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I find it quite strange en people take a development that has happened over the last ~50 years, little more than half a lifetime, and confidently state that now "it will always stay like this". Things always change.

Imagine what those kinds of people would have said in China in the 70s, with western industries being vastly more advanced and efficient. "It's over, we will never catch up." they would probably have said. Wrong then, more wrong now.

by coliveira2 hours ago|

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> China that still seems acceptable

China has made a tremendous effort to move to a clean(er) industrial system, using a lot of renewables and clean energy and improving environmental standards. At this point production in China is probably the best for the environment compared to most countries, including the US that is deeply invested in oil production.

by Danox1 hours ago|

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China evidently is pushing to move to sodium ion batteries. They didn’t have to. They could’ve stuck with lithium. I’ll let you guess what what would’ve happened in the United States they would’ve said we don’t have to this lithium already works. Why do you want to upset the Apple Cart.

They are also moving close to a point where they will bring Thorium Reactors on line they don’t have to. They could just stick with uranium, but they’re not.

Is this part of the fact that they have engineers running a lot of of the things at the top of their government instead of lawyers?

They seem to be building a lot of infrastructure they are in the process of building several dams on the Brahmaputra River.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medog_Hydropower_Station

by UltraSane1 hours ago|

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It does seem that China is run by engineers who like to build cool stuff.

by UltraSane1 hours ago|

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United States: 384 gCO2/kWh

China: 525 gCO2/kWh

https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix

by AngryData46 minutes ago|

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But we do have to consider how the speed in which it is dropping. China uses about the same percentage of fossil fuels for energy production as the US right now, but more of it is coal so it is dirtier. However they are aggressively installing and promoting renewables and nuclear power, built themselves, and their pollution standards are rapidly increasing. While in the US renewable and nuclear investment is and has been pretty crappy.