View source for What impact have these poor environmental conditions had on China?

China's current poor environmental situation causes great socioeconomic loss, increases the nation's health costs, more frequent and damaging natural disasters, and increasing social inequities.  For example, the losses from pollution and ecological damage ranged from 7% to 20% of GDP every year in the past two decades.  From 1996 to 2001, China's spending on public health increased by 80%, or more than 13% per year in part to cope with environmental problems.  The number of mass protests caused by environmental issues has grown by 29% every year. Finally, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters have become increasingly frequent and damaging causing great financial losses as well as that of human life.