by Christina Larson — The Washington Monthly
October 08, 2007
China is on its way to becoming not only the world’s largest economy, but also its largest polluter. Of the world’s twenty most polluted cities, 16 are in China. Ninety percent of the country’s cities have contaminated groundwater. The World Bank predicts that in the next 15 years, China’s shortage of clean water will create 30 million “environmental refugees”.
This article features Zhao Zhong, a 25-year-old nuclear engineer by day and grassroots environmentalist by night with Green Camel Bell, Lanzhou’s first environmental group and longtime Greengrants grantee.