Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. Photo: Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 19, 2009. (Photo by Jianan Yu/Reuters)

In this April 28, 2014 file photo, a woman throws a rock and a bag at police blocking her from getting home in the Huepetuhe district of the Madre de Dios region of Peru. Security forces began destroying illegal gold mining machinery in Peru's southeastern jungle region of Madre de Dios, as authorities began enforcing a ban on illegal mining. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

A person dressed as cartoon character Homer Simpson sits on an NYPD security barricade in Times Square as preparations are made for New Years Eve in New York December 29, 2014. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

An Indian woman dressed as Hindu Goddess Kali participates in a “Shivratri” procession in Allahabad, India, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014. “Shivaratri”, or the night of Shiva, is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of death and destruction. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar SinghAP Photo)

Protesters wearing masks perform during anti-austerity and anti-graft protests in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on January 11, 2013. More than 5,000 Slovenians gathered in the center of Ljubljana on Friday to protest against a corruption scandal that threatens to bring down the government. Slovenia's anti-corruption commission said earlier this week that Prime Minister Janez Jansa had been unable to explain the source of some of his income in recent years. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters via The Atlantic)

A Syrian boy receives treatment at a hospital in the regime-held part of Aleppo on October 13, 2016. Syrian state television said four children were killed by rebel rocket fire on a school in a western regime-held neighbourhood. (Photo by George Ourfalian/AFP Photo)

A performer takes part in a night parade to celebrate Chinese New Year in Hong Kong Friday, February 16, 2018. The Lunar New Year this year marks the Year of the Dog in the Chinese calendar. (Photo by Vincent Yu/AP Photo)