China Environmental Law

Here’s a bit of encouraging news from the pharmaceutical-wing of China’s “environmental” regime.  You may recall the story of the poor Greek weight-lifting team that was busted for doping in April after taking “dietary supplements” ordered by the coach from a Chinese “biotechnology” company, Auspure.  As the Shanghai Daily reports, in a refreshingly candid piece (which is [...]

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Haze folks, that’s all it was, a little bit of common, everyday haze.  Happens all the time, we knew it was coming, nothing to worry about, everyone just move along. 
The wicked foreign press (and not a few Beijing residents) were so quick to jump to conclusions and misreported Beijing’s recent spate of poor visibility as the [...]

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It finally occurred to me that there isn’t going to be any more substantive news until after the Olympics.  Of course, the Olympics themselves have their own environmental and energy angles, but I don’t think the Olympic stories can be written until the event is over.  When faced with a lack of news in the [...]

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I’m a bit tied up today, but feeling quite cheerful. Enjoyed a beautiful blue sky Sunday here in Shanghai and we’re having another nice day today.  The picture below was taken at noon–yes, that is real blue sky and real clouds.  I provide this picture to show those of you who may be reading the articles about [...]

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I pass the loading dock of a shopping mall on my walk to work.  At night it’s used as a transfer station by the local branch of Shanghai’s vast private recycling network.  Collection men pedal their three-wheeled carts slowly down the neighborhood streets during the day.  One hand steers and the other rings a handmade bell [...]

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I’m sorry if I’m beginning to sound like a broken record and a scold on the issue of China’s power supply, but the situation is becoming increasingly dire.  The problem highlights the fact that China needs a comprehensive energy policy which is systematically imposed and which includes a large chunk of mandated renewable energy.  Simply [...]

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It must be 115 degrees outside, I’m swamped, and I’m dealing with visa issues (nothing serious, just a colossally aggravating “hurry-up and why-didn’t-you-bring-that-document-I-didn’t-tell-you-about” experience).  My normally even-keeled temperament has been sorely tested, and I’m afraid anything I post today would be especially quarrelsome.  Therefore, I think silence is in order, with the hope that my [...]

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It is understandable that some people confuse the concept of being “green,” with greenery.  The two are not always the same especially when the greenery planted in parks is not native (and requires lots of scarce water to keep it alive) or is simply a potted plant which will be thrown out after it has [...]

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The new Yale Environment 360 blog features an in-depth look at Xu Kezhu, the environmental law professor and lawyer, we wrote about yesterday.  The feature is written by Christina Larson who has written several nice pieces featuring China’s environmental crusaders (including two of the articles we noted yesterday).  Check it out.
More Big Pictures featuring the Olympics: [...]

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Today’s Shanghai Daily (SD) reports that a “garlic extract factory” in Hunan Province has been accused of polluting the Xiangjiang for more than seven years.  I knew garlic could do a number on vampires, but one of the ingredients of the extract “chloropropylene,” can also “be harmful to human[s] and may cause environmental pollution.” In [...]

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