In the 1990s Ma became known as an investigative journalist, working at theSouth China Morning Post from 1993 to 2000. There, he began to specialize in articles on environmental subjects. He eventually became the Chief Representative ofSCMP.com inBeijing.[1]
Ma's 1999 bookChina's Water Crisis (Zhongguo shui weiji) has been compared toRachel Carson'sSilent Spring – China's first major book on the subject of that nation's environmental crisis.[2]
He directs the IPE (Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs), which developed the China Water Pollution Map[3] (中国水污染地图), the first public database ofwater pollution information in China. He also serves as environmental consultant for the Sinosphere Corporation.[1]
Ma said: "Water pollution is the most serious environmental issuefacing China. It has a huge impact on people’s health and economic development. That is why we have begun to build this database. To protect water resources, we need to encourage public participation and strengthen law enforcement. In some places, polluting factories and companies are being protected by local governments and officials."[4]
In 2010, Ma, addressingair pollution particularly in the wake of efforts made at the time of theBeijing Olympics, said "many of the government’s efforts to curtail pollution had been offset by the number of construction projects that spit dust into the air and the surge in private car ownership."[5]
^"In China, Pollution Worsens Despite New Efforts", by Andrew Jacobs with Lim Xin Hui and Xiyun Yang contributing research,The New York Times, July 28, 2010 (July 29, 2010 p. A4 of NY ed.). Retrieved 2010-07-29.
