Believe it or not, there is actually huge popular concern about the environment here in Beijing. Much more than in America. Unfortunately, the populous is often taken in by misinformation, spread by the government, companies, or simply urban legends.

On the other hand, they are always bold and aggressive about trying out new ideas. This one is very very important. Not many people know it, but Beijing tap water is safe to drink from a pathogenic stand-point. It is deep ground water, not contaminated surface water. However, it tastes horrible and contains a frightening amount of minerals and even heavy metals.

Why is this? Because they are practically sucking it out of the limestone bedrock....

Believe it or not, there is actually huge popular concern about the environment here in Beijing. Much more than in America. Unfortunately, the populous is often taken in by misinformation, spread by the government, companies, or simply urban legends.

On the other hand, they are always bold and aggressive about trying out new ideas. This one is very very important. Not many people know it, but Beijing tap water is safe to drink from a pathogenic stand-point. It is deep ground water, not contaminated surface water. However, it tastes horrible and contains a frightening amount of minerals and even heavy metals.

Why is this? Because they are practically sucking it out of the limestone bedrock. The water table in Beijing has fallen 80 feet in the last ten years. This is really beyond most people's ability to imagine. I have watched deep lakes and rushing rivers completely disappear. The river spanned by the Marco Polo Bridge in the south was the first to go. The river bed, easily 500 yards across, is completely dry and groves of young trees and tall grass grow in it now.

Much of this is the result of too much pavement which disrupts the cycle that replenishes ground water. Pavement is also a fixture of the Chinese way of thinking about urban planning. (Traditionally, Chinese eschew a lawn for a cobbled court-yard with potted plants.) If they can find a way to make their pavement more environmentally friendly, it will make a huge difference. It will also probably help to solve the minor flooding problems that happen every time we get a heavy rain.