Shifting Nature

China's environment is in trouble, but solutions often seem as harsh as the problems. A third of the world uses water from China's rivers, but rapid industrialization and climate change have led to bad air, polluted rivers and dire water shortages. One "solution" that has received considerable media attention in the West is the channelling of water in the biggest hydroelectric project in world history. While it has benefited nearly half a million people, relocation from dam areas is causing mammoth social upheaval.