Liu Jianqiang (刘鉴强) is an award-winning investigative journalist and the Beijing editor of Chinadialogue, the first English-Chinese website focusing on reporting environmental issues.Friends of Nature is the first environmental non-governmental organization in the People’s Republic of China, established in 1994 by Liang Congjie, Yang Dongping, Liang Xiaoyan, and Wang Lixiong. The organization has more than 3,000 active members and has been recipient of fifteen prestigious national and international awards.

• List of Figures and TablesAcknowledgmentsList of ContributorsPrefaceVOLUME OVERVIEWRapid Urbanization: The Environmental Cost and the Way ForwardLi BoPART I: PUBLIC ACTION1. Social Mobilization, Collective Action, and Resistance against Environmental Pollution in 2012Wu Fengshi and Peng Lin2. The Rise and Challenges of Public Environmental TestingHuo WeiyaPART II: GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE3. Improving Government Accountability in the Face of Environmental ChallengesZhang Shiqiu4. Facing a Water Crisis: A Political and Social AnalysisGuo WeiqingPART III: GOVERNMENT POLICIES5. New National Standards for Drinking Water and the Reform of Policies Controlling Pollutant DischargeSong Guojun and Zhang Zhen6. Revision of Environmental Protection Law Stirs ControversyQie JianrongPART IV: LIVABILITY7. Rapid Increase of Waste Incineration Plants Causes ConcernYang Changjiang8. The Challenge of Restoring BrownfieldsGao Shengke9. Food Safety Concerns Encourage Urban Organic FarmingCheng Cunwang and Shi YanPART V: SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION10. A “Modest” New Mechanism for Progressive Electricity PricingYu Jie11. Car Washing in Beijing: Ostentatious Water Use vs. Utilization of Reclaimed WaterHu Kanping12. Progress in Restricting Excessive PackagingMao DaPART V: ECOLOGICAL PROTECTION13. New Hope for Protecting Sanjiangyuan: Headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow, and Mekong Rivers Sanjiangyuan Project of the Shan Shui Conservation Center14. Civil Society Promoting Legislation on Protected Natural AreasXie YanPART VI: DAMS15. Hydropower Development: Return of a Crisis on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze RiverBao Zhiheng16. Xiaonanhai Hydropower Station: A Typical Case of Political Power AbuseLiu Yiman and Ding Zhouyang17. Building Dams on International Rivers: Assuming a More Responsible Role Yi YiminPART VII: POLLUTION18. Soil Contamination Must Be Dealt With Without DelayMa Tianjie19. Oil Spills and Ocean PollutionFeng Jie and Tu FanjingPART VIII: INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS20. Public Bicycles in Cities—Government Support Is KeyMeng Si21. Small Particles, Big Breakthrough: A Report on the Air Quality Information Transparency Index in 113 Cities in 2012Institute of Public and Environmental AffairsPART IX: APPENDIXMajor Environmental Events of 2012Annual Indexes: Environmental TrendsTerminological GlossaryIndex