[ponto]

A rare, nearly blind white dolphin that survived for millions of years is effectively extinct.

The dolphin dates back 20 million years.

For China, where the dolphin lived, its disappearance symbolizes how unbridled economic growth is changing the country's environment irreparably.

Way to go China-Mart......................

Source

[kileyrowland74]

That is sad. I was just listening to a report on WUKY about how hundreds of miles of Kentucky's streams are too polluted to fully support their native wildlife and aquatic plants. Whatever happened to those Iron Eyes Cody commercials? We need to bring them back!

I have a friend who just finished a stint as an urban planner/designer in China. He says their pollution control laws are nil, and that this is especially true in the countryside, where most of the poor live, and that if locals complain, then Chinese "authorities" are sent in to "encourage" them to be quiet. He also says that in his opinion, if an earthquake hits any of the major cities, most of their modern-looking buildings are going to collapse and kill hundreds of thousands. Evidently, a lot of bribing of building officials and inspectors goes on, especially so that shoddy (read: cheap) building materials will be given the green light on inspection. I guess time will tell.