Among the hundreds of high rise apartment buildings and residential complexes we have seen, essentially all have solar hot water panels on the rooftops. In fact, China has 40% of the worldwide installation of solar hot water systems. Even many of the homes of the small farmers we saw as we passed through the countryside have solar hot water units on their rooftops.

In all the hotels we’ve stayed in, there is an electric power conservation system installed in which lights and air conditioning in each room only comes on when you are present in the room. Most of the lights are efficient fluorescent types. Toilets are either low volume or dual flush types to conserve water.

Recycling is big; China has one of the highest rates of recycling plastic water and beverage bottles. Most refuse cans on the streets are divided into recyclable and non-recyclable sections.

Last night we had dinner with Patrick Tam, an old family friend from Seattle who has been working in China for the past several years setting up green technology investment funds. Basically, their company seeks promising start-ups or small businesses that are developing environmentally beneficial technologies and connects these companies with investors who seek to make a profit.

Patrick says that China has decided to bypass hybrid gas-electric vehicles and go directly to all electric cars. The three largest companies for manufacturing lithium ion phosphate batteries, the kind that will be used in electric vehicles are all in China. Lithium is a light metal that occurs naturally in only a few places in the world, but there are extensive salt flats in China where lithium can be mined.

So we’re getting a rather different perspective on China and the environment here than we could get from the American media. If there is a lesson here, it is probably a caution: next time you read a news article about pollution in China, just remember that China may very well become the world leader in green technologies.

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