Separate Oil and State
While Greenpeace activists await the results of their medical check-ups after being exposed to Dalian’s crude oil and as several fire fighters recover from their injuries, those responsible for the Dalian ecological nightmare act as if the oil stains had been removed from their own feathers.
Oil along Dalian Beach (photo by Wen Bo)
Chinese media outlet CBN A-Views reported that on August 3rd, the Dalian government welcomed PetroChina’s Chairman Jiang Jiemin and his delegation at the Dalian Shangri-La Hotel and expressed gratitude towards the oil giant’s contribution to Dalian’s economy.
Chinese netizens poured their outcries over cyberspace denouncing PetroChina for its lack of courage to admit its responsibility. Many demanded a formal and public apology from the company and requested compensation for the victims and the marine environment of Dalian.
Being the world’s largest oil company, PetroChina’s environmental impact is just as large. The 2005 chemical pollution on the Songhua River from a chemical plant explosion was just another chapter of the company’s history of environmental destruction.
As a state-owned oil company, PetroChina often dwarfs local governments and ignores the need for enforcement of environmental and safety regulations.
With a series of environmental disasters caused by these state-owned oil companies, it might be time for the Chinese government to wake up — it is time to separate oil and state, or even better, go renewable!
August 31st, 2010 at 9:22 am
I agree, Wen Bo. It is time to separate oil and state. It is also time to go renewable. We must not achieve progress at the cost of making our world unlivable.