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POPSPollution in China 
"It was only when pollution literally started to bloom across the lakes of China earlier this summer that the country's leaders finally sounded full alarm on the environment. Blue-green algae blooms choked Lake Taihu - China's third biggest source of freshwater - in May, forcing 5 million people to use bottled water for drinking and bathing. "Soon after, local media were reporting outbreaks across the country. Rancid blooms contaminated Dianchi Lake in southwestern China, then Xinlicheng reservoir, the main source of water for Changchun - a northern city of almost 3 million people. In every case, pollution - either from factories, fertilizer or untreated sewage - was to blame. "Algae blooms are nature's response to discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus. Grown to excess, they choke waterways of oxygen, killing fish and fouling the air with a putrid smell. When prime minister Wen Jiabao visited Lake Taihu, he reportedly described it as an environmental wake-up call to the nation."
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