A 1980s coal pollution project popped up in a dream recently. Thinking about this project led to an answer.
At that time Penn State was eagerly hosting hundreds of Chinese grad students. Universities favor foreign students because they pay full price while most domestic students have discounts. They could afford full price because the Chinese government was paying their way. Some of the students were official spies, all were effectively spying. The coal project was “authored” by a Chinese grad student. PSU had several other coal projects in engineering and materials, each serving Chinese students. Other students were in defense-related parts of acoustics like stealth submarines.
Why were we eagerly offshoring all of our industries and knowledge and research to China?
NOW I SEE.
Constants: We were pretending to fight Russia. Our sole reason for existence is to fight off NONEXISTENT Russian attacks. We were strengthening China as a competitor to Russia. Anti-Russian insanity started in 1946. The offshoring version started with Nixon, who also played a major part in the broader 1946 evil.
These coal pollution projects were touted as environmental, often with EPA funding**. Another Nixon monstrosity, also serving to aid China and ruin USA. We can see the result now. Eliminating carbon is the pretext for destroying our own industries and power sources. We eliminate pollution here by sending our production to China, who doesn’t give a fuck about our idiotic Gaian nonsense. We tear down American-made dams and turbines and nuclear plants, replacing them with Chinese-made solar and wind insanity. China is burning more coal than the rest of the world ever burned, and Penn State helped China to burn coal more cleanly.
Variables: In the ’40s and ’50s we were STRENGTHENING OUR OWN INDUSTRIES AND RESEARCH to defend against nonexistent Russian attacks. Industrial propaganda films from the 50s were packed to the gills with DEFEND AGAINST RUSSIAN ATTACKS. Many companies, including non-weapon producers like Vendo vending machines, gained money and skills from defense projects. The money helped the companies to serve their real customers better. The skills were applied to real products, often in direct ways like GM using tank contracts to develop automatic transmissions.
Conclusion: A fake enemy isn’t necessarily bad. Like any tool it can be used for good or evil. In the 70s and 80s we switched this tool from advancing our own knowledge and prosperity to wiping out our own knowledge and prosperity. Nixon started it, Carter and Reagan expanded it. Reagan made a BIG point of cultivating and romancing the Chinese people and government.
= = = = =
** This particular project was related to defense, not EPA. It was funded by Aerojet General, who saw the technology as a potential market for their ramjets.
= = = = =
Trying for a bit of backhanded fairness: By 1973 the surrender was inevitable. We had been fighting China in Korea and Vietnam while pretending to fight Russia. China fought us to a standstill in Korea, and Ike (the last sane president) wisely pulled us out. Nixon didn’t start Vietnam, but he kept it going in ’68 after promising to pull out. In ’73 China decisively defeated us, and Nixon surrendered everything to China. His evil choice (along with everything else he ever did) was keeping the war going. Surrendering wasn’t his choice.
Polistra's Mill 