“Beijing was such a different city. There were so few cars, I could walk in the middle of the road. In the summer, the streetlamps attracted swirling bugs. I loved those bugs: crickets, praying mantis, all kinds of beetles. I also have a vivid memory of dazzling sunlight coming out of the sky.”

“We must strictly enforce the Environmental Law, closing down the polluters that fail to meet the standards.”

“In America, you complain about job losses because of China, but here, we carry all of the environmental costs.”

“Urban residents, most of them middle class, have a much better sense of their environmental rights, and they're willing to take to the streets.”

“It has been shown that public participation can limit powerful interest groups, while competing interests can help find a reasonable balance between development and environmental protection.”

“Environmental problems cannot be resolved here the way they are resolved in other countries. I heard that 80 per cent of the environmental problems in the U.S. are solved in court. That can't happen here.”

“We copied laws and regulations from western countries, but enforcement remains weak, and environmental litigation is still quite near impossible.”

“Environmental groups are not completely against dams. We approve of appropriate development.”

“China is bearing the environmental cost for much of the world because China is the factory of the world.”

“China's environmental conundrums will not be solved by changes within government alone. New mechanisms are needed to allow the communities which may be affected by a given plan, and citizens concerned about the environment, to join in.”

“China leads the world in energy consumption, carbon emissions, and the release of major air and water pollutants, and the environmental impact is felt both regionally and globally.”