As China strives to significantly increase its economic output, the nation faces an acute deterioration of the physical resources from which this prodigious growth springs. Major problems include water shortages, the pollution of water, high levels of carcinogens in the air, accelerating erosion, and industrial pollution. Originally published in 1984, Vaclav Smil documents and evaluates China’s environmental crisis. This title will be of particular interest for students of Environmental Studies and Development Studies.