From today's news... David J. Lynch USA TODAY China's notoriously foul air isn't just a potential showstopper for next summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. Along with the country's polluted water and spendthrift energy usage, China's air-you-can-taste represents a glittering opportunity for U.S. companies peddling environmental wonder gear. "We've seen rather extraordinary growth, and there's really no end in sight," says Bill Taylor, president of ITT China. For decades after the 1949 Communist Revolution, China's leaders embraced a man-over-nature strategy that treated the environment like a sewer. Now, they're devoting intense attention to pollution and energy efficiency, largely because of the Beijing Olympics' approaching spotlight. Chinese officials want to avoid having the Games spoiled by images of masked or wheezing athletes. Companies specializing in "green" products — from mammoth wind turbines to water-treatment systems — already are profiting from China's belated recognition of the environmental cost it's paying for its fast-forward economy. One indication: Last year, U.S. companies exported to China more than $2.3 billion worth of environmental goods, more than three times the amount in 2002. That increase benefited companies from giant General Electric (GE) to start-up Transition Energy and outpaced the overall gain in U.S. exports to China of 149% over the same period. But U.S. companies' hopes for an environmental windfall are imperiled by intense competition from European and Japanese rivals, which enjoy strong backing from their governments, as well as Chinese policies designed to promote domestic suppliers. Companies producing environmental gear also face the customary headaches of doing business in China, including concerns that Chinese partners will steal their trade secrets and reverse-engineer American products. Read the rest of this USA TODAY story