"Doug Miller" wrote in message

stuff snipped

China also has the additional disincentive "to go greenish" of having a
political system that
is mostly unresponsive to the will of the people. The folks in charge
there don't have to
worry about being voted out of office and replaced with leaders who will
actually take care
of the environment. They need only prevent violent revolution to make
their butts secure.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/20...ling-pollution

Major Chinese cities afflicted by smog and dirty water are set to benefit
from a huge air pollution control programme, which will bring trillions of
yuan to already fast developing environment industries.
The Action Plan for Air Pollution Control (2013-2017) was announced by China
's environment minister Zhou Shengxian at the Ecological Civilization Forum
held in Guiyang. The action plan will involve 1.7 trillion yuan (£179
billion) being invested in pollution controls over the next five years.

'Facing huge environmental pressure, especially the smoggy Beijing
atmosphere, the new leadership must show their political determination to
appease the public,' says Ye Zhaohui, an associate professor studying
environmental economics at Zhejiang University.

Obviously, China's undergone substantive social, economic and political
changes of late. The smogged-up Olympics embarrassed them and they're
actually working on the problem.

China recently cracked down on lead-acid battery (LABs) makers as a result
of serious poisoning cases and tests that showed highly elevated blood lead
levels (BLLs) in nearly all of the children tested in the areas where the
plants were located:

http://www.ehjournal.net/content/12/1/61

On November 21, 2008 the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP)
formally promulgated "Clean Production Standards for the Lead Battery
Industry" (HJ 447-2008) and implemented these in February 2009. These
standards mandated application of currently available industrial technology
and equipment for the LAB industry. Restrictions were also placed on natural
resource usage and pollution emissions.

In response to recent mass Pb poisonings, in March 2011 the MEP along with
the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued an
environmental protection special action decree (UNCED [2011] No. 41), with
remediation of the LAB industry as its primary goal [44]. The central
government tasked all local environmental protection bureaus to immediately
conduct a thorough investigation and remediation of all environmental law
violators. All LAB enterprises under investigation would be forced to comply
with inspections.

As a result of this decree, by July 31, 2011 the investigation of all 1,930
known LAB enterprises (manufacturing, assembly, and recycling) resulted in
the complete shutdown of 583 and discontinuation of 405 LAB enterprises. The
success in quickly enforcing this special action decree was still riddled
with uncertainty, as the MEP acknowledged the numerous problems with
regulating smaller-scale unregistered LAB enterprises. Nevertheless, this
"storm" of regulatory enforcement reflects the government's acknowledgement
of the severity of Pb pollution and its primary sources.

Lead battery prices spiked as a result of the crackdown.

--

Bobby G.