Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Swami Pragyapad: This question is really amazing. You know, already all Chinese people might be wanting to have a car. But the real trouble is when all Chinese people have a car. When they have a car, there will be real problems on this planet. And I think it is up to the Chinese government to decide what solutions they can come out with. You know, how they can take care of the requirements of the people and yet be able to balance the ecological, environmental consequences of so many people owning a car. But really, if all Chinese people want a car, and have a car, it will be really-- it may be disastrous to our planet. We need to think about it. And we need to see whether it is sustainable or not. So many people having a car in the long run will not be sustainable for this planet. And before this happens we might have to have a re-look at the way we live, at our requirements. And we have to differentiate between real requirements and luxuries. We need to really see whether so many people really need to have a car. Otherwise, we are going to create disaster on this planet.

by Swami Pragyapad

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Sydney Possuelo: It would be a terrible chaos. Perhaps the earth does not support it. Perhaps only if they would change the parameters. We were talking about global warming some minutes ago. Now we are talking about what happened if each Chinese would have a car, that would mean one billion cars more in the world. Plus India there would be 2 billion people driving a car. I think this would we unsupportable if we think about the actual cars that are moved by petroleum. This would be terrible. But it is a right of the Chinese. But the question is about what would happen. It would be a chaos and something extremely difficult to resolve. There would be a lot of any sorts of complications. It is difficult.

by Sydney Possuelo

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Takashi Kiuchi: Well, let them work hard to earn it. But at the same time, let them know what they expect later. They should know what's coming. If everybody in China wants to have a car, the end result, not even end result, end result is much more serious, the interim result outcome is devastating. They should know.

by Takashi Kiuchi

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Tamas St. Auby: Then they will join the majority. When they will have it, they will depart as quickly as the majority.

by Tamas St. Auby

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Tania Bruguera: I don't know, maybe we can deplace them to the other side of the world(?)....I don't know. It is interessting because the chineses have a tradition to use a bike... .... It is interessting how they built certain cities that are not...- But I don't know what would happen if all Chinese people want a car. I cannot imagine the diseaster..in every level. But I also would have the right... I think that for the chinese cities ther would be some consequences. This consequences have to be valorised of every point of view.(?)

by Tania Bruguera

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Tavis Smiley:

by Tavis Smiley

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Tegla Loroupe: Answertext will be available soon.

by Tegla Loroupe

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Thenmozhi Soundararajan:

by Thenmozhi Soundararajan

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Timothy Speed: For sure, we know the problem. If every Chinese drove a car, we would be facing an ecological disaster. If I ask myself how to solve this problem, the answer is that it can only be evaded if we, the Western states in Europe and America, stop being an ecological threat ourselves. I don’t think that we can expect people in China to do without the progress, which we praised for such a long time, if we don’t solve our own problems. I think we have to return to our own values. As long as we aren’t able to answer theses questions for our own country or to develop alternatives for our own country, [we can’t reach the Chinese]. In these countires progress has just begun, they start to enjoy progress. Progress has positive sides as well. The individual progress, which happens in China, is not only negative, like progress in our country wasn’t only negative. It has many positive sides, which allow new forms of freedom to enter the country. I think that for the highly complicated problems, which we are facing today, the only possibility for advancement is to start to develop ourselves. We have to start to look for solutions for these complex problems. How we can handle a situation when society and development reach equal technologies.

by Timothy Speed

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Tu Weiming: That could turn out to be absolutely disastrous. China for long time was a nation of bicycles, Beijing for example. Ever since the reforms and open policy of the 1970’s especially in the 1990’s, China became a major importing economy concerning expensive cars. In the city of Beijing, with a population of 30 million, privately owned cars are now numbered at 3 million or so, and it is increasing at alarming rate. This is also true with Shanghai and other major cities. Unfortunately, this is the government’s policy to enhance China's GDP or economic development. And of course, this is also very much the policy of the major car makers in making China the lucrative market for consumption of automobiles. And increasingly, China has become a major producer of automobiles, a major corporation such as Toyota were open, perhaps one of the most comprehensive and expensive factories for China to produce automobiles for exporting. And this process is a very dangerous process. Right now, the traffic jam in some of the major cities like Beijing has already shown public transportation including rail roads and other forms of communication is absolutely necessary; without that not only China, but the rest of the world be really suffer.

by Tu Weiming

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Valentina Melnikova: It's a very amusing question. Certainly "the yellow threat" is an old terrible fairy tale of the Europe, but once Americans rode horses too, once Russians went from village to village afoot. Nowadays a lot of people drive a car. I think until citizens of China could get cars the car industry will have learned to produce ecofriendly inexpensive engines that will permit to transport in a smoothly and safe and a very fast way not only the billion of Chinese people but also other four billions people of the world, and that will not be harmful for human being and the environment. The main thing is to break through the routine way of thinking of engineers who are used that that a lot of petrol is necessary and the cars should be big and heavy and maybe break through people's showing off driving faster than other people.

by Valentina Melnikova

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Vesna Pesic: Answertext will be available soon.

by Vesna Pesic

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Viviana Figueroa:

by Viviana Figueroa

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Wim Wenders: What if all Americans want two cars or three, and what is – what if they all want to have a Hummer next to their sports car or one of these ridiculous giant SUVs that just guzzle up gasoline. I mean, right now most of the Chinese are riding bikes and I love them for doing that. And if they are able to afford cars, well, they deserve them, but I just hope they’ll be driving electric cars of, at least hybrids; technology is there. Myself, for the first time in my life since I have a driver’s license which is now 42 years ago, for the first time I do not own a car anymore. And I can't tell you what a relief that is. I ride a bike like the Chinese, I park and lock it wherever I want, no more hassle finding a parking spot. I sit in the subways and trains and I read a lot, I make my phone calls, I listen to music, I arrive on time, I get no more tickets, I read newspapers in taxis, I talk to people. I hope the Chinese know what they're losing if they're all going to drive cars. They were such a dream in the 50’s, and I remember these pictures all the America – every American had a car, and then all the Russians want to drive cars.

by Wim Wenders

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Yassin Adnan: Why the Chinese, everything all the time the Chinese. I think that everybody in the world is dreaming of having a car, which unfortunately a dream. But I think that in Europe and western countries you don’t have a real problem because the public is good. But when talking about the developing countries and the 3rd world countries I think that we really need to do a lot work, to invest on public transportation because it can really solve that problem. Personally I have a car but I would prefer if public transportation in my country were better then it is now. In such case I would just get rid of the car and take public transportation.

by Yassin Adnan

Sep 9, 2006 2:20:00 PM cite

Yungchen Lhamo: The thing if all the people can have a car but it’s again they will have much pollutions in a country so you will have more disease. And this is the problem we have in the world, so many of us we don’t use our much bodies and we always rely to machine and I think this is -- it’s again should deeper questions.

by Yungchen Lhamo