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A Note From the Editor
At Yale Environment 360
this week, journalist Christina Larson explores why China’s highly touted plans for eco-cities have
turned out to be little more than hype and have largely been
abandoned. Designed by teams of international architects, cities such as
Dongtan and Huangbaiyu were supposed to be models of energy efficiency
and sustainable living. Instead, they’ve become symbols of bold visions
that mostly stayed on the drawing boards — or collapsed from shoddy
implementation. One key reason, explains Larson, is that design teams
plunged into the projects with little understanding of how Chinese people
lived or of local culture or politics. Read Larson’s article here.
Also today, Yale Environment 360 features a report
from Bolivia on the rapid melting of Andean glaciers and the
profound impact the loss of this vital water source could have on tens of
millions of people in South America. The dispatch from reporter Carolyn
Kormann highlights an increasingly important issue facing the world as
temperatures continue to rise: Developing countries such as Bolivia,
which produce few greenhouse gases, will soon be grappling with some of
the most disruptive effects of climate change. Read Kormann’s article here.
Check out these and all our features at Yale Environment 360
and add your comments to the discussion. And be sure to keep track of the
latest environmental news on our daily e360 Digest.
Roger Cohn
Editor
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