While China’s economic flowering might be benefiting millions of people, it is also degrading their quality of life. The European Space Agency released satellite data last week showing that the air in the Chinese capital Beijing and its neighboring provinces contains the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide in the world. Analysts estimate that such elevated pollution levels probably account for 400,000 premature deaths in the region every year.

In a report released last week, the World Conservation Union announced that without intervention, half of the world’s coral reefs would be gone by 2045. "Twenty percent of the Earth’s coral reefs, arguably the richest of all marine ecosystems, have been effectively destroyed today," said Carl Gustaf Lundin, who runs the marine environment program for the Swiss-based nonprofit that published the report.

The CEO of Wal-Mart–that king of the big box retailers long condemned by environmentalists for irresponsible development, violations of clean water laws and other crimes against nature–announced last week that his company is embarking on a new $500 million-a-year initiative to green its operations.