The announcement of a massive new recreational facility in Shenzhen triggers thoughts about the impact such projects have on the environment.
In an era where the daily news could be mistaken for the weather report because of the growing frequency of climate-change calamities, one wonders how our descendants in centuries to come will view our current behaviour, especially since we are well aware of the need to rapidly change our lifestyles to mitigate global warming.
Parallels can be drawn to how we consider the behaviour of our own ancestors. We view with abhorrence the woeful era of slavery and the legacy it has wrought, and wonder how our ancestors could have inflicted such sorrow and pain upon fellow humans. Likewise, ancient punishments like the guillotine appear bloodthirsty and remind us how far we have advanced as a society.
And yet, today, as we stare the existential threat of climate change in the face, we continue our carbon-powered lifestyles as if the danger didn’t even exist.
Somehow, if, as a species, we manage to bring the warming under control, and we do indeed have descendants centuries from now, I wonder how they will reflect on us. Just as we deplore the actions of our own ancestors, surely our descendants will be appalled at our casual and reckless emission of carbon despite our full knowledge that it jeopardises our continued existence.
With this backdrop, I am imagining our descendants in the distant future pointing to a “poster child” example emblematic of today’s abuse of our atmosphere. Coal-fired electricity generating plants could be high on the list; however, real efforts are now being made to reduce their number, so they may not be considered the worst examples of abuse.
Rather, the real icons of our present misconduct are the foolish behaviours that we continue to engage in without any effort to change – in other words, the indulgences we enjoy come hell or high water.
One of these poster children could be our pet dogs and cats, whose carnivorous nature requires us to feed them the flesh of cows, pigs, and chicken. It is now no secret that the billions of these domestic livestock are one of the biggest contributors – some estimates say 15 per cent – to global greenhouse gas emissions.
In Hong Kong, adding insult to injury, many dog owners keep their air conditioners running when away at work to prevent their dogs (not a tropical animal) from suffering. For the record, close to three-quarters of Hong Kong’s electricity generation fuel mix is still carbon-based.
Another poster child, oddly enough, is the electric car (full disclosure: I have one). Because EVs require very large and heavy batteries, copious minerals such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel are needed. And extracting these minerals from solid rock takes great effort and energy; by one estimate, 90 times more rocks are required for EV batteries than the batteries in a regular hybrid car.
Bottom line: depending on the model, an average EV must travel tens of thousands of kilometres before it has an emissions advantage over a similarly sized petrol-powered car. Here in Hong Kong, our great transit system obviates the need for any car at all.
However, the poster child de la resistance of our era – the one that our descendants may use as the prototypical symbol of our decadence, decay, and total disregard for the very air we breathe – is now being built in Shenzhen.
I speak of the Ice and Snow World resort, a 10-hectare ski facility. Its 83-metre-high summit, about 25 stories high, leads to a 440m ski piste, whose indoor air must be kept at a few degrees below zero year-round. Presently, about two-thirds of Guangdong’s electricity mix is fuelled by carbon.
No more need be said about this obscene facility.
Unfortunately, these poster children for potential use by our distant descendants as icons of environmental abuse are just three of many to choose from. Clearly, we have to put these children to bed and stop giving birth to new ones.
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