The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought and How They Can Be Won, Revised and Expanded Edition

You Can’t Tell Your Worst Polluter without a Scorecard

The Middle Kingdom [China] is hurtling toward environmental catastrophe—and perhaps an ensuing political upheaval. Already, most Chinese cities make Los Angeles look like a Swiss village.

—Joshua Kurlantzick, The New Republic

When an American hockey player suffered symptoms from mercury contamination, he never expected that he might have power plants half way across the world in China to blame.

—Yale Global Online

Any discussion of the China Air-Pollution Wars must start with the most salient statistics. Here, then, is China’s horrific air-quality scorecard as compiled by respected bodies such as the World Bank and China’s own Environmental Protection Administration:

• China is home to 16 ...