Slow-but-sure Turtle

Thousands gathered around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, on the occasion of  its 1000th year celebration, to watch the city’s oldest Turtle emerge from the water.

Meanwhile, conservationists are trying to crack down on the use of rare species for Chinese medicine, among these, what else: rare turtles. http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=212874778&gid=1433237&type=member&item=31119941&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dztimes.net%2Fpost%2Fbusiness%2Fvietnamese-smes-upbeat-about-economy-survey.aspx&urlhash=8bdb&goback=.gde_1433237_member_31119941.

China, with a population 18 times larger than Vietnam, is loosening its purse, and buying off every raw materials on Earth, as close as Vietnam (in this case, wild life species, forbidden ones taste better) and as far as Africa (minerals) and Venezuela (oil).

Supply chain specialists should divide the globe into three zones: raw material zone (non-china and non-Western), world factory zone (China) and consuming zone (ROW).

I watched a special on CNBC about trash dumping in Beijing.

And I realize one thing: China is on an unsustainable path.

The segment interviewed a millionaire (designer sun glass, golf outfit etc…), but bought a house before his neighboring lot turned trash dump.

Too bad we haven’t yet invented smellevision.

We all knew about pollution right before the Beijing Olympics.

So as a factory for the world, China imported raw materials, turned them into finished products at a lowest possible cost, then exported them.

Meanwhile, hidden costs are not accounted for, such as environmental and public health issues (not counting workers’ suicide).

I saw some slides about modern China, the ones with slick highways and high rises, inter laced with darkened industrial hue (too bad Charlie Chaplin was not there).

Modern Times has moved off Western conveyor belts, and off shores.

Life expectancy in the West is now reaching pass 70, but don’t expect the same for China.

And our 1000-year old Turtle that helped stir up ongoing birthday celebration in Hanoi, won’t have that many companions, since they were all served as raw materials for the herbal medicine production  and supply chain up North.

I would cheer if I were there, but for an entirely different reason: you (Mr Turtle) survive, we survive in what is left of our echo system – slowly and surely deteriorating one.