Can China Continue to Feed Itself?

March 03, 2011 from Earth Focus

Earth Focus speaks with Jonathan Watts, Asia environmental correspondent for UK's The Guardian about his new book "When a Billion Chinese Jump". Watts traveled more than 100,000 miles across China, looking at cancer villages, toxic air and water pollution and issues that may affect China's ability to feed itself -- melting glaciers and acute water shortages. The environment is now recognized as a security issue in China and Watts addresses how the Chinese leadership is responding. The choices that the world's most populated country makes in the years ahead will have global impact.

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China

China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a sovereign state located in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the cap... Explore this topic

Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, harm, or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Polluta... Explore this topic

Environment

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements. Environ... Explore this topic

Food security

Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. The USDA estimates the nearly 9 out of 10 U.S households were food secure throughout 2005. It is a mea... Explore this topic

Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies. Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of w... Explore this topic

Water crisis

Water scarcity involves water stress, water deficits, water shortage and water crisis. The concept of water stress is relatively new. Water stress is the difficulty of obtaining sources of fresh water for use, because of depleting resources. A water crisis is a situation where... Explore this topic

Jonathan Watts

Jonathan Watts is an award-winning journalist and the author of When a Billion Chinese Jump: How China Will Save the World - or Destroy It. He served as president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China from 2008-2009 and as vice president of the Foreign Correspondents' C... Explore this topic

The Guardian

The Guardian, known until 1959 as The Manchester Guardian, is a British national daily newspaper. Currently edited by Alan Rusbridger, it has grown from a 19th-century local paper to a national paper associated with a complex organisational structure and international multimed... Explore this topic

Earth Focus

An environmental news magazine that puts a human face on pressing global issues. This essential series features under-publicized stories on how changes to the earth's resources and climate are affecting everyday people all around the world. Earth Focus is funded by grants from... Explore this topic

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China

Pollution

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