Laraness (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} laraness) wrote,@ 2008-03-16 23:38:00 |
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Tibet: Monks and Mountains
In light of the recent protests against China that have resulted in more than 80 Tibetan casualties, I started wondering - how much of China's interest in Tibet might be due to its natural resources? After all, historically, strangle-holding an unwilling people was often a matter of securing valuables - be it the people for slavery, the land itself for agriculture, under the land for minerals, or its geographic location for trade routes and political strategies.
It turns out that Tibet is quite the sparkling gem of the natural world. Its wild mountains are covered with forests (through which China has steadily munched over the past 55 years) and brimming with exotic life, including over 5,000 higher plants. Buried in its heart is a wealth of copper, lithium, and boron, the content of which rivals the most productive regions in China. To top it all off, Tibet helps to quell one of China's greatest functional challenges: electricity. This little mountainous region provides for some 40% of all of China's hydroelectric power (figure may not include any statistics from the Three Gorges Dam). And that is not even factoring in its untapped potential for wind, solar, and geothermal power.
Stunning, isn't it? Granted, there is a cultural history about which I am vastly ignorant, but if China has ulterior motives for occupation, Tibet's natural resources will not be deflecting its interests any time soon.
I can't help but wonder if the unthinkable becomes thinkable, and that an oil crash results in a resource panic and global chaos, how many other peoples will be subjected to political dominance for their resources? What new ecomorality questions will we be forced to ask ourselves? It sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel.
Let's keep it that way.
Abouts:
Most Recent Article on Tibet Protests
Tibet Awareness Site
International Campaign for Tibet - Economic Rights
Embassy of PRC, Nepal - Natural Resources
In light of the recent protests against China that have resulted in more than 80 Tibetan casualties, I started wondering - how much of China's interest in Tibet might be due to its natural resources? After all, historically, strangle-holding an unwilling people was often a matter of securing valuables - be it the people for slavery, the land itself for agriculture, under the land for minerals, or its geographic location for trade routes and political strategies.
It turns out that Tibet is quite the sparkling gem of the natural world. Its wild mountains are covered with forests (through which China has steadily munched over the past 55 years) and brimming with exotic life, including over 5,000 higher plants. Buried in its heart is a wealth of copper, lithium, and boron, the content of which rivals the most productive regions in China. To top it all off, Tibet helps to quell one of China's greatest functional challenges: electricity. This little mountainous region provides for some 40% of all of China's hydroelectric power (figure may not include any statistics from the Three Gorges Dam). And that is not even factoring in its untapped potential for wind, solar, and geothermal power.
Stunning, isn't it? Granted, there is a cultural history about which I am vastly ignorant, but if China has ulterior motives for occupation, Tibet's natural resources will not be deflecting its interests any time soon.
I can't help but wonder if the unthinkable becomes thinkable, and that an oil crash results in a resource panic and global chaos, how many other peoples will be subjected to political dominance for their resources? What new ecomorality questions will we be forced to ask ourselves? It sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel.
Let's keep it that way.
Abouts:
Most Recent Article on Tibet Protests
Tibet Awareness Site
International Campaign for Tibet - Economic Rights
Embassy of PRC, Nepal - Natural Resources
