Photo: greenhem (flickr)

Plastic bags have long been associated with litter and waste. The world uses tens of billions of plastic bags every year – bags that end up hanging from trees, traveling along freeways, escaping garbage cans and waste dumps.

Plastic-bag recycling rates are extremely low – about 1 to 3 percent worldwide, according to Reusablebags.com.

While plastics have helped us in many ways – medical advances, for one – by now we are seeing an increasing amount of wasteful uses. The mass production and ubiquitousness of plastic bags has hit a nerve in many developing countries. Lawmaking bodies in every region of the world have begun to regulate the use of plastics — and some are even banning the use of plastic bags outright.

Here's a partial list:

India. In August 2005, the state of Maharashtra initiated a bag ban after bags "blocked sewage and drainage systems during record monsoon rains," according to The Guardian. "Flooding and landslides killed more than 1,000 people in the state.” Anyone seen with a plastic bag can be fined 1,000 rupees, or about $25.

Kenya. The East African nation has enforced new regulations banning production and distribution of light-density bags, according to Nairobi's Business Daily (as reported by allAfrica.com). Three years ago, Kenyan researchers had appealed for a ban, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai had argued that plastic bags can lead to malaria, because discarded bags left outside can fill with rainwater and breed disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya's neighbors also banned the use of all disposable one-use plastic bags nationwide. One Ugandan blogger wrote that “This seemingly radical step has a direct connection to human health and also to environmental well-being of citizens across Africa. Apart from the fossil fuel usage needed in their production, plastic bags have a remarkable ability to pollute across borders.”

China. Authorities announced that by this June, one-use plastic bags will be outlawed in the hope that residents will return to their old habit of using cloth bags and baskets. "Beijing residents appeared to take the ban in stride, reflecting rising environmental consciousness and concern over skyrocketing oil prices," reports National Geographic.

Some developed nations also have taken drastic steps to reduce the impact of plastics. Ireland, for example, imposed a 33-cent tax in 2002. It worked quickly to depress demand. According to the New York Times, the use of plastic bags dropped 94 percent within weeks.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has declared that a recent shipment of arms from China to Zimbabwe is completely unrelated to the current post-election tension in the country and is part of “perfectly normal trade in military goods between China and Zimbabwe.” But this hasn’t stopped the 300,000 member South African Transport and Allied Workers Union from refusing to unload the shipment.

The South African workers refusal to accept the arms shipment has been publically echoed by the governments of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania with their refusal to accept the arms and ship them overland to Zimbabwe. The U.S. has voiced its support of these countries on the matter and urged the Chinese government to recall the shipment. Although the South African government itself has not endorsed the refusal of the weapons, South African citizen action coupled with the support of neighboring countries has essentially created an informal embargo of the Chinese weapons. These actions contrast sharply with President Thabo Mbeki’s policy of quiet diplomacy, and refusal to deem Zimbabwe's current political and economic woes a "crisis."

I think this story is an incredibly powerful demonstration of the power individuals and governments have when they work together to take a stand on an issue.

Photo: Jeremy Barnicle/Mercy Corps

There's at least one commodity in the world whose rising price is benefiting rural families rather than bankrupting them.

Tea farmers in China's Yunnan Province are prospering thanks to rising popularity of Pu'er tea in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. A few decades ago, the ancient tea was widely unknown, but recently has become fashionable for its celebrated health benefits. Some Chinese believe the tea can help you lose weight and even cure cancer.

The price of Pu'er tea has risen dramatically in recent years. In 2004, a kilo of Pu'er sold for about $1. By last year the price of that same one kilo had risen to $800, although it still varies widely depending on where it's grown and how it's aged. (Last year, for example, 17.5 ounces of Pu'er tea from the 1940s sold for $125,000, according to the International Herald Tribune.) Chinese investors are saying aged Pu'er tea is a better investment than stocks or gold.

Thankfully, the wealth from Pu'er is trickling down to the tea farmers and pickers. The New York Times reports that in the hilltop village of Manmai, the unexpected fortune has permitted villagers to build their homes using concrete rather than sticks and reeds. In peak tea-picking season, young workers can earn up to $1000 a month, which is more than their peers are making in Beijing's factories — a rare rural wage advantage in today's industrialized China.

Photo: World Bank Photo Collection (flickr)

Today China announced several plans to help fulfill its promise to make the Beijing Olympics a "green" event. Plans include halting construction projects, banning the use of 3.3 million vehicles, shutting down inefficient coal boilers, and cutting emissions from the heaviest polluting industries in the months leading up to the Games.

Although a well-intentioned effort, many are concerned this won't make a difference a mere four months before the Games. With China's levels of ozone and particulate matter five times higher than World Health Organization safety standards, some athletes are worried about permanently damaging their respiratory systems. The world recordholder in the marathon, Haile Gebrselassie, announced he won't run this year out of concern for his health.

