 The Chinese government has acknowledged the problems and made various responses, resulting in some improvements, but the responses have been criticized as inadequate.In recent years, there has been increased citizens' activism against government decisions that are perceived as environmentally damaging, and a retired official from the Communist Party of China has reported that the year of 2012 saw over 50,000 environmental protests in China.The Center for American Progress has described China's environmental policy as similar to that of the United States before 1970.