China's Past, China's Future

by Smil,Vaclav

• ISBN13: 9780415314985
• ISBN10: 0415314984
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-22
• Publisher: RoutledgeCurzon

Summary

China has a population of 1.3 billion people, which puts strain on her natural resources. This volume, by one of the leading scholars on the earth's biosphere, is the result of a lifetime of study on China, and provides the fullest account yet of the environmental challenges that China faces. The author examines China's energy resources, their uses, impacts and prospects, from the 1970s oil-crisis to the present day, before analyzing the key question of how China can best produce enough food to feed its enormous population. In answering this question the entire food chain- the environmental setting, post harvest losses, food processing, access to food and actual nutritional requirements - is examined, as well as the most effective methods of agricultural management. The final chapters focus upon the dramatic cost to the country's environment caused by China's rapid industrialization. Widespread environmental problems discussed include: Water and air pollution Water shortage Soil erosion Deforestation Desertification Loss of biodiversity In conclusion, Smil argues that the decline of the Chinese ecosystem and environmental pollution has cost China about ten per cent of her annual GDP. This book provides the best available synthesis on the environmental consequences of China's economic reform program and will prove essential reading to scholars with an interest in China and the environment.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	xi
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xiv
List of abbreviations	xvi
Introduction: China's biophysical foundations	1	(8)
My Chinese experiences	1	(3)
Challenges of understanding	4	(3)
Interdisciplinary perspectives	7	(2)
Energy	9	(63)
Half a century of advances	9	(18)
The continuing importance of traditional energies	27	(15)
A failed strategy	42	(10)
From a new Saudi Arabia to concerns about oil security	52	(8)
A remarkable shift in energy intensities	60	(12)
Food	72	(69)
The world's greatest famine	73	(14)
From subsistence to satiety	87	(12)
Dietary transitions	99	(10)
Nitrogen in China's agriculture	109	(11)
Can China feed itself?	120	(21)
Environment	141	(66)
Attitudes and constraints	142	(10)
The first of the five elements	152	(16)
China's environment and security	168	(10)
The cost of China's environmental change	178	(12)
Megaprojects and China's environment	190	(17)
Looking ahead by looking back	207	(9)
Failed forecasts	207	(5)
Contending trends	212	(4)
Appendix	216	(1)
Bibliography	217	(12)
Index	229