1. By:Adam Sbragia

2.  China's environmental crises seem to
arise on a scale as sweeping and epic as
the vast nation itself

3.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency's
air quality scale, any pollution rating above 300 means
the air is unsafe to breathe. Under these conditions,
people should stay indoors with an air purifier running
and remain as motionless as possible, according to
U.S. Embassy Beijing guidelines.
 On Jan. 12, the reading reached an eye-bleeding 886,
comparable to living inside a smoking lounge.
 A cause can be that China now burns 47 percent of the
world's coal, roughly equal to the amount used by all
other countries of the world combined

4.  More than half of China's surface water is so
polluted it cannot be treated to make it drinkable.
 One-quarter of it is so dangerous it can't even be
used for industrial purposes.
 About 40 percent of China's farmland relies on
underground water for irrigation, and an estimated
90 percent is polluted.

5.  Population pressure, the conversion of forests to
farmland, and hydroelectric and other infrastructure
projects have placed China's remaining forests at risk.
 Following closely on the heels of deforestation and
agricultural development is desertification, the
destruction of vegetative land cover that results in a
landscape defined by bare soil and rock. About 1 million
square miles (2.6 million sq km) of China is now under
desertification — that's about one-quarter of the
country’s total land surface, spread across 18 provinces

6.  The existence of "cancer villages," entire towns that have
been written off as so polluted that simply living there is a
cancer risk.
 For years, individuals and groups have waged a desperate
campaign to force the government to address — or even
acknowledge — the high rates of stomach, liver, kidney and
colon cancer in certain areas, usually adjacent to heavy
industrial complexes

7.  The government's recent admission that cancer
villages exist "shows that the environment
ministry has acknowledged that pollution has
led to people getting cancer," environmental
lawyerWang Canfa says "It shows that this issue,
of environmental pollution leading to health
damages, has drawn attention.“
 Coupled with the public outcry over the thick
blanket of toxic smog that covered Beijing
earlier this year, there are glimmers of hope that
the Chinese people may succeed in wresting
some measure of control over their environment

8.  "Environmental Problems in China." WWF.
N.p., n.d.Web. 03 June 2013.
 Leader, Jessica. "Environmental Issues In
China:The Country'sTop 6 Concerns." The
Huffington Post.TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18
Mar. 2013.Web. 03 June 2013.
 "China'sTop 6 Environmental
Concerns." LiveScience.com. N.p., n.d.Web.
03 June 2013.