Environment
07.19.16
Schoolkids Suffer Toxic Air at Recycled Rubber Athletic Tracks
Chinese are known for recycling, and recycling everything. The industry is even responsible for making billionaires, like China’s “wastepaper queen” Zhang Yin.Yet when factories recycle irresponsibly, the consequences can be dire. Reports...
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06.22.16A ‘Black and Smelly’ Job: The Search for China’s Most Polluted Rivers
Guardian
China gives anyone with a smartphone a chance to orchestrate a much needed clean-up....
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06.21.16China Prosecutors Win Landmark Lawsuit Against Environmental Department
Reuters
First public interest case vs. government department producing dyes with inappropriate safeguards....
Environment
05.26.16
Beijing Calls South China Sea Island Reclamation a ‘Green Project’
Sand, cement, and Chinese military facilities now sit on top of some of the South China Sea’s once-thriving reefs; China has built over half a dozen new artificial islands in a bid to bolster its territorial claims in the hotly disputed region. Such...
Green Space
05.18.16
Time Traveling Through Dramatic Urbanization in China Over Decades
Twenty-six years ago, only 26 percent of the Chinese population lived in urban areas. Since then, China’s urbanization rate has risen to almost 56 percent, meaning hundreds of millions of people have packed themselves into the country’s 662 cities...
Environment
05.13.16
Why China's Nuclear Exports May Struggle to Find a Market
from chinadialogue
China’s nuclear power industry has eyed up a big push to export its technologies as countries around the world consider low-carbon alternatives to coal.But despite an increasingly clearer field for Chinese nuclear exports—mainly because of the woes...
Green Space
05.11.16
The Dark Side of Country Life
The last time we peeked at Lei Hu’s photo blog, Lei was giving us a cheery look at a China that we rarely get to see: the countryside and its beauty. But there’s a dark side to country life in China, as well, and a new blog post from Lei explores...
The China Africa Project
05.11.16
Why Chinese Companies in Africa Are Improving Their Behavior
Chinese companies around the world, particularly in Africa, have a well-earned reputation for being bad corporate citizens. There are countless stories of labor rights violations, disregard of environmental policies, and lack of engagement with...
Green Space
05.04.16
Vaccine Scandal Rocks China
China was rocked last month by another public health scandal, after Chinese police announced the discovery of a criminal organization selling millions of improperly stored vaccines in 24 provinces and municipalities. The affected vaccines have a...
Green Space
04.13.16
Chinese Love Affair with Cars, and Tesla
Chinese love their cars. With the emergence of a large middle class, and in spite of restrictions on daily car use in some cities, many Chinese households are choosing to keep a second and sometimes even a third automobile. The world’s most populous...
Green Space
03.25.16
Facebook CEO Defies China Smog; Spoof Projects Nostril-Hair Air Filters
At least a few of Facebook’s 1.5 billion users now know that founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg ran several miles in some of Beijing’s most notorious smog on Friday March 18 while he was in the city attending a conference. Famously sharing his...
Green Space
03.14.16
Leonardo DiCaprio Wins Oscar and Green Chinese Hearts
The Oscars are a big deal among Chinese movie fans. So it was an especially big deal last month when Leonardo DiCaprio, whose fame in China is as big as the name of the film which held the box office crown there from 1997-2009—Titanic—became what...
Conversation
03.11.16
Is China Doing Enough for the Environment?
This week, at their biggest annual session in Beijing, Chinese lawmakers are expected to ratify the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which contains many new measures to address rampant pollution of the country’s air, soil, and water. Will the plan be...
Green Space
02.29.16
The Odd Shapes of PM2.5
A recent episode of “Approaching Science,” a CCTV documentary series, discussed the smog that’s been choking the mainland for the past few years. The show interviews scientists and laypeople to paint a comprehensive picture of the challenges that...
Environment
02.22.16
China’s Wind Power Overtakes the E.U.
from chinadialogue
China has overtaken Europe to become the world’s biggest producer of wind power after its domestic sector grew by 60 percent last year.Following a government-backed drive to build new wind farms, China’s installed capacity now totals 145.1 GW,...
