The oil spill caused by petroleum behemoth BP has evoked anger and protests across the United States, from ordinary citizens living in cities along the Gulf of Mexico to President Barack Obama.
After watching the appalling images of the environmental disaster on TV, it is clear that the fury seems not only reasonable, but also entirely warranted.
The leakage of thousands of barrels of crude oil a day into the ocean has turned the beautiful coast into a toxic zone.
Some in China have recently cautioned about the expanded offshore drilling taking place along the country's long coastline. To learn from others' mistakes is clearly smart. Over the past three decades, China has repeated too many of the colossal errors that industrialized countries made over the last two centuries.
The one happening along China's coast seems on a much larger scale than the one in the Gulf of Mexico over the last 50 days. It looks like a dozen, if not a hundred, such oil spills are taking place at the same time.
A report from the State Oceanic Administration in March showed that 147,000 sq km of Chinese coastal waters failed to meet "clear water" standards in 2009, an increase of 7.3 percent over 2008.
The most polluted ocean waters exist near Liaodong Bay, Bohai Bay, Laizhou Bay, Hangzhou Bay, Yangtze River and Pearl River estuaries to the sea as well as waters along major cities.
Only 24 percent of China's offshore ecosystem was regarded as healthy, while 52 percent was classified as sub-healthy and 24 percent unhealthy.
Companies that pollute China's ocean waters usually feel little pressure or anger from the government or the public. Many are even protected by the local authorities because they pay handsomely to the local tax coffers.
It will be a mistake of historic proportions if we continue to ignore the hundreds or thousands of horrific "oil spills" taking place in the country, whether along the coast, in cities or the countryside.
