Tag Archives | China

US-China relationship live-chat on China Dialogue and Tea Leaf Nation

I recently participated in a live-chat on the US-China relationship via China Dialogue and Tea Leaf Nation. Although I wasn’t quite sure how a live chat would work, it was extremely well moderated and prepared by the China Dialogue and Tea Leaf Nation staff. I had a ton of fun and hope they decide to do [...]

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What to expect from China in Doha

This post originally appeared at ChinaFAQs.org. The next round of United Nations climate negotiations is gearing up to take place starting next week in Doha Qatar, where countries will look to both China and the United States to see whether domestic political events will provide any momentum for the stalling talks. However, because of the proximity [...]

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Hugging a Panda

Hugging a Panda

I recently fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine – hugging a giant panda. In fact, this dream can be yours too, for the incredible donation of 1300 RMB (around $200 USD) to the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center, located in the north part of Sichuan province’s capital city. I, too, at first balked at the price. [...]

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Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center’s Air Quality Reporting

Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center’s Air Quality Reporting

Meet Li Juan, PhD – an engineer in the Atmospheric Monitoring Division of Shanghai’s Environmental Monitoring Centre (EMC). She prepares the daily air quality reports for the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau. Most of the process to retrieve the data and calculate the daily Air Pollution Index (API) is automated, as data from each of Shanghai’s [...]

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No water or power = street protests

No water or power = street protests

Outside my apartment in Beijing, residents of a neighboring building have taken to the streets to protest the management’s decision to shut off power and hot water for the day. Apparently there was a disagreement between the previous and current management that resulted in unpaid, leftover bills from the previous management. So the current management decided to retaliate by shutting off the power and hot water for today, and people are rightly upset. A few police cars have also blocked off the street. So far the protest seems relatively peaceful – no loud noise and mainly just people hanging out in the street.

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Summer 2012 Field work in China – Your ideas wanted!

I am spending two months traveling around China to better understand environmental monitoring, reporting, and verification challenges for provincial environmental protection bureaus (EPBs). This map shows all of the places I plan to visit to speak to government officials, academic experts, and civil society representatives who are seeking to quantify the extent of China’s environmental degradation (primarily on air and water quality, as they are the main responsibility of EPBs) as a necessary precursor for management.

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‘Seeking truth from facts: the Challenge of Environmental Indicator Development in China’

My colleagues and I recently wrote a paper distilling the challenges of environmental indicator development in China, based on the report we released last November, “Towards a China Environmental Performance Index.” Here are some highlights of the article: China’s environmental policymaking has been long plagued by information gaps, asymmetries, and limited public access, among other [...]

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