Algal blooms caused by industrial pollution blight Dian Chi Lake. Bob Sacha/Corbis

In Beijing, pedestrians often wear face masks as they walk through the thick yellow smog that blankets the city. But China's air pollution does not just afflict its capital: pollutants blow across the Pacific, smothering lands west of the Rockies in a haze that worsens asthma and allergies. China recognizes that it must alter its environmental course, as is clearly evident in NRDC's latest short film, Green Print China.

During the last 10 years, the Chinese government, in partnership with NRDC, has been creating a road map for sustainable growth. Collaborative projects have included a Chinese Ministry of Construction plan to build the country's first internationally certified green building in Beijing, an initiative that recently led to the launch of a nationwide green building campaign. "The dialog is very much an open, working relationship," NRDC trustee Maya Lin says. The partnership is essential to helping the nation cut energy use per unit of GDP by 20 percent by 2010. See progress unfold at nrdc.org/china.