A young migrant worker shovels heavily polluted mu

BEIJING, CHINA: A young migrant worker shovels heavily polluted mud and water from an almost dried up river bed to form a small diversion in the stream 10 November 1999 next to a massive power plant in Beijing. China is one of the worst polluted countries in the world, with its environment, especially its air and water quality, greatly suffering from decades of rampant, unchecked development with little regard given to the eventual health and environmental consequences. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO/Stephen SHAVER (Photo credit should read STEPHEN SHAVER/AFP via Getty Images)