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China surpasses U.S. as world's top energy consumer

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Hey! Do people want cheap stuff or not?

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Unwanted Global Warning, India may be the next target.

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What about the top air and water polluter?

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Next step for China,is to go green eco friendly, in sources for energy.

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The Paris-based agency said China’s 2009 consumption of energy sources ranging from oil and coal to wind and solar power was equal to 2.265 billion tons of oil

According to the IEA statistics, China’s energy consumption has more than doubled in less than a decade, from 1.107 billion tons in 2000

vs.

“IEA’s data on China’s energy use is unreliable,” said official Zhou Xian

The report cited data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics that said China’s energy consumption last year was equal to 2.132 billion tons of oil — less than the IEA figure.

Dude, 2.265 billion vs. 2.132 billion is not much difference to be arguing about. Whether it happens this year or next year, China will be the world's top energy consumer. It's just a matter of near time, given the sharp trend - why even argue the exact numbers?

At least China made it national policy to go green; they'd soon surpass the US in renewable energy too.

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lostrune. Exactly. This is one of those "headlines we could see coming a mile away." Sooner or later, China will be topping a lot of lists. It does not amaze me. You have also factored in their newer technology base, so China is likely to achieve higher efficiency than "the West" in the future too.

What people might not realize is that they could probably double their GNP in a couple of years just by letting the yuan float. Their economy is a lot bigger than what is being shown in the data because of their artificially low yuan. If you want a better indicator of their economic production, you should look at how much energy they use... which means....

maybe....

that China's economy is already the largest in the world. If it is not true today, just wait a bit. Meanwhile the US is paying attention to... oh yeah, Lindsey Lohan, Justin Bieber, BP, and Arizona.

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Brace yourselves for the world's biggest resource hog. The funny thing is that all these free trade agreements and economic surges by 3rd world countries has reduced the standard of living in wealthy nations, but has not increased the standard of living in developing nations. Not a pretty picture for the future of globalization.

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"What people might not realize is that they could probably double their GNP in a couple of years just by letting the yuan float."

Exactly. This is what I have been saying all along. Let the yuan appreciate 10% and they don't have to even grow by the usual 10% a year.

China's GDP is really in the $6-7 trillion ballpark, larger than Japan's and half the size of the US.

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"Per capita, the United States still consumes five times more energy than China, IEA chief economist Fatih Birol told The Associated Press in an interview."

A rather critical number to take into account. Anyway, agreed that it woul be great to see China put more emphasis on and take the lead in using renewable energy resources, and/or developing the tech to do so. They have already started working on some interesting things (algae for fuel), but so far they are still relying largely on coal, it seems.

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Let the yuan appreciate 10% and they don't have to even grow by the usual 10% a year.

And their manufacturing industry goes up in flames. As long as Chinese labor is cheap they're in the green but the moment you take away that incentive they don't have much to fall back on and with the push for a higher standard of living that cheap labor is going to get harder and harder to maintain.

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If China lets their yuan float, they'll lose a lot of business, lose growth, and shrink their economy. So it's not all up and up.

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"Exactly. This is what I have been saying all along. Let the yuan appreciate 10% and they don't have to even grow by the usual 10% a year."

Uh not so fast there. They need the real growth to supply jobs and infrastructure. And the rest of you guys, China will be fine with a float, think about your arguments. If demand goes down, so does the yuan. The situation now is that it is undervalued. Floating it moves it to equilibrium, so these shocks are less likely in the long run. And don't kid yourself, Japanese people would just as soon buy from a 120 yen shop as a 100 shop.

Anyway, Smith finds the nugget, as usual. The US is still the fat guy in this eating contest.

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The shift is historic, coming years ahead of forecasts. In climate change talks, China has long pointed fingers at the energy consumption patterns of developed nations and is sure to feel uncomfortable with the mantle of consuming more energy than any other nation.

I don't think the report is reliable. Sinophiles will probably say "I told you so" but it's too early to say.

If China lets their yuan float, they'll lose a lot of business, lose growth, and shrink their economy. So it's not all up and up.

Not only that but it'll impel every Asian countries to re-focus their currency policies in a very short period of time. Remember what happened the last time it happened?

PRETTY UGLY PICTURE :(

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*Remember what happened the last time they did it* in the region.

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The only important fact is the per capita consumption, so let's not get confused about who is the biggest consumer/polluter: the USA still wins hands down.

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What!? No news on the oil spill in China? What's up with that JT?

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China have the money to go green.. Lets hope they realize that green energy do benefit in the long run.. They are the oldest kid in the block and I say they will take the lead and will be major player in many field down the road...

For those ppl that bash China's economy... Read the thread title... Obviously its not the right place to bash China economy.. Red eye and envy spell out loud for those ppl that doing just that...

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presto345: The only important fact is the per capita consumption, so let's not get confused about who is the biggest consumer/polluter: the USA still wins hands down.

Intelligent people link that to production. People who lack intelligence link it to nothing.

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This was happening to japan 20 years ago with Japan! Japan Surpass US now China is surpassing US or the world!

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This was happening to japan 20 years ago with Japan! Japan Surpass US now China is surpassing US or the world!

US automobile market will propel the Americans back to no1 in energy consumer rankings. Though I really doubt the accuracy of this new report, if true, then that's probably because China car sales just topped the US this year.... but if you look at the 80s they-- the Americans-- did return somehow. Who knows?!

(Check out MADE IN AMERICA, 1989, MIT for folks who wanna read more)

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Intelligent people link that to production. People who lack intelligence link it to nothing.

Oh? In my book intelligent people link it to waste. And the intelligent ones are not the ones who do the wasting.

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Gotcha. So the US the most inefficient country in the world, per capita. You must be European.

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Gotcha. So the US the most inefficient country in the world, per capita. You must be European.

Gotcha what? I am not answering your question, but I'd say you must be American.

Perhaps this is not directly relevant to the topic here, but I am sure you are aware that the US citizen uses twice as much energy per person as a Japanese and that the USA consumes 25% of the world's energy for a population which is 5% of the world's. The US GDP may be impressive, but so is the price paid in terms of waste.

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