It isn't news that China has a huge and still growing
population, nor that the economy is growing rapidly in the
context of an enormous trade surplus. But looking at what China
is today importing, and extending a few trends out into the
future a decade or two, gives an interesting slant to food and
energy markets that everyone should be thinking about. I've been
digging into these issues as part of Bio-era's consulting
practices on biofuels and emerging biotechnologies. What follows
are some notes on trends to watch. Arable Land: China is
actively moving farmers off the land in an attempt to slow
desertification: The relocation program is part of a larger plan
to rein in China's expanding deserts, which now cover one-third
of the country and continue to grow because of overgrazing,
deforestation, urban sprawl The shifting sands have swallowed
thousands of Chinese villages along the fabled Silk Road and
sparked a sharp increase in sandstorms; dust from China clouds
the skies of South Korea and has been linked