Sixteen of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in China. A serious water pollution incident occurs once every two-to-three days. China’s breakneck growth causes great concern about its global environmental impacts, as others look to China as a source for possible future solutions to climate change. But how are Chinese people really coming to grips with environmental problems? This book provides access to otherwise unknown stories of environmental activism and forms the first real-life account of China and its environmental tensions.
‘China and the Environment’ provides a unique report on the experiences of participatory politics that have emerged in response to environmental problems, rather than focusing only on macro-level ecological issues and their elite responses. Featuring previously untranslated short interviews, extracts from reports and other translated primary documents, the authors argue that going green in China isn’t just about carbon targets and energy policy; China’s grassroots green defenders are helping to change the country for the better.
Editorial Reviews
Review
This is a superb and engaging book that explains how China is grappling with one of the most pressing issues facing our world today. In compelling fashion, the authors introduce us to the activists, journalists and lawyers who are fighting for cleaner air and water, and to the institutional obstacles that remain in their path. This is a must-read for anyone who has heard about an environmental protest in China and wondered not only what the real story behind it was, but also which way the story of China’s green revolution” is heading.” –Gady Epstein, China correspondent, The Economist.
People around the world have begun to understand the extent of China’s environmental crisis. But the essays in this book convey what most readers will consider genuine news: the struggle within China, by Chinese journalists, officials, and ordinary citizens to reverse the trend toward destructive development in their country. ‘China and the Environment’ will be useful and very enlightening to reader in China and around the world. –James Fallows, ‘The Atlantic,’ author of ‘China Airborne.’
About the Author
Sam Geall is Departmental Lecturer in Human Geography of China at the University of Oxford and Executive Editor of chinadialogue.net. He is an editor of ‘Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability 7/10: China, India, and East and Southeast Asia: Assessing Sustainability’. Sam has written for many international publications including The Guardian, Foreign Policy, New Humanist, openDemocracy, Index on Censorship and Green Futures. He is a Fellow of the RSA.
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