A friend wrote in to send me the link that presumably was the original source of information provided in this post.
Once again I have to correct myself. Perhaps my disbelief was simply wishful thinking…
The link is here.
Still, I don’t understand why Consumer Energy Report did not provide a link to the original source. Are they trying to act as an information clearinghouse? If so, they are not doing it right.
On a related note, environmental issues are among the most common causes of unrest in China. Many are concerned that the government is simply not able to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem, or, alternatively, not able to adequately address the problem, and so conditions worsen steadily. Which, in turn, makes the eventual cleanup that much more difficult and expensive. Another intractable issue in today’s China.