Green Space
02.16.16
Gorging on Gadgets
Documentary filmmaker Sue Williams is finishing up her latest documentary about our beloved electronic gadgets, Death By Design. I was involved in the project and traveled with Williams to south China’s Guangdong province, to the the town of Guiyu,...
Green Space
02.04.16
Rescuing China’s Abused Animals
We start with a heartwarming note, which I recently heard about in a New Year’s greeting from Animals Asia, a NGO started by Jill Robinson, originally from the U.K., in Chengdu to rescue Asian bears from their torture-chamber-like cages throughout...
Green Space
01.27.16
Kunming’s Stinky Lake, Beijing’s Saving Winds
Lake Dian in Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province, suffered greatly when, in the 1950s, Chairman Mao Zedong called on the Chinese people to “conquer nature” and reclaim land by filling lakes with soil.Nowadays, Dianchi, as it’s...
Green Space
01.22.16
Sea Level Rise In Pictures, Cancer Villages Near Beijing
I think a big part of the reason why citizens of the world have not rallied to deal with climate change is the lack of a certain deadline that would warrant our immediate response to the grave consequences of our warming planet. There is no...
Green Space
01.14.16
Waking the Green Tiger
This documentary—available in full on ChinaFile throughout January courtesy of filmmaker Gary Marcuse—follows a group of environmental activists trying to prevent the construction of dams on the Nu (Salween) and the Upper Yangtze (Jinsha) rivers in...
Conversation
12.23.15
China in 2016
What should China watchers be watching most closely in China in 2016? What developments would be the most meaningful? What predictions can be made sensibly?
Green Space
12.22.15
Nu River Saved, Jack Ma Buys Preservation Land
A great piece of news came from China on the night of December 16, that the Yunnan provincial government in southwest China has announced its decision to not develop hydro-electric projects on the Nu River, also known as the Salween (link in Chinese...
Green Space
12.16.15
Ivory Price Has Halved, But No Celebration Yet
International NGOs such as Save the Elephants have shared the great news that the price of ivory has decreased by almost 50 percent over the past year and a half, thanks to successful campaigns by NGOs in educating the public, and also to...
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12.15.15Another Kind of Climate Change: China Warms to Superpower Role
Wall Street Journal
Paris talks gave a whiff of Beijing’s ambitions to lead—but critics fear that could upend status quo.
Green Space
12.15.15
China is ‘Rational’ Leader on Climate Change, Says Retired NASA Scientist James Hansen
James Hansen, retired NASA scientist and “father of climate change awareness,” believes China, the world’s largest CO2 emitter, will now step up to provide the carbon emissions reduction leadership lacking from the U.S., according to a Guardian...
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12.11.15China to Receive $300m Loan to Combat Pollution Levels
BBC
The ADB said that poor air quality had reached such a serious level that it was "jeopardising health and sustainable growth".
Green Space
12.11.15
Tiananmen Police Don Smog Masks, Wind Makes or Breaks the Blue Sky
Now that Beijing has had its first red alert since institutionalizing its smog alert system in 2013, it was news when the special forces who guard Tiananmen Square were seen, for the first time, wearing face masks to protect them from the smog, too...
Green Space
12.11.15
Saving Elephants No Tall Order for Yao Ming
Chinese Internet giant Tencent teamed up with international NGO The Nature Conservancy to launch a campaign to promote December 2015 as Elephant Loving Month in China. The following animated short illustrates the toll human greed for ivory takes on...
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12.11.15Polluted Skies Heighten Challenge for Chinese Government
New York Times
Red has been considered the color of prosperity and good fortune in China for centuries, and it is also the color of the Communist Party.
Green Space
12.08.15
Smog Strike Round II
Not surprisingly, smog yet again strikes back in much of China. Using the automatic weapon of our archive of daily photos of three of China’s major cities, I’d like to share a flashback of Beijing’s air quality throughout the month of November,...
