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For World Water Day, Photos of China s Industrial Water Pollution

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In case you missed it, The Atlantic’s In Focus photo blog has a stunning collection of photos that document industrial water pollution in southern China’s “cancer villages”. The photoset comes via Greenpeace in an effort to raise awareness of Chinese activists fighting industrial pollution in their villages for World Water Day, which was March 22, 2013.

Fair warning, some of the photos are graphic and intense in their depiction of cancer sufferers in villages with industrial water pollution.

Looking at these photos and reading stories about air pollution, I wonder what will be China’s “Silent Spring” or Cuyahoga River fires; the images or text that shake people into saying, “OK, enough.” Not that we have everything figured out in the United States, but we know from our own experiences that unfettered industrialization at the expense of the natural world has its limits.

David Wogan is an engineer and policy researcher who writes about energy, technology, and policy.

David's academic and professional background includes a unique blend of technology and policy in the field of energy systems. Most recently, David worked at Austin Energy, a Texas municipal utility, implementing a Department of Energy stimulus grant related to energy efficiency. Previously, David was a member of the Energy & Climate Change team at the White House Council on Environmental Quality for the Obama Administration.

David holds two Master's degrees from The University of Texas at Austin in Mechanical Engineering and Public Affairs. While at UT, David was a researcher in the Webber Energy Group, where his research focused on advanced biofuel production to offset petroleum use in the transportation sector. David holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, where he researched nuclear non-proliferation measurement technology.

David is a 2013 Aspen Institute Journalism Scholar, joining a select group of journalists from Slate, ABC News, and The New York Times.

David lives in Austin, Texas. Follow along on Twitter or email him at david.wogan@me.com.

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