Ma Jun
Ma Jun
Ma Jun, courtesy name Deheng, was a Chinese mechanical engineer and government official during the Three Kingdoms era of China. His most notable invention was that of the south-pointing chariot, a directional compass vehicle which actually had no magnetic function, but was operated by use of differential gears. It is because of this revolutionary devicethat Ma Jun is known as one of the most brilliant mechanical engineers and inventors of his day. The device was re-invented by many after Ma...
NationalityChinese
ProfessionEnvironmentalist
Date of Birth22 May 1968
CountryChina
China should cut heavy industries' share in gross domestic output by 9 percentage points between 2013 and 2030 to meet its pollution cuts target.
China's environmental conundrums will not be solved by changes within government alone. New mechanisms are needed to allow the communities which may be affected by a given plan, and citizens concerned about the environment, to join in.
China's energy is very much focused on coal, and the economy is very focused on heavy industry, which is carbon intensive, so restructuring won't be easy.
China leads the world in energy consumption, carbon emissions, and the release of major air and water pollutants, and the environmental impact is felt both regionally and globally.
China is bearing the environmental cost for much of the world because China is the factory of the world.
China has leapfrogged into this information age, and Web users have grown very significantly, which knocked down the cost of doing the environmental transparency.
On April 16, 2010, 34 Chinese environmental organizations, including Friends of Nature, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Green Beagle, questioned heavy metal pollution in a letter sent to CEO Steve Jobs.
Multinationals are more sensitive to public pressure because they have bigger brand names, and they have made commitments to be environmentally sensitive. Chinese firms are not used to this kind of pressure yet.
Like in those cancer villages, a group of old ladies kneeling down in front of me, you know, holding a bottle of polluted water and hoping that they would get help, this is the voice that got drowned in this complex, globalized supply chain system.
When I look at China's environmental problems, the real barrier is not lack of technology or money. It's lack of motivation.
I tell them the rules are made by the government. Every firm should comply. It doesn't mean they can't compete.
Rents in the city will continue to go up this year.
Regulatory failings mean that the cost of breaking the law is far below that of obeying it - businesses are happier to pay fines than to control pollution.
Some of the areas in China have been under very grave water scarcity: for example, the north China plain; they are facing a very serious water shortage. Per capita levels have dropped to very serious levels, including in Beijing.