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do you care?
Are you concerned about global warming? Acid rain? Ozone depletion? Deforestation of the rain forests? Desertification of once productive land? Pollution of our air and water? Extinction of species of animals and plants? Do you recycle some things? Do you try to conserve our natural resources?
'Development' and 'Modernization' are mere groundless excuses to ruin our vulnerable environment. Just take a look at those construction sites all over the places and myriads of cars lining up the city streets, letting out greasy gas that makes you dizzy the whole day.
Are you satisfied with the poor environment you live in? And do you ever grumble about it? Tell you, grumble is USELESS!
China generates solid waste at an astonishing rate of 1.2 kilo per day per person, which translates to 400,000 tons per day or 140 million tons per year, and this rate doesn't show any tendency to decline. 85 percent of the country's household waste end up in landfills and only a limited portion of them are being recycled. Ground water contamination due to frequent landfill leakages largely affected the quality of the already scarce drinking water supply. Garbage has not only taken up large amounts of land, severely damaged the biological environment of urban and rural areas, polluted air and water, but has also triggered the spread of disease, threatening the safety of human lives. The accelerated urbanization and economic development adds a heavy burden to environment, and people's poor awareness of recycling simply makes a bad situation worse.
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Last year's outbreak of the SARS disease doesn't seem to have generated more concern among the public for the environment. Smelly garbage dumps are still being left untended along the city streets, and to many of us, walking several more steps is just a big toil. Since last year, the Municipal Government has started to install expensive recycle bins in downtown areas as well as 2-color collection bins in many neighborhoods, but citizens simply don't have a green bent: organic wastes are thrown commingled with recyclables, which makes sorting and collection a mission impossible. Thanks to an army of most unemployed and homeless people who search the trash bins for cans and bottles and get them recycled. Shanghai is striving for "a beautiful city and a beautiful life" following its successful bid to host the World Expo in 2010. The "3-Year Action Plan" (2003-2005) of environmental protection and construction in Shanghai will not succeed without a complete shift of our people's |
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The environmental problems facing China as well as facing the entire world have resulted in a mass extinction of various species. Our environment is deteriorating at an alarming pace. And the victims are always the animals! What role are we playing as human beings? Isn't it our responsibility to love and protect the beautiful earth we live on? This is something we really need to ponder.
For the homeland, please recycle to protect the environment!
