China gives bleak assessment of its battered environment

"More than half of China's cities are affected by acid rain and one-sixth of major rivers are so polluted the water is unfit even for farmland, a senior official said on Friday in a bleak assessment of the environmental price of the country's economic boom."..."The environmental degradation which has accompanied China's breakneck growth has emerged as one of the most potent fault lines in Chinese society, driving protests against Beijing's perceived inability to effectively tackle the problem."..."China has repeatedly promised to clean up its stressed environment. But it often fails to match that with the resources and political will to enforce Beijing's mandates, as local officials put growth, revenue and jobs ahead of environmental protection." Extracted from this Engineering News article [our highlighting]