"LITTLE INCENTIVE TO DO THE RIGHT THING":

Chinese villages, poisoned by toxins, battle for justice: Tainted wells have spurred legal drive for cleanup, compensation. (Kathleen E. McLaughlin, 6/23/06, The Christian Science Monitor)

Along with its overheated economic growth, China has developed vast environmental problems. Even as spoiled air, water, and soil have degraded the environment across the country, they have often caused illnesses. Serious protests have often followed: The countryside saw nearly 90,000 uprisings last year, the government says, and 50,000 were related to pollution. [...]

[S]mall towns like Leifeng and Puxing, which are just a few hundred miles away from those cities, have languished. Good intentions from the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) can't solve every problem, and local officials often have little incentive to do the right thing. The job of fighting for victims of environmental disasters is thus being taken up by growing ranks of activists and lawyers.