The pace of development in China is astonishing, and it is assaulting the natural world at an alarming rate. China has become the planet's largest home of endangered wildlife, its top importer of tropical trees, and its biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. This growth has impacts worldwide: in Brazil, farmers clear swathes of the Amazon to plant soybeans for the Chinese market; in India, poachers hunt tigers and elephants to feed Chinese demand; and in the United States, clouds of mercury and ozone drift earthward after trans-Pacific journeys. This insightful book looks at how an ascending China has surpassed the United States as the worst-polluting superpower. It argues that China's 21st-century legacy will be determined not by political alliances, but by how quickly its growth degrades the environment -- and whether it can stem the damage. Combining in-depth reporting with scientific research and a wide range interviews, The Devouring Dragon shines a spotlight on how China has put our planet's forests, wildlife, oceans, and climate in jeopardy, multiplying the risks for everyone.
About the Author
Craig Simons has reported on the environment from a dozen Asian nations for Newsweek and Cox Newspapers. He has also written for Outside, Backpacker, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He studied at Harvard University, The University of Pennsylvania, and—as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow—MIT.
Industry Reviews
"From the coal mines of Colorado to the forests of Papua New Guinea, and all over China in between, Craig Simons illustrates from the ground up how the Middle Kingdom's economic takeoff is upending the planet at the very moment it is reaching an environmental tipping point. The book is both a gripping grassroots narrative of economic development as well as a heartfelt plea for the future."--Richard McGregor, author of "The Party" and Washington Bureau chief for the "Financial Times""""China's insatiable appetite for resources has raised the world's metabolism in ways that you could never imagine. Craig Simons' "Devouring Dragon" takes you clear across the globe--from the ghost town of Trinidad, Colo., to a jungle in Papua New Guinea to the world's largest dam on the Yangtze River -- as he tells the fascinating story of the world's interconnectedness. This is the most important book about the environment in years, scary, riveting and packed with insight into how the world's resources are exploited for economic growth."--Barbara Demick, author of "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea" and "Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood""""In "The Devouring Dragon," Craig Simons gives a lucid portrayal of the ways in which the world is being changed by China's rise. The science and the statistics are sobering, but so are the human faces behind the numbers as Simons writes with deep sympathy for people struggling to overcome poverty and isolation: the New Guinean who longs to travel, the Chinese farm family who, despite being careful consumers, are part of a massive transformation that threatens to throw the world out of balance."--Peter Hessler, author of "River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, ""Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip "and "Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China""""Simons paints a devastating picture of the global consequences of China's relentless and rapacious growth, from the clear-cutting of the e
