In the village of Longbaoshan, northwest of Beijing, the inhabitants are trying to prevent their village from being engulfed by ferocious sandstorms. This shocking ecological disaster has destroyed five years of crops, leading many to abandon their farms, sell their livestock, and move to neighboring villages.

Meteorologist Hao Yan describes the movement of sand clouds from northwest China at a rate of ninety thousand tons per year in storms so powerful that they can carry as far as Korea, Japan, and even California. Scientists describe how planetary temperatures are rising as a result of increased atmospheric greenhouse gases, which China emits at a rate second only to that of the United States. This warming, combined with Chinese agricultural practices, few rainstorms, and violent winds, has produced the increasingly intense sandstorms that lead to desertification.

Aware of this mounting situation, the Chinese government announced a significant reforestation plan, the Great Green Wall of China, to prevent desertification and declared their intent to invest more than eight million dollars in these efforts leading up to the 2008 Olympics.