Citation? This seems to be a reflexive "counterpoint" to anybody who says that manufacturing can be done in the US.
I live near a car plant and have lived near a small semiconductor fab (in the US) and I can tell you that I've never seen any smoke or smelled anything. I've also lived in India and even small-scale industries used to emit smoke and smells (indicating chemicals).
The point being that China and India choose to pollute (to save costs), not that the technology to manufacture with low impact doesn't exist.
In almost any major US city, if you go a couple of miles perpendicular to most major roads, you will likely see some light industrial activity. It's usually so quiet and non-polluting that you don't even realize it's there. At least, that's been my experience. YMMV.
Ok. Your original post sounded as if you thought the technology to do things with low impact didn't exist (i.e., pollution was inevitable).
On a different note: So you're OK with pollution in China? You do realize that China and the US are on the same planet, right?
Airborne pollution from China is exacerbating fog in LA [1]. A beneficial example is that sands of the Sahara are a major source of fertilization in the Amazon [2].
No, I'm not OK with pollution in China at all. I'm from China!
And having lived in Germany for a while, I do believe there are clean technologies. The place where I used to live is close to a coal-burning power station. I can see the white smoke from its chimney everyday, but the quality of air in that area is insanely great (compared to what I used to have in China).
I'm not sure how much more clean technologies cost there, yet somehow Germans found a way to keep their industry within its border. I hope U.S. firms could learn something there. However I'm not so optimistic given the vast financial benefits of moving dirty industries to other continents and relatively small number of people like you guys here that worry about such things. Most people probably won't give a damn.
I live near a car plant and have lived near a small semiconductor fab (in the US) and I can tell you that I've never seen any smoke or smelled anything. I've also lived in India and even small-scale industries used to emit smoke and smells (indicating chemicals).
The point being that China and India choose to pollute (to save costs), not that the technology to manufacture with low impact doesn't exist.
In almost any major US city, if you go a couple of miles perpendicular to most major roads, you will likely see some light industrial activity. It's usually so quiet and non-polluting that you don't even realize it's there. At least, that's been my experience. YMMV.