The US and/or the WTO could have created trade/tax structures that would have penalized environmentally devastating activities like poor mining practices and removed the incentive to shunt these things to poor countries. This would have also removed the "monopoly" that China is now "exploiting". Crocodiles tears all round...
As I see it, its not really crocodile tears, but the end result of evolution, becoming the apex predator on our planet, and with a society based on our innate dichotomous nature.
Someone else bears the true costs - example, say some random Chinese factory worker at Foxconn who though is able to survive on meagre wages, is unable to spread his genes since he is not able to find a wife and set up a family - while you reap the rewards and go on to sire a new generation which has the incentive to behave in a similar manner.
I use to be very high falutin about all this thing, thinking some true Marxist society will emerge eventually when capitalism collapses. Now, after looking at all the neuroscience and psychology research that has been done, I'm not so sure if we can ever escape the more primal and insidious parts of our nature.
The US and/or the WTO could have created trade/tax structures that would have penalized environmentally devastating activities like poor mining practices and removed the incentive to shunt these things to poor countries. This would have also removed the "monopoly" that China is now "exploiting". Crocodiles tears all round...
Edit: typos