Earlier this year, we brought you the news that Shanghai’s youth values are turning a shade greener, with ever increasing awareness of and activism in China’s environmental movement. This is thanks in part to the expansion of NGOs in China. We went along to meet Tori Zwisler, the executive director of Shanghai Roots and Shoots, and recent recipient of Shanghai Volunteer Association's '2009 Volunteer of the Year' award, to see how her organisation is educating and empowering the city’s youth. more ›

Perhaps I just haven't been keeping up with wind power news, but I was surprised to discover this morning that China has just installed its first offshore wind farm and - guess what - it's off the shore of Shanghai. Called Shanghai Donghai Bridge, it's a 102-megawatt system and it's planning to come online this month, right before Expo. more ›

For the jaded among us who believe that all Chinese youth care for are money and material things, we have news for you: The 2010 Chinese Youth Green Values Report, launched by Shanghai-based sustainability consultancy Greennovate and youth-insights group enovate, shows that values among China's young are turning a shade greener. more ›

• Now that Google's revealed its worries about China hacking into people's emails accounts. It seems like everyone's realizing that their email accounts are being hacked or trying to be hacked into by China. Huh. [Ars Technica]
• Chinese directors feel super insecure after Avatar, which has earned $1.1 billion USD so far in China. Well, guys, that's the power of Cameron. [China Daily]
• When it comes to big renewable energy deals, Red China ought to be called Green China, says Todd Woody. [Grist]

• Hey, environmentalists! Here's an idea: if you want China to save a species, tell them its delicious. It worked for the Songjiang perch, that was banned years ago when it became a protected species, but just made it back onto tables after a successful artificial breeding program. Now we know what they're making all those pandas for. [Shanghai Daily]
• Thomas Friedman's back with more things to say about how the U.S. can learn from China. [New York Times]
• Since Chinese manufacturers are no longer allowed to use lead in kid toys, some of them have been substituting the heavy metal with the even more dangerous cadmium. Great! [MSNBC]

Since the last time we updated you on the happenings from the Danish capital last week, the Copenhagen talks have got a little confrontational. Indoors, away from the protests, the US argued that China’s promised emissions cuts should be internationally verified. China's reply: "thanks, but no thanks." Plus, the US refused to accept legally binding emissions cuts unless China followed suit. more ›

We're pretty used to celebrities being the face of international causes and campaigns, whether it be global warming or genocide in Darfur. Then again, that's probably because Americans have developed an outstanding capacity to listen to famous people weigh in on important topics like intellectual welterweights. But rarely do we see celebrities attend significant events: save Bono, the realm of actual policy is reserved for experts and politicians, leaving fundraisers and PR events for the publicity-minded. more ›

Week one of the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen, which aims to draw up a treaty to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, is almost up and we've been following it closely to bring you a summary of what's being said about China's role. more ›

The most talked about climate flick since An Inconvenient Truth is down for its first licensed showing in Shanghai this Wednesday! The Age of Stupid tells the story of how our era´s stupidity and lack of action in the climate matter will be looked upon from a futuristic point of view, namely in the devastated world of 2055. The movie didn´t make it into Chinese cinemas so Dulwich College in Shanghai is now showing it, making Wednesday´s event one of the few public screenings in China of this engaging film. Sounds like a must-do! more ›

Bert van Dijk, the Shanghai-based correspondent for Netherlands business newspaper Het Finacieele Dagblad has spent the last four months with Dutch photographer Frans Schellekens documenting China's water problems - of which there are many (and of which we've talked about a couple times before). He's planning on publishing a book about it and also organizing a photo-exhibition in the city, but in the meantime he's put up snippets of his research online. more ›

In some of the more baffling news we've heard in a while, it seems that China has enjoyed a large increase in car sales this year while the demand for gas has fallen. How does that work, exactly? Some experts imagine newer, more gas efficient cars are replacing older, less efficient ones, while other question whether the government is buying cars up to pump up the industry. Then again, it seems that national gas consumption statistics only focus on figures from the two major state refiners, which makes the whole situation even more obfuscating. We're wondering: as this trend continues, does this mean there will be more or less traffic jams? more ›

In the latest and potentially greatest attempt by the government to spruce up our lovely Shanghai before the expo, the government has started a "most beautiful balcony competition." And the best part? The winner gets 3,000 yuan! more ›

