Ten years ago, the skies over Hong Kong were often blue, according to Wharton management professor Marshall Meyer. "The water was questionable, but the air was clear." Today, the skies are permanently gray -- covered with smog from southern China's factories -- and residents say the only clear days are during the Chinese New Year week, when workers take a rare break for the holiday. "Hong Kong is utterly polluted," Meyer says.
Those busy factories have made China one of the world's most important manufacturing hubs in just two decades. This year, in fact, China is forecast to displace the U.S. as the world's number-one producer of carbon dioxide, one unhappy measure of that manufacturing strength.
Now, some wonder if the country can take much more smog-driven success. Over half of China's shallow groundwater is contaminated, according to the Chinese Geological Survey and seven of the world's 10 most-polluted cities are in China, notes a 2005 World Health Organization study.
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