Environmental damage halts commercial land reclamation in China

This is China’s Ocean Flower Island, one of a slew of commercial reclaimed islands designed to draw an über wealthy crowd à la Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, Bloomberg reports. Commercial land reclamation in China has been an immense project: From 2013 to 2016, nearly 420 square km was reclaimed, not counting the disputed islands in the South China Sea. The practice was banned last year over environmental concerns though, and the industry has since slowed. While commercial developments have halted, public works and national defense projects continue.