China's Geography, Habitat, and the Challenges of Growth

1. HONR 229L: Climate Change: Science, Economics, and Governance China, The Lurching Giant Your name here 21 September 2016

2. Describe the geography and diverse habitat of China, and relate the geography and diverse habitat of China to the themes of Diamond's book Be sure to note the contrasting role of forest cover and deforestation in China to that of the other societies addressed in the book Also, do your best to make this a discussion of these topics

3. It is widely known that the government of China had implemented rather strict measures to limit population growth. Less widely known is the evolution of the China’s households during the time of low population growth. Describe the evolution of China’s households and the impact on society and the environment. Again, do your best to include and engage the class. Population control by a government is a topic ripe for interesting discussions 

4. Diamond quotes impressive statistics on the scale and growth of China’s economy. But behind this growth lurks the fact that much of it is based on ____ First, fill in the blank  (try to get straight from book) Then expound on this “fact”: i.e., describe the potential impacts of China’s rise to First World standards Please use the terms “energy efficiency” in your reply. And, relate what Diamond states about China's economic growth to the themes of this class This can again lead to interesting discussions: one possible avenue would be to conduct your own small scale research on improvements in energy efficiency in the US and Europe, and related to this to what might be expected in China.

5. Using the material in the book as a starting point, and supplementing based on your own short internet-based research, briefly summarize some promising signs emerging from China during its rapid growth phase. Here, in particular, since there is no “right answer”, great opportunity to engage the class, asking students to state what they found, perhaps even before giving your own research.

6. The last three sentences of this chapter are: Because of China’s size and its unique form of government, top-down decision-making has operated on a far larger scale there than anywhere else…. My best-case scenario for the future is that China’s government will recognize that its environmental problems pose an even graver threat that did its problem of population growth. It may then conclude that China’s interests require environmental policies as bold, and as effectively carried out, as its family planning policies. Prepare a slide that includes these sentences (can of course use the exact material written above) to facilitate a discussion as to whether or not the class believes China’s growth can indeed be addressed successfully, at least from an environmental point of view, using the top-down approach to decision making.