Beijing.
(8) Five billion tonnes of soil are lost per year through erosion. The Yangtze River alone (the longest river in Asia, it stretches from Tibet to Shanghai) carries over 55 million tonnes of silt to the sea yearly.
(9) Water levels of China’s major rivers have risen by as much as 10 meters in places and have increased the risk of major flooding. When the Yangtze flooded in 1988, over 6000 people died, 4 million were left homeless and over 11 million hectares of land were covered. When combined with the potential sea level rise predicted as a result of global warming, even greater natural calamities can be expected in the future. Prevention of such calamities will be hugely expensive. One estimate, for example, suggested that it would take 0.5 percent of China’s GNP to save the city of Canton (population 2.3 million in 1991) if the sea level were to rise 0.5 meters. (Editor : A large Chinese population here already sees Metro Vancouver as a colony of China. If environmental conditions worsen in China, this large number of Chinese voters will probably create political pressure on Canada to accept large numbers of Chinese environmental refugees.)
(10) As of 1991, China produced over 40 billion tonnes of solid industrial waste annually. Leaders hoped to limit the rate of growth in the production of this waste so that it reaches “only” 50 billion tonnes by the year 2000. Less than 20 percent of this waste is treated or recycled. Ongoing dependence on coal as the primary source of energy means that efforts to limit the rate of growth of this pollution so that it is no higher than 20 million tonnes by the year 2000 are doomed to fail.” The 20 billion figure is likely to be surpassed by 1995. (Editor : According to UBC Professor David Ley, about 200,000 Chinese Immigrant Entrepreneurs and their dependants lived in the Metro Vancouver area. According to “When A Billion Chinese Jump”, many of these entrepreneur immigrants were environmental criminals who had created enormous environmental damage in China. They had also caused housing unaffordability in China. According to David Ley, these people have caused similar housing unaffordability in Canada. In short, they have done ongoing damage to the lives of hundreds of thousands if not millions of Old Stock Canadians in Metro Vancouver and Southern Ontario. These entrepreneurs did not pay for the environmental damage they caused in China. Yet most were accepted blindly by Canada. Many have evaded income taxes in Canada, but Canada has yet to penalize these people for the enormous damage they have done to the lives of Metro Vancouver’s population.)
(11) Pollution levels in Beijing where there are over 7000 coal boilers and over 1.4 million small coal stoves, average 25 times above maximum Canadian acceptable levels during their winter months; and Beijing is not the worst offender. (Editor : Because they have lived in extremely polluted environments, Mainland Chinese have a high tolerance for degraded air, water and soil. Such conditions are viewed as “normal”. Their refusal to pay their share of taxes that support Canada’s Healthcare and other infrastructure indicates that it is unlikely that they will support the costs of measures to protect Canada’s environment.)
(12) The city of Benxi, which covers an area of 43 square kilometers. is widely considered to be the second most polluted city in the world, behind Mexico City. In July, 1988, satellite photography could not locate Benxi because the smog was so thick.” (P.42)
(13) Unlike many developing countries, most of which are located in temperate or tropical climates, much of China experiences cold and harsh winters.Combined with ongoing population and economic growth, the demand for energy will continue to escalate. Fully 75% of China’s total power generation of 120 megawatts comes from coal, 17 % from from oil, 5% hydroelectric and 3% natural gas.
(14) The tremendous inefficiency with which coal is used is indicated by the fact that the production of carbon dioxide per dollar of GDP is more than double any other country in the world. Distorted energy prices are very likely a factor contributing to these inefficiencies. Because of reliance on mostly low-grade coal, China was the world’s third highest producer of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas in 1991.
(15) The options for switching to alternative energy sources are unfortunately limited. As of 1991, China stood on the brink of becoming a major emitter of CFC’s owing to the demand for refrigerators, the acquisition of which has become viewed as a social right and evidence that modernization is taking place. (P.43)
(Editor : As of May 23, 2019, China has been accused of secretly and illegally emitting large amounts of CFC’s into the atmosphere. CFC’S destroy Earth’s ozone layer. The Chinese CFC’s come from the insulation the Chinese use in refrigerators. See the following for details : https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/china-responsible-ozone-depleting-emissions-study-1.5146269
A subsequent bulletin will provide details about environmental conditions in India.
