The Oil Drum

I recall learning that the most pronounced effect of the Great Leap Forward's push for steel (not iron) was massive deforestation and a squeeze ion coal supplies. Rural Chinese trying to make steel at the behest of Mao used coal and wood for heat and carbon. The limited supply of coal hurt the railway system and deforestation was a definite issue. Oh, and the quality of the resulting steel was terrible. A former boss and friend from Guanzhou (sp?) recalled how almost all Chinese buildings are made from concrete and often heavily overbuilt. He thinks it's because the concrete is often of poor quality and builders compensate by making walls thicker and using more reinforcing steel. Concrete production in North America does not reflect construction activity as it does in China. Most if not all houses in NA are built of wood with concrete components. In China, even the smallest houses tend to built with concrete - that is where is space for a house. Home for home China consumes far far more cement than us NA energy hogs. You also can't build a tower block out of wood. A point that may not matter when you don't really have any trees to spare. Reforestation is a dominant part of Chinese environmental policy for a reason. I think this info is highly relevant because higher heat demand for cement - largely from coal and "waste" has the effect of limiting supply to market and driving other industrial consumers towards imported fuels (even coal). We worry so much about Chinese drivers but maybe the real growth in energy demand is coming from development...