Lectures on China's Environment
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Yale University EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale Forestry & Environmental Studies Publications School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Series 6-2009 Lectures on China’s Environment Xuhui Lee Follow this and additional works at: https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/fes-pubs Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Xuhui, "Lectures on China’s Environment" (2009). Forestry & Environmental Studies Publications Series. 39. https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/fes-pubs/39 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale. It has been accepted for inclusion in Forestry & Environmental Studies Publications Series by an authorized administrator of EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Report Number 20 Lectures on China’s Environment Xuhui Lee, editor Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies publication series 195 Prospect Street New Haven, Connecticut 06511 USA www.yale.edu/environment/publications yale school of forestry & environmental studies Yale F&ES Publication Series Report Number 20 series editor Jane Coppock acknowledgement The lecture series on which this publication is based was supported by the Rice Family Foundation through a generous gift to the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies date of report June 2009 page layout Dorothy Scott, North Branford, CT cover design Bryan Gillespie, Yale Printing and Publishing Services cover image Satellite view of China. Screenshot from NASA’s globe software World Wind using a public domain layer, such as Blue Marble, MODIS, Landsat, SRTM, USGS or GLOBE. print on demand YaleYPPS, 100% recycled paper disclaimer The research, opinions and findings contained in this For poster use, large ads report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of institutions with which they are publication series Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies affiliated. Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies to obtain copies A pdf of this report can be downloaded free of charge, publication series and bound copies can be ordered, at the Yale School of To capture exciting environmental projects at Yale of interest to a broad professional Forestry & Environmental Studies Publication Series audience, the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Publication Series issues website: www.yale.edu/environment/publications selected work by Yale faculty, students and colleagues each year in the form of books, bulletins, working papers and reports. All publications since 1995 are available for order as bound copies, or as free downloadable pdfs, at our online bookstore at www.yale.edu/ environment/publications. Publications are produced using a print-on-demand system © 2009 Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. For use in tighter spaces (i.e., small ads) and printed on 100% recycled paper. For further information or inquiries, contact Jane This report may be reproduced without written permission so long as proper Coppock, Editor of the F&ES Publication Series, at jane.coppock @yale.edu. attribution is made. publication series publication series Yale School of Forestry Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies & Environmental Studies Lectures on China’s Environment Xuhui Lee, EDITOR Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies 2009 table of contents Table of Contents acknowledgements 1 chapter 1 introduction 3 Xuhui Lee, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies chapter 2 greening the dragon: 7 the u.s.china environmental relationship Gary Waxmonsky, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Benjamin Jacobs, Yale College chapter 3 eu collaboration with china in 19 environmental capacity building Alice Newton, University of Algarve, Portugal Angel Hsu, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies chapter 4 china’s environment and globalization: 29 unexpected connections Jianguo Liu, Michigan State University Marissa Matsler, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies chapter 5 the role of environmental ngos in 45 shaping a green china Ma Jun, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs Yong Zhao, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies chapter 6 toward sustainability: circular 63 economy and ecocity development in china Rusong Wang, Chinese Academy of Sciences Baihai Wu, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies chapter 7 modern energy use and air pollution 77 in china: challenges and opportunities Jiming Hao, Tsinghua University Elaine Yu, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies yale school of forestry & environmental studies lectures on china’s environment chapter 8 pinning down the factors: energy 93 conservation and carbon emission reduction in china Xu Zhao, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Jiaona Zhang, Yale College chapter 9 wildlife conservation in western china 107 Richard Harris, University of Montana Alison Hoyt, Yale College chapter 10 impact of increasing feed and 121 meat demand on china’s agriculture and environment Laixiang Sun, University of London Yi Luo, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies chapter 11 air pollution status and challenges 135 ahead in the greater pearl river delta region John Chuenyu Chan, Sun YatSen University Xin Zhang, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies chapter 12 humaninduced drivers of the 151 development of lake taihu Shuqing An, Nanjing University Ranran Wang, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies chapter 13 synthesis: ways to move forward 167 Xuhui Lee, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies appendix: chapter 13 in chinese 175 biosketch of editor and photo of class 181 yale school of forestry & environmental studies acknowledgements Acknowledgements This lecture series was supported by the Rice Family Foundation through a generous gift to the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. I would like to acknowledge all the invited speakers for their participation. I am grateful to my colleagues Dean Gus Speth and Professor Dan Esty for their encouragement and support. Thanks also go to my teaching assistants, HuiJu Wu and Xin Zhang, whose superb organization skills made the lecture series an enjoyable experience for the speakers and the students. Finally, I would like to thank Jane Coppock, Editor of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Publication Series, and her master’s student assistant Owen David, for their work in preparing the lectures for publication. Xuhui Lee June 5, 2009 yale school of forestry & environmental studies 181 Biosketch of Editor and Photo of Class Professor Xuhui Lee 㧝㡼战 received his undergraduate training at the Nanjing Institute of Meteorology, China (now renamed the Nanjing University of Information, Science and Technology) and his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, Canada. He joined the faculty of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) as an assistant professor in 1994 and was promoted in 2002 to the rank of full professor with tenure. Professor Lee has been the recipient of several awards, including the U. S. National Science Foundation CAREER award, an award for excellence in teaching at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and an award for outstanding young scientist from the Chinese National Science Foundation. In addition to his teaching and research, he serves as the F&ES faculty coordinator for global change science and policy and editorinchief of an international journal, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. Class photo with Professor Alice Newton: front row from left (sitting): Yi Luo, Angel Hsu, Marissa Matsler, Jiaona Zhang, HuiJu Wu; back row from left: Xuhui Lee, Baihai Wu, Yang Qiu, Xin Zhang, Alice Newton, Ranran Wang, Benjamin Jacobs, Alison Hoyt, Jun Yao, Yong Zhao (Elaine Yu was not in this photo) Photo credit: Yong Zhao yale school of forestry & environmental studies introduction 3 CHAPTER 1 Introduction Professor Xuhui Lee Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies This volume is a collection of essays based on a lecture series course taught in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University in the fall semester of 2008. The course explored the environmental ramifications of economic growth in China and the challenges that growth poses to protecting China’s natural resources and preserving its biodiversity. The course discussed the scientific foundation for environmental decisionmaking and strategies for engaging the Chinese government, private, and nongovernment sectors in sustainable development. Eleven prominent environmental scholars were invited to Yale to present lectures and join the course discussion with Yale faculty and students. Their presentations and the subsequent discussions, written up by students in the course and approved by the scholars themselves, form the basis for the individual chapters in the book. A short biography of each scholar appears at the end of the chapter presenting his or her material, along with a short biography of the student author. The lecture series was motivated by three broad questions: 1) What are the most pressing environmental problems China faces now and in the future? 2) Which problems are confined to China’s national boundaries and which have a global footprint? 3) How can the international community contribute to China’s environmental reform? The rationale for the lecture