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Chinese Research Perspectives on the Environment, Volume 1 Chinese Research Perspectives: Environment Chinese Research Perspectives on the Environment, Volume 1 Chinese Research Perspectives: Environment International Advisory Board Judith Shapiro, American University Guobin Yang, University of Pennsylvania Erika Scull VOLUME 1 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/crp Chinese Research Perspectives on the Environment, Volume 1 Urban Challenges, Public Participation, and Natural Disasters Edited by Yang Dongping Friends of Nature LEIDEN • bOSTON 2013 This book is the result of a copublication agreement between Social Sciences Academic Press and Koninklijke Brill NV. These articles were selected and translated into English from the original 《中国 环境发展报告 (2011)》(Zhongguo huanjing fazhan baogao 2011) and《中国 环境发展 报告 (2012)》(Zhongguo huanjing fazhan baogao 2012) with the financial support of the Chinese Fund for the Humanities and Social Sciences. This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 2212-7496 ISBN 978-90-04-24953-0 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-24954-7 (e-book) Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. CONTENTS List of Figures ................................................................................................... xi List of Tables .................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ xv List of Contributors ........................................................................................ xvii Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Judith Shapiro VOLUME OVERVIEW GENERAL REPORT Environmental Degradation and the Water Crisis in Rural China: An Introduction .......................................................................................... 9 Li Dun PART I SPECIAL FOCUS: NATURAL AND UNNATURAL DISASTERS 1. Human Factors in Natural Disasters: Debris Flows, Droughts, and Floods ................................................................................................... 35 Shen Xiaohui 2. Severe Geological Disasters during the 2010 Rainy Season ......... 49 Fan Xiao 3. Southwest China’s Water Crisis: Rethinking the Urban Growth Mode ............................................................................................................. 59 Zhou Lei 4. ConocoPhillips Oil Spill and Eco-Disasters in the Bohai Bay ..... 67 Zhao Zhangyuan 5. Questioning the Chromium Slag Pollution Incident in Qujing ..... 83 Zeng Xiangbin vi contents 6. The Dalian PX Incident: On Institutional Safeguards for Integrated Decision-Making in Environmental Protection ....... 99 Wang Shekun PART II ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND ECOLOGICAL PROTECTION 7. The Environmental Degradation of the Yellow River ................. 111 Wang Jian 8. An Urgent Call for Solutions to China’s Heavy Metal Health Risk ............................................................................................... 123 Yang Chuanmin 9. Xiaonanhai: Elegy for a Nature Reserve in the New Round of River Development ........................................................................... 133 Friends of Nature PART III URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND LIVABILITY 10. Livability: A New Way of Thinking about Urbanization in China ..................................................................................................... 149 Li Bo 11. The Environmental Risks of Rapid Urbanization: Indicators for Livable Cities ..................................................................................... 159 Gu Chaolin 12. The Waste Crisis: Seeking a New Direction in the Dilemma ... 175 Yang Changjiang 13. 2010: A Restless Year for Environmental Policies on Packaging .................................................................................................. 189 Mao Da and Yang Weihe contents vii 14. Resolving the “Garbage Siege” by Developing a Resource Reutilization Industry ........................................................................... 199 Du Huanzheng, Zhu Yucheng, and Hu Mengjie 15. How Can Cities Be Free From Urban Flooding? .......................... 209 Yan Weiqi PART IV SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION 16. An Overview of China’s Unsustainable Consumption in 2010 ........................................................................................................ 221 Zhang Boju and Zheng Yisheng 17. A New Round of Luxury Water Consumption: Artificial Snow Parks ............................................................................................... 235 Hu Kanping 18. Golf Courses in Beijing and Ostentatious Water Use ................. 247 Hu Kanping 19. Investigation into the Pollution in Apple Inc.’s Supply Chain and a Call for Green Consumption ................................................... 261 Wang Jingjing PART V POLICY AND GOVERNANCE 20. Garbage Problems and Solutions in Rural China ......................... 273 Lü Zhongmei 21. China’s Environmental Law Fails to Effectively Ensure Fairness ...................................................................................................... 285 Feng Jia and Bo Xiaobo 22. Why Didn’t the MEP Sue the Zijin Mining Group? ..................... 295 Qie Jianrong viii contents 23. Environmental Information Disclosure Three Years after Implementation ...................................................................................... 305 Hu Jing and Shi Tie 24. The Struggling Environmental Courts and Environmental Public-Interest Litigation ..................................................................... 325 Qie Jianrong PART VI CIVIL SOCIETY AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 25. NGOs Play a Positive Role in Handling Shanghai Richina Leather Pollution .................................................................................... 337 Gu Xunzhong 26. Tiny Particle, Big Action: Public Participation in Environmental Management as Seen in the PM2.5 Case ............ 347 Wang Tao 27. Number of “Green Citizens” Increase as Communities Participate in Social Affairs ................................................................. 359 Chen Yuanyuan PART VII CHINA AND THE WORLD IN AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE 28. Transgressing Global and Local: Environmental NGOs and China’s Overseas Investment ..................................................... 369 Lo Sze Ping and Yi Yimin 29. Improving China’s Aid and Investment to Africa with a More Open Attitude .......................................................................................... 381 Yi Yimin 30. Concerns for the Lancang-Mekong Lifeline ................................... 391 Yu Yin contents ix PART VIII APPENDIX Annual Indexes: 2010 & 2011 Environmental Trends .......................... 405 Terminological Glossary ............................................................................... 431 Index Terms ...................................................................................................... 435 LIST OF FIGURES 9.1: Cross-Section of Hydropower Stations (including those being constructed or planned) from Longpan Hydropower Station on the Upper Yangtze River to the Gezhouba Hydropower Station .................................................................................. 135 10.1: Urban Waste Production vs. GDP ................................................... 156 14.1: Fluctuations in Domestic Waste Treatment ................................ 200 17.1: Distribution of Registered Ski Resorts and Snow Parks in Beijing ....................................................................................................... 237 17.2: A Snowmaker at Work ....................................................................... 239 17.3: Appalling Damage done by Ski Resorts to the Local Environment and Landform ................................................................... 240 17.4: An Abandoned Ski Slope Looks Barren even with New Grass Planted .............................................................................................. 244 17.5: Foliage at the Same Location at Different Times with Photo below Showing the Normal State of Foliage on the Slope ....................................................................................................... 245 18.1: Map of Golf Courses Around Beijing .............................................. 251 18.2: Changes in the Depth of Water in Beijing (1998–2010) .......... 258 19.1: Consumers Expressing Their Opinions at Lectures Organized by Local Environmental Organizations ......................... 269 A.1: Emission of Sulfur Dioxide, 2006–2010 .........................................
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