Bill Gates’ Tweet Shows How Staggeringly Fast China Has Grown

Yesterday, Bill Gates tweeted a stat from the book Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization, from historian Vaclav Smil that shows just how staggeringly fast China has grown: In a period of just three years, China used more concrete than the U.S. did in an entire century. From 1901-2000, despite building nationwide interstates, massive skyscrapers and infrastructure across the country, America used less concrete than China did in a single, three-year boom. Though Gates praises technology’s ability to create the modern lifestyle, China’s unprecedented quick growth has led to some experts pointing to environmental and safety concerns …