As a testament to the increasingly daring nature of Chinese citizens, people have come out in mass to voice their vehement dislike of a recent government policy. Considering China's harsh treatment of large scale public protests and the potential ramifications participating could have on individuals, we figure only the most egregious of political moves could bring together so many people in harmonious dissent. So what happened? more ›

Besides all the subways and road renovations, one of the things we can look forward to come Expo time is... cleaner water? According to officials from the local water bureau, the city is about to fulfill a three-year water-purification plan that will produce cleaner rivers and lakes by the end of next year. Since 2000, the city has established 50 sewage plants capable of processing 672 tons of water each day and earlier this year, they began an anti-pollution drive targeting 33,000 local small rivers. All of which means: we might actually be able to touch Suzhou Creek's water one day without turning into slime. more ›

• You could just call it good business, or you could call it a complete disregard for humanity - China's $7 billion resource deal with the African nation of Guinea (currently under a regime without legitimacy) has basically screwed Guineans out of their lifeline out of poverty. [The Independent]
• Want an explanation of what the Obama-Hu collaboration for clean energy and climate change really means? So do we. So here's one. [Green Leap Forward]
• Want to see a Chinese interview of President Obama? Here's the one Southern Weekly did. [Southern Weekly]

• Haha, look - it's an Obama egg, made by egg artist Kang Yongguo in Liaoning Province. [Obamafoodorama]
• Tao Weishuo (陶韡烁) defends a statement he made: "I strongly disagree with what Obama said about the Internet firewall... I think all Chinese people have Internet freedom - we can speak out freely on the Internet about current social affairs", which generated a wave of criticism from netizens. [China Digital Times]
• Gosh there's a lot of green news coming out of China. Here's a summary of some of the biggest things to hit the wire and what they might mean. [NY Times]

A few weeks ago the metro stop at People's Square was turned from a bastion of commercialism into a moving display of environmental art. Check out the large installation, which featured work designed for the China Environmental Protection Foundation, and wish it was there instead of Haibao looming at you. [China Environmental Blog] more ›

While we've already heard many times over how much carbon dioxide emissions China produces, but we were still shocked by how much comes just from Shanghai. Apparently, our city throws out 5,400 tons of CO2 equivalent a year - as much carbon as two Sydneys and three Tokyos. Granted, we've also got five times the amount of people as Sydney (and twice the amount of Tokyo), but geez louise. Experts from Tongji University's College of Environmental Science and Engineering said that restructuring industry would help lower our footprint, since over 60% of fumes are industry-based. more ›

In more environmental news, the government has decided to subsidize 294 solar power plants which will generate 642 megawatts of power. The subsidies are part of China's "golden sun" plan, a project meant to find alternative energy sources. As Obama made carbon emissions a key point in his town hall meeting with students earlier today, it looks as if Hu Jintao will have some bragging points. more ›

China Green has released another great look at some of the environmental problems plaguing this country. This time around, we head to the Tibetan plateau's Anyemaqen mountain range and the effects of climate change there. As explained on their website: more ›

• A netizen compares teaching methods in the U.S. and China through the story of Cinderella. While the U.S. version is a little off (can you ever imagine an elementary school teacher telling girls that they're evil if they're ugly?), it's still an apt analysis. [ChinaSmack]
• Another U.S. and China comparison, this one more morbid. While in the U.S., people are fighting to keep abortion a choice, here in China, people are fighting to keep not aborting a choice. [Washington Post]
• A man in Shenyang is now renting himself out as a punching bag for stressed women. Being in Shanghai, we can just use our boyfriends. [Ananova]

Unlike so many of those elderly Chinese men we see on the street walking their miniature dogs (or birds) in their pajamas, Han Fushan, a 71-year-old retired engineer living in Beijing has found a way to give his community something nice to look at. Han spends much of his time transforming discarded plastic bags (fun fact: about 300 tonnes of plastic is thrown away a day here) into high-flying kites. In the process, Han has gained the attention of many fellow park-goers, garnering what Reuters calls a “solid fan base” through his now 600-strong collection of uniquely imaginative kites, some of which feature local sports stars and opera singers. Photo from Xinhua more ›