The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, however, is not concerned. It counted 67 “blue sky days” in Beijing from January through March — the highest count in nearly a decade. China isn't clear on what this means, but as Tim Johnson, the Beijing bureau chief for McClatchey Newspapers, says “When Chinese officials talk about 'blue sky' days, they don’t mean days when the sky is really blue. They mean days when sunshine can penetrate the haze and create a shadow. The sky is still an icky gray."

China may be making a considerable effort to improve air quality during the Summer Games, but their efforts might be better spent on longer-term solutions. Many former Olympic cities used the Games as an opportunity to fix longstanding problems. But in China's case, it looks as if those 3.3 million cars will go right back on the roads.

Photo: Philippe Leyroyer (flickr)

After all the protests during the U.S. and European legs of the Olympic Torch Relay, I figured a call to boycott Chinese goods may follow. Instead, it's the Chinese who are rallying behind a boycott.

The Financial Times reports on an online appeal asking Chinese consumers to stop buying French goods. Targeted brands include Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and L’Oréal.

I found one Chinese blogger who called the boycott appeal "immature" but nonetheless criticized Olympic protesters:

Olympics is like the Wedding Ceremony of PEOPLE in China, not the government. Imagine your reaction if someone try to ruin YOUR wedding, instead of your governor's wedding? Now the wedding of 13 billion people started to be ruined. Its not the government official who are not happy, it is everyone in the country who feel being hurt. Please understand the difference, and think about what is going to happen.

It remains to be seen whether such a boycott will gain popularity or have lasting effects on French companies. However, it's worth noting that France isn't even among China's top 10 trading partners, and that the same Financial Times piece notes that "a campaign against Japanese companies three years ago had little lasting impact."

On the contrary, a Chinese boycott of French goods, says Stratfor, a global intelligence service, "could come back to bite Chinese brands — potentially those of corporate Olympic sponsors."

Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Chinese farmers are increasingly demanding the right to do what they want with their land, fed up with the local and regional leaders who have been benefiting from in the face of China’s constitutional principle of collective land ownership.

Area chiefs have begun selling collectively owned land to property developers with the hope that it will encourage economic growth. Unfortunately, profits from the sales often remain in the hands of the officials – farmers are losing their land, and getting nothing in return. Deciding to take action in this matter, farmers are calling for privatization of land throughout the country. Some farmers are even forcibly reclaiming thousands of acres of land.

The Council on Foreign Relations' Jayshree Bajoria offers a comprehensive roundup of news items on the issue.

Even as the global market looks increasingly unsteady, China's economy continues to boom. It has already become apparent that this rapid growth is contributing to increasing income inequality.

The Financial Times argues that China should learn from Brazil by combatting economic inequality with more social spending on things like health care and education.

Photo Credit: Ells Culver/Mercy Corps

China today is making up for its technological deficits by undergoing an industrial revolution the size of which has never been seen. While it is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, there is still an important human perspective to what is taking place. The New York Times recently created a slideshow of images its reporters and photographers have collected from around China, documenting the lives of individuals participating in its rapid industrial expansion.

A young coal worker in Shanxi, China. Photo: andi808 (flickr)

Check this out: China has the worst coal mine safety record in the world. Only two months ago, 105 men were killed in one mine. Last year, approximately 3,800 miners were killed in accidents.

Listen as Ted Koppel explores the safety problems surrounding China's coal industry.

China will soon transition from being a net exporter of coal to importing approximately 15 million tons more than it produces. Why? A booming economy, growing at 10 percent a year with every intention of maintaining its rapid speed, and an unusually harsh winter.

The government seems to be feeling pressure both to improve safety records, but also to keep the much demanded coal coming. In the end it seems that the economic concerns trump all.

Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo: twocentsworth (flickr)

China has entered the business of producing and selling burqas-- and Afghani women are responding to the "modern" designs. With the resurgence of the Taliban and violence, many women are choosing (or being forced to) cover up. The result is that China's new industry is driving out the traditional Afghani burqa industry.

Check out the Wall Street Journal article and video about China's growing presence in the burqa industry from this week's Post Global.

In a daily analysis from last week, Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Benn Still suggested that the United States is “exporting inflation worldwide.” The latest action by the US Federal Reserve may have staved off inflationary disaster domestically but only to the detriment of other nations who peg their currency to the dollar.

Venezuela struggled with inflation rates over 20 percent in 2007 (Bloomberg). Argentina and Bolivia face similar concerns. Official data puts Russian inflation for 2007 at nearly 12 percent (Forbes). Several Gulf Arab states also find themselves with inflation over or near 10 percent. In China, rates near 7 percent registered in December 2007 represent the highest inflation in over a decade. China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao recently announced Beijing would freeze short-term energy prices in an attempt to curb consumer price increases (NYT).

The New York Times is producing a fascinating series of articles and multimedia examining the human toll, global impact and political challenge of China's epic pollution crisis.