Dodson Chapter Five Blog Response

I found the analysis of China’s natural resources and energy needs in Chapter 5 to be quite disturbing. Dodson explains that for the past 600 years, China has mismanaged its land, forest, oil, and water wealth. It really started to become a problem when the communist party took over in 1949. The phrase “Humans must conquer Nature” was used to describe the way the Chinese view their agriculture. This was the most disturbing because I don’t believe the human race can survive without nature!

I think that Dodson really touched on a lot of important ideas in regards to the way China controls their resources.  The urbanization and growing middle class require more land, mineral, and water resources that are already disappearing rapidly. China has seven percent of the world’s arable land and 20 percent of its population. In comparison, the US is nearly the same size but 20 percent of its land is fit to grow food for a population about fifth the size of China. China also produces and then uses three million barrels of oil a day. They cut down all of their trees due to urbanization and expansion of factories. The Chinese also waste so much of their most valuable resource, water, due to pollution.

I think what Dodson was missing in his analysis of the Chinese culture was technology. He did not include this into his ideas of China’s future. I think that this is important because technology advances play almost as much of an important role as agriculture. China is so technologically advanced, they may find ways to correct some of the things they have done to their natural resources.

I think a lot of what Dodson talks about would apply to the US. We rely on China for a lot of things, and I also think we don’t utilize the resources we have as well as we should. Hopefully both China and the U.S. future will be bright, but it seems as if we are both in a downward spiral. 

Jordyn Hunter