Introduction

Energy shortages have greatly hindered the industrial, agricultural, and social development of China. They have caused tremendous financial losses in foregone potential production and foreign investment. Capital spent on machinery that has been damaged by power failures, or which was forced to operate at only a fraction of its capacity, has been wasted. The lack of an alternative to coal has perpetuated the gathering of burnable vegetation in the rural areas, resulting in the permanent loss of millions of acres of once fertile land through erosion, and thereby greatly contributing to recurring and devastating floods.