Chinese people are helpless and accustomed to frequent severe smog, and this week they suffered another big blow when it comes to the environment they live in. According to a report released by the government on Thursday, about 16.1 percent of soil and 19.4 percent of farm land in the Chinese mainland is polluted. Human industrial and agricultural activities are the main source of the pollution, the report said. Scientists found that soil pollution has already affected people’s lives, resulting in excessive residue in agricultural products and contaminating ground water through permeation. The report is another alarm for the country. A series of environmental pollution issues have happened in recent years. Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities are often shrouded with heavy smog. Some villages are known as cancer villages, as the incidence of cancer is extremely high in those places due to environmental pollution