Cal Poly MBA Trip » Got Masks?

Got Masks?

November 13th, 2008

Think back to our meeting with Dr. Hodge last week, where we both signaled one thing you need to get ready for in China will be the level of pollution.

As part of being a member of the “I am a world power and player” club, China will have to get used to taking some shots from critics like the rest of us. For those that follow China, we know that China can handle domestic issues and controversies pretty well, but she can stumble badly when she has to play the modern, move quickly PR game in the international and global arena.

On that note, a good friend of mine, who is Chinese and loves China as much as anyone by the way, sent me this pretty darn funny video clip: The Onion: China Celebrates Status As Number One Polluter.

So yes, China will have to learn to withstand both fair and unfair attacks from others across the globe that use cut-to-the-bone humor and sarcasm, and in time the excuse of “they are out to get us and/or hold us down” won’t fly anymore.

But let’s also dig deeper and be fair to China and its populace. Ask yourself, what is it about China, where it came from, where it is going, etc., that makes it so very difficult to address and get its hands around its environmental problems? Where was the US at this same stage when it industrialized? How does the US and each and every one of us contribute to this problem via our consumption patterns? How long will it take for China fix this? What can we do to assist? What business opportunities does/will cleaning up the mess present, both in China and here in the US? And perhaps most importantly, what would your solution be to this problem and if it were that easy to fix, why has it not yet been done?

Think about this. Do some digging. See what you can find on this topic that you did not know before. I welcome your thoughts.