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12.07.15Beijing Issues Air Pollution Red Alert for the First Time
Bloomberg
Beijing issued its most severe smog warning for Tuesday.
Green Space
12.04.15
Green Activists Detained for ‘Prostitution,’ Yangtze Dolphins Rebound
Given that the Paris climate negotiations are underway, it is fair to start off with something about rising temperatures. This comes from a neat animation posted on Data Seeds’ WeChat Account that visualizes the warming trend within China’s borders...
Green Space
12.03.15
Smog and Imagination
The last few days of November, air pollution was back in the headlines and social media feeds of millions of Chinese. Here are a few highlights:The creative WeChat post “Beijing Smog: Use Your Imagination When You Go Out,” shows a series of photos...
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12.03.15China Plans to Upgrade Coal Plants
New York Times
China's cabinet announced that it would try to cut pollution from coal-fired power plants by 60 percent by 2020 through upgrades to plants.
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12.02.15China's Blast of Fresh Air Quiets Calls for Beijing Mayor's Head
Bloomberg
A cold front that swept choking smog from northern China couldn’t have come sooner for Beijing’s mayor.
Green Space
11.30.15
China’s Joking on Smog
In the world of Chinese air pollution, there’s a new kid on the block. Shenyang, the northeastern stronghold of heavy industry and manufacturing since the Mao era, last week saw its levels of PM2.5 pollution shoot past 1000 and register a whopping...
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11.10.15China Decries Shenyang Pollution Called 'Worst Ever' by Activists
BBC
On Sunday pollution readings were about 50 times higher than that considered safe by the World Health Organization.
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11.06.15U.S., China Least Concerned About Climate Change
Agence France-Presse
China and the United States are the world's biggest polluters, but their residents are among the least concerned about the harms of climate change.
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11.04.15China Underreporting Coal Consumption by Up to 17%, Data Suggests
Guardian
Revelation may mean China has emitted close to a billion additional tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.
Reports
11.04.15
Special Data Release with Revisions for People’s Republic of China
International Energy Agency
In September 2015, the National Bureau of Statistics of China published China’s energy statistics for 2013, as well as revised statistics for the years 2000 to 2012. NBS supplied the IEA with detailed energy balances for 2011 to 2013 and using these...
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10.16.15This Is Where China’s Future Will Be Decided
Washington Post
Lanzhou, China — The first thing you notice is the dust.
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10.14.15'Hunting' for China at the Democratic Debate
Washington Post
Jim Webb wanted to talk China.The rest of the candidates? Not so much.
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10.05.15Seven Dead, 223 Injured as Tornadoes Brought by Typhoon Mujigae Ravage China’s Guangdong Province
South China Morning Post
Mujigae was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in at least six decades.
Media
09.28.15
What’s China’s Mood Under Xi? New Data Gives a Glimpse
China, under the presidency of Xi Jinping, has invited a number of breathless pronouncements about the state of the country. Chinese media regularly conjure the “Chinese Dream,” one of Xi’s favored phrases, which means whatever readers want it to...
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09.25.15Enacting Cap-and-Trade Will Present Challenges Under China’s System
New York Times
White House officials have lauded President Xi Jinping's anticipated promise of a national market for China in greenhouse gas quotas.
Conversation
09.22.15
Xi Jinping’s Message to America
China’s President Xi Jinping addressed an audience of more than 700 American businesspeople in Seattle on Tuesday evening on the first stop on his first state visit to the United States. Regular ChinaFile Contributors who watched the speech offer...
Environment
08.12.15
Beijing’s Air Quality May Finally Be Improving ... But it Still Ain’t Great
In February, a Chinese celebrity journalist named Chai Jing released a video on the Internet about the damage air pollution was causing her country. During the week it was online (before Chinese censors pulled it down), people viewed the video 200...
