Inga Caldwell

November 5, 2010

Tai Lake

In 2007, Tai Lake's water became undrinkable and it was declared a national priority. Industrial plants were shut down, local officials were dismissed, and millions of dollars were spent on clean up. However, the lake remains polluted — eighty-five percent of the lake is in the worst category for water quality.

Source:

William Wan, Pollution in China's Tai Lake Worse Despite National Push For Environmentalism, Washington Post (Oct. 29, 2010, 12:14 AM), http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/28/AR2010102806796.html.

Cap-and-Trade

According to Richard Sandor, a pioneer of cap-and-trade, China has a better understanding of cap-and-trade than the United States. He predicts that China might have a cap-and-trade market in place as soon as 2013.

Source:

China Could Trade Carbon Credits By 2013, ClimateWire (Nov. 5, 2010), http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2010/11/05/10/.

Sustainability of Buildings in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's building codes standards are lower than those in mainland China; however, the building industry has developed standards to improve the sustainability of buildings. Experts in the industry believe that a regulatory framework is necessary to increase building energy efficiency. The government is currently considering reducing Hong Kong's carbon emissions by fifty to sixty percent by 2020 and considers building energy efficiency a priority.

Source:

Ina Pozon, A Structural Problem, China Dialogue (Nov. 5, 2010), http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/3922-A-structural-problem.

Green Development Index

China's National Bureau of Statistics and two universities have developed a green development index. The index includes fifty-five indicators, including per capita CO2 emissions and environmental spending. The index ranks cities based on a balance of economic growth and environmental degradation. Beijing ranked at the top of the list.

Source:

Zhou Xin & Simon Rabinovitch, Tired of Choking On Growth, China Launches Green Index, Reuters (Nov. 4, 2010), http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A328L20101104.

North China Plain Groundwater

A four-year study by the China Geological Survey found that heavy metals, chemical fertilizers, and run-off from garbage dumps and sewage plants have contaminated groundwater in the North China Plain. As a result of this contamination, only twenty-four percent of the groundwater is drinkable.

Source:

Wang Qian, Most Northern Plain Groundwater Unsafe to Drink, ChinaDaily (Nov. 5, 2010), http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-11/05/content_11505372.htm.