That seems to be the case after reading a recent news report out of China that a team of "energy police" are fanning out inside the city to hunt down businesses and schools who fail to meet the national standard for energy efficiency, then publicizing the people who run them in newspapers and on television if they fail to improve. Now, in most of the world a fine or threat of prison would be more than sufficient punishment, but leave it to the Chinese to put your face on television! And with the social pressures in that country a public humiliation is really a serious threat. It’s not like when Britney or Paris do something dumb in the U.S. and we laugh while they head off to the bank with the free publicity...

But before we get all excited about this the reality is that there are just 20 of these energy-saving police out there in all of Beijing, which sounds a lot like taking a bath with a teaspoonful of water in my opinion. So I'm willing to bet that what these “police” will really be doing is going after political rivals of certain party bosses rather than chasing down the worst offenders. Let’s face it, the only thing worse than the air quality in Beijing is the corruption in government. But that, folks, is environmentalism Beijing style, and oddly enough the public shaming some do get will probably have the desired effect on everyone else, politically connected or not. Go figure!

via:: CBC News, The Associated Press

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