Join us for a free one-day workshop for educators at the Japanese American National Museum, hosted by the USC U.S.-China Institute and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. This workshop will include a guided tour of the beloved exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community, slated to close permanently in January 2025. Following the tour, learn strategies for engaging students in the primary source artifacts, images, and documents found in JANM’s vast collection and discover classroom-ready resources to support teaching and learning about the Japanese American experience.
Looking at China and the Global Environment
April 25, 2022
Select USCI resources relating to environmental issues in China:
air pollution & climate change | water & soil pollution | waste & recycling | global reach | conservation | urbanization | issues aren't new | government documents
Air pollution and climate change
Clearing the air
April 22, 2022...is, along with purifying water and soil, a pressing issue for China and the United States.
Is China going green?
April 22, 2021Scholars Genia Kostka and Angel Hsu look at China's environmental protection efforts and the use of data in making and implementing Chinese environmental laws. (YouTube)
COVID-19 is changing the environment
March 26, 2020A drop in travel and shuttered businesses has resulted in noticeably cleaner air: China's CO2 emissions are down 25% and satellite images show drops in pollution worldwide.
Could China save the planet?
May 14, 2019Longtime Natural Resources Defense Council leader Barbara Finamore examines China's environmental challenges and a new global system of green finance. (lecture | interview | YouTube)
Measuring to monitor and to mobilize
April 24, 2018The Institute for Public and Environmental Affairs is a pioneering and influential Chinese NGO. One of its officers, Xu Xin, shows how the organization collects and presents environmental data to inform the public and encourage enforcement of environmental regulations (YouTube). Environmental scientist Angel Hsu discusses data-driven environmental policy. (YouTube)
Blue Skies over Beijing: economic growth and the environment
September 9, 2016
Economist Matthew Kahn looks at the everyday choices made by the China's citizens, families, and government. He and his coauthor examine how urbanites increasingly demand cleaner living conditions. Where is China headed? (interview | YouTube)
Water
Running out of water
April 22, 2021Freshwater supplies have been shrinking worldwide. How are the U.S. and China coping?
Water and Food - Lucy Hornby and Simon Shao at our "Finding Solutions" conference
April 24, 2018Journalist Lucy Hornby discusses why water and soil pollution are persistent problems and deepening public concerns (YouTube). Biologist and farmer Simon Shao discusses efforts to address China's food needs (YouTube).
Waste
Buried in plastic?
April 15, 2021The plastics industry is global and the task of cleaning it up should be global too.
Recycling in Beijing
January 21, 2021
Historian Joshua Goldstein discusses the role recycling and recyclers have played in China's economy and its new sustainability challenges. (YouTube) "Waste not, want not" (2016 report) China's wastelands: How the world's trash ends up in China (2013 USCI | YouTube)
Environmental concerns along the Belt and Road
The environmental impact of BRI projects
April 12, 2021
Political scientist Jessica Liao looks at "green merchantilism" in BRI infrastructure projects, exploring what China refers to as "green foreign aid," "green financial systems," and "green trade and investment." (YouTube)
Preservation efforts
Documenting China's wild places and conservation efforts
June 18, 2021Conservation photographer and writer Kyle Obermann discusses his work documenting the evolution of China’s nature reserves, national parks, and grassroots environmental groups. (YouTube)
Pandas as China's modern icon
August 26, 2021Historian Elena Songster's new book links the emergence of the giant panda as a national symbol in China to the development of nature protection in the country. (YouTube)
Panda power
August 26, 2021For a creature whose numbers are small and whose natural habitat is tiny, those lovable pandas have played key global roles in conservation, science and even diplomacy.
Pangolins and a pandemic -China's wildlife trade
August 18, 2021This US-China Today article offers a look at China's lucrative wildlife trafficking industry and how the pandemic is driving demand.
Simba on saving Africa's lions
April 24, 2018
Simba (星巴, originally Zhuo Qiang 卓强) is the first Chinese national engaged in full-time wildlife conservation in Africa. He talks about his life and work among lions in Kenya (YouTube).
Expanding cities
Urbanization in China and the U.S.
October 19, 2021
China's urbanization has raised living standards and astonished observers.
Urbanization's benefits and its costs
May 17, 2016
Speaking at our "China's Growing Pains" conference, scholars Jonathan Woetzel (USCI | YouTube) and Tao Ran (USCI | YouTube) presented contrasting views of what China's rapid urban growth has meant and its sustainability.
Issues of long-standing
When a billion people jump
November 11, 2010
Journalist Jonathan Watts criss-crossed China to report on "an environment in crisis." He tells of this crisis by through vivid stories of individuals, including those with power and many without. (YouTube)
The global impact of China's environmental crisis and resource hunt
May 12, 2009
Researcher Elizabeth Economy looks at the range of environmental challenges in China, governmental and non-governmental responses, and the potential for multilateral cooperation to address problems. (YouTube)
Air quality at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
August 21, 2008
Comparing this summer's air in Beijing with that in Los Angeles (2028 games), New York, and London (2012 games).
Breathing in Beijing: pollution and the Olympics
November 9, 2007
In a US-China Today story, Laura Dilley talks with scientists, athletes and coaches about the challenges pollution imposes on competitors.
Government Documents
Visit our collection of reports, declared intentions, and speeches from Chinese and U.S. government agencies. For example: "Strategy for Cooperation," "Comparison of Green Energy Programs," and "Seafood: Safety and Trade Issues."
Featured Articles
October 20, 2024
October 20, 2024
Please join us for the Grad Mixer! Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, Enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow students across USC Annenberg. Graduate students from any field are welcome to join, so it is a great opportunity to meet fellow students with IR/foreign policy-related research topics and interests.
RSVP link: https://forms.gle/1zer188RE9dCS6Ho6
Events
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 - 3:00pm
Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow international students.
Thursday, November 7, 2024 - 4:00pm
Join us for an in-person conversation on Thursday, November 7th at 4pm with author David M. Lampton as he discusses his new book, Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War. The book examines the history of U.S.-China relations across eight U.S. presidential administrations.