Talk:China

Edit note
The material below was originally posted as an article "China makes crap". In my opinion, both the title and content aren't consistent with SourceWatch's standards. rather than delete the material entirely, I'll create a new article on the controversy over the quality of some Chinese products and incorporate some of the relevant material there. But I'll do that in the next few days as I'm out of time for tonight.--Bob Burton 04:24, 4 January 2008 (EST)


 * Just a pair of quick observations from environmental chemistry and medicine might help. These are two very clear, stark facts that apply to Lead in living organisms. 1) There is no safe level of Lead in organisms. In other words, any level of Lead can be and is often harmful. 2) There is no known metabolic purpose for Lead in any living organism. Note the hedge phrase "...no known metabolic purpose...". This has to be said despite decades of research that has never revealed any purpose for Lead, since there COULD be some obscure purpose not yet revealed. Despite the hedge phrase, no such purpose is ever likely to be found.


 * These two observations are related and complement each other. There is no known purpose for Lead, and when present, can be and is often harmful, and in the smallest amounts.


 * This gets to the issue of Lead in any products--ANY products, ANYwhere--not just Chinese-made products. Not just products sold to the USA. This is a global issue, since we are facing the highly unpopular prospect, driven by the Corporate Oligarchy, of Gobbleization becoming the business model under which we must try and make progress. When the USA was the manufacturer for the World, it is likely there was Lead in those products. We certainly sold paint with Lead as an ingredient. After World War II when Japan was rebuilt and "Made in Japan" was a curse, USA industrialists were a part of the process, so we have to take some share of the blame for that period.


 * The history is clear--we in the USA did it, Japan did so in their turn, and now China is doing so. As such, China is perhaps 50 years behind, as they are in many other fields, and will have to catch up. The increase in volume and speed of information is the only difference in these stages in history, coupled with a much better understanding of the dangers of Lead. What remains to be seen is if the usual hubris and arrogance and distractions of Big Bidness continues to blind us to this history, and causes us to miss who is actually responsible.


 * David
 * Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!


 * Web site for a blog, China Makes Crap [:http://www.wiserearth.org/article/50bda756fb4dfd66b24542844781ddfc/group/ChinaMakesCrap]

We bought a "ceramic heater" from Target, where everything except the employees and customers is produced in Chinese factories, and it lasted about a week before it stopped heating and started whistling, which I assume was the preliminary to vaporization.

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