Though booming economically, it's well known that Chinese cities suffer environmental problems unheard of in the West. Thick, soupy smog, heavy ozone, and cancerous rivers all mar the civic beauty of the world’s most populous nation.

But over the next few weeks, as hundreds of thousands arrive in that nation's capital for the Olympic games, they’ll get a glimpse of what could be a far greener future for the Chinese nation.  The Olympic Village is powered by an impressive 64 megawatt wind farm, while hot water for the 12,000 Olympic personnel and athletes at the games is provided entirely by solar energy. 

There’s no question in my mind hat China has all the infrastructure it needs to become the greenest nation in the world. From lithium-ion batteries, to thin-cell photovoltaics, to wind-turbines, the country produces nearly all of the worlds clean-energy technology. 

The question is whether the Chinese government and the Chinese economy are willing to take the short-term reduced revenues that switching to these technologies would require. One thing is certain: with a population of 1.5 billion people about to get behind the wheel of their first car,  the costs of not transitioning soon could be enormous.