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07.15.15China's Pollution Quagmire
Forbes
China’s efforts to reduce air pollution could be negated by its unregulated and unmonitored burning of petcoke, a fuel dirtier than coal, an expert on Chinese climate and energy policy said.
The China Africa Project
07.14.15
China’s Rapidly Changing Views on Wildlife Conservation in Africa
A dramatic shift in Chinese public opinion about animal welfare and global wildlife conservation appears to be underway. Supported by high-profile celebrity campaigns by NBA legend Yao Ming and actress Li Bing Bing, there is growing awareness in...
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07.08.15Iron Ore Plunges 10pc Amid Extended China Market Route
Australian Financial Review
Iron ore retreated to the lowest level in at least six years as a rout in China's stock markets threatened to hurt demand just as the biggest producers plan to raise output.
The China Africa Project
06.10.15
China’s Proposed Ivory Ban: Breakthrough or B.S.?
China’s surprise announcement that it will phase out the trade and manufacturing of ivory came as a rare piece of good news for Africa’s rapidly shrinking elephant population. While most major international wildlife groups welcomed Beijing’s new...
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05.06.15China Issues Guideline for Eco-Friendly Development
Xinhua
Safeguarding the environment lags China’s economic status—limited resources and severe pollution preventing sustainable growth.
Books
04.30.15
Fantasy Islands
The rise of China and its status as a leading global factory are altering the way people live and consume. At the same time, the world appears wary of the real costs involved. Fantasy Islands probes Chinese, European, and American eco-desire and eco-technological dreams, and examines the solutions they offer to environmental degradation in this age of global economic change.Uncovering the stories of sites in China, including the plan for a new eco-city called Dongtan on the island of Chongming, mega-suburbs, and the Shanghai World Expo, Julie Sze explores the flows, fears, and fantasies of Pacific Rim politics that shaped them. She charts how climate change discussions align with U.S. fears of China’s ascendancy and the related demise of the American Century, and she considers the motives of financial and political capital for eco-city and ecological development supported by elite power structures in the U.K. and China. Fantasy Islands shows how ineffectual these efforts are while challenging us to see what a true eco-city would be. —University of California Press{chop}
The China Africa Project
04.17.15
China’s Controversial Trade in Africa’s Natural Resources
China often faces blistering criticism for its voracious appetite for Africa’s natural resources. Chinese companies are spread across the continent mining, logging, and fishing to feed both hungry factories and people back home. In most, if not all...
Environment
04.16.15
Petrochemical Plant Explosion Vaporizes Government Safety Assurances
from chinadialogue
Opposing the construction of petrochemical plants making Paraxyline (PX), a key ingredient in plastic bottles and polyester clothing, has been one of the most common forms of environmental activism for China’s urban residents in the past decade.On...
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04.14.15Can the US and China Save the World?
Diplomat
The Department of Commerce emphasized Obama's commitment to fighting climate change through clean energy development.
Reports
04.01.15
Can Carbon Taxes be Good for China and the United States?
Paulson Institute
One way that China may meaningfully control its emissions is through the recent idea of a national carbon permit trading system, building on its carbon permit pilot programs. In China’s case, the internal debate about promulgating these actions...
Environment
03.26.15
China Court to Hear NGO Lawsuit Targeting Polluter’s Profits
from chinadialogue
An environmental group has filed a lawsuit for 30 million yuan (U.S.$4.8 million) to seek compensation from a Shandong chemical company for pumping out harmful substances—a legal action thought to be the first public interest litigation for air...
Environment
03.11.15
China’s Polluted Soil and Water Will Drive up World Food Prices
from chinadialogue
China’s push for more intense farming has kept its city dwellers well-fed and helped lift millions of rural workers out of poverty. But it has come at a cost. Ecosystems in what should be one of the country’s most fertile regions have already been...
Environment
03.04.15
Clearing Skies
from Sierra Club
After dark is when the pollution arrives on the outskirts of Shanghai. On a bright night, when moonlight refracts through the smog, you can see black clouds of soot pouring out of small workshop smokestacks silhouetted against the sky. In case you...