I don't believe that one issue needs to be neglected to address another. That is, environmental restoration and conservation efforts aren't creating a need to negate or take away efforts directed towards issues related to immigration or gang violence.

I understand the frustration you express on behalf of businesses and industries in California in terms of the state's aggressive environmental policies. But it are those very regulations that provide a certain quality of life that makes living here desirable. We take for granted the air we breathe doesn't have emissions beyond a certain level, that the water we drink out of our faucet is safe enough to drink, that when children are playing in the dirt, either at home or at school, they are not ingesting lead or other metals in the soil at levels that are harmful. These are some of the health issues that environmental protections address.

In terms of harping about environmental problems, it IS a global issue, I agree. But, we have to start at home first, which is within our reach. I don't know what the solution to China would be since the issues are complex and convoluted. But, American consumers (myself included) are part of the problem as we gobble up the products that are produced in those polluting factories in China. This comes full circle to the problem of not enough manufacturing in the U.S. (with our environmental regulations) of the products that China is exporting.