The first thing I notice, aside from the city's faintly acrid air and forests of bamboo construction scaffolds, is the absence of the bicycles so popular in China.
As we drive through a forest of high-rise construction projects, he tells me every single one of them has involved bribery of the officials who control land use and the law.
Like with any agricultural crop, an expansion in demand can often lead to increased clearcutting of forests and construction of roads.
All of these improvements have reduced the environmental impact of forest road construction significantly, while simultaneously improving the quality of the roads.
From 2006 to 2012, the ESV of forest, construction land, and the others category increased, among which the construction land increased the most.
In general from 2006 to 2012, the total area of construction land, forest, and the 'other's category increased, while the total area of farmland, orchard, water, grassland, and tidal marsh decreased, with construction land as the most rapidly expanding land use type.
Lift your eyes from this bucolic scene and it's almost a shock to see a forest of glass skyscrapers and construction cranes.
When a conscientious government department requests advice on the potential environmental effects of a proposed agricultural development scheme for an area of tropical forest or of the construction of an irrigation dam in an arid area, it is a chastening experience for the "scientist" to have to admit that he has no hard and fast advice to give.
