Will China choke on its own growth?

• Author: Friedman, Thomas L.
• Position: Brief article

It's starting to feel like China is reaching its environmental limits. If it doesn't radically change to "greener," more sustainable modes of transportation, production, and power generation, the China miracle will turn into an eco-nightmare. For some three decades, China's economy has grown at around 10 percent per year, based on low-cost tabor and little regard for the waste it pumps into its rivers and the air. But China can't grow now and clean up later: The pace and scare of its growth will make later too late. Chinese officials fear that if they move to U.S.-level green...