Is it me or is it getting hot in here?

Well it's the fault of global warming elves, who have been wreaking havoc on China of late. First they go and make it hard for Harbin to hold the ice festival in an economical way by raising the temperature by five degrees (Celsius) over the average, while in other parts of China, there are those who are rapidly losing their source of drinking water. The subject of the latter, part of an article written by Beijing Newspeak blogger Chris O'Brien, is Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province. And it's not just human beings that are being endangered there; much of the world's population of Siberians cranes calls the place home. The lake is shrinking, and being at the mercy of the Yangtze River, itself suffering from the worst drought in years, the picture seems bleak. For one, conducts its first nationwide pollution survey?

If you want to see some pictures, take a look at the photo essay that accompanies O'Brien's article.

Image from dkimages.com