Environmental Programs in China Successful, Study Finds

Economic growth and environmental resourcefulness can co-exist. According to a recent report by the National Science Foundation, Environmental Programs in China Successful, Study Finds.

It is not easy (and never will be) to marry the interests and concerns of strict conservationists and strict capitalists, but educated compromise is possible...and is necessary for a 21st century (and beyond) survival.

Here are some excerpts:

Two of the world's largest environmental programs in China are generally successful, although key reforms could transform them into a model for the rest of the world, according to research results published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

These results illustrate the benefits of basic research on coupled natural and human systems," said Thomas Baerwald, program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences, which funded the research along with NSF's Directorates for Geosciences and Biological Sciences. "In examining two major Chinese environmental programs, Liu and colleagues have provided generalizable knowledge regarding the complex ways policies affect interactions between natural and human systems.

"They also have generated specific information and insights that will assist Chinese policy makers--as well as policy makers in other nations--to design more effective programs to preserve the environment."

Please be sure to check out the full report.