China, the country that continues to receive a failing grade in environmental sustainability, may be changing its ways. On August 14th, two chemical-factory officials convicted of releasing carbolic acid into a river were sentenced to prison terms of six and 11 years. According to the Xinhua news service, it was the first time environmental criminals were jailed on such charges.

The Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Co. was releasing poisonous chemicals in a river, tainting a water source for 200,000 residents—a crime worthy of punishment. So why were local authorities so reluctant to uphold environmental standards? That plant contributes to one-sixth of the GDP for Fengxiang county, making it an essential economic generator and job maker.

China has continually faced the same dilemma: a scale with the economy on one end and the environment on the other. More often than not, they opt to help the economy. While this recent enforcement of environmental stipulations is uplifting, it is only one example of Chinese government policy actually being put into action.

Fed up citizens have been protesting chemical spills and factory pollution. The most recent protest was on August 17th when civilians in Shaanxi province took action by demonstrating outside a smelting plant that allegedly sickened over 600 children.

The Shaanxi uprising followed another protest just three weeks ago in the central province of Hunan. On July 30th, 1,000 villagers gathered to protest the Changsha Xianghe chemical plant for polluting the area and causing 500 people to fall ill. There had also been two deaths from cadmium poisoning, which residents blame on the factory. While they had been voicing their concern to the plant for ages, this summer they took to the streets and forced local authorities to listen.

China is the number one coal user in the world and environmental demonstrations have occurred for years. In 2005 alone, an estimated 50,000 pollution-related protests occurred and that number has been increasing each year. In the fall of 2008, a survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found that some 80% of Chinese believed environmental protection should be a main concern.

China may have a bad rep for pollution, but the United States isn’t receiving an A grade for green goodness either! Help protect the environment here at home:

• Learn easy ways to prevent pollution!
• Read our list of 27 things you can do to stop global warming and share them with your friends.