China's Past, China's Future: Energy, Food, Environment
Authors Smil Vaclav
Vaclav Smil
Publication date January 1, 2004
Pages 240
Book category Adult Non-Fiction
Book Description:
Chinahas a population of 1.3 billion people, which puts strain on hernatural resources. This volume, by one of the leading scholars on theearth's biosphere, is the result of a lifetime of study on China, andprovides the fullest account yet of the environmental challenges thatChina faces.
The author examines China's energy resources, theiruses, impacts and prospects, from the 1970s oil-crisis to the presentday, before analyzing the key question of how China can best produceenough food to feed its enormous population. In answering this questionthe 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 agriculturalmanagement. The final chapters focus upon the dramatic cost to thecountry's environment caused by China's rapid industrialization.Widespread environmental problems discussed include:
-Water and air pollution
-Watershortage
- Soil erosion
-Deforestation
-Desertification
- Loss of biodiversity
Inconclusion, Smil argues that the decline of the Chinese ecosystem andenvironmental pollution has cost China about ten per cent of her annualGDP.
This book provides the best available synthesis on theenvironmental consequences of China's economic reform program and willprove essential reading to scholars with an interest in China and theenvironment.
以下内容须要魅力达到10才可以阅读
|