Earth Day is an annual event whereby people attempt to raise awareness of impending environmental issues and corrective measures that can be taken before it's too late. This year, 22 April will mark Earth Day and the motto is "Mobilise the Earth". However, what exactly does it mean to "Mobilise the Earth"? Many cities will host events attempting to raise awareness, but will any long term benefit be realised? Earth day is now in its 42nd year, having been first celebrated in San Francisco in 1970. When Earth Day first began in the west, China was still firmly following the principles of Chairman Mao and had not yet begun its opening up policy and rapid modernisation.
Today, China is known as one of the world's top polluters. From poor air quality in Beijing, to toxic soil in Wuhan and beyond, the side effect of China's growth has tarnished the remarkable success story that China has become in regards to the global economy. When the cost of this pollution is measured against this growth, it becomes apparent that while many people enjoy much better standards of living today in terms of material wealth, it could be stated that the overall quality of life for Chinese has actually decreased due to increased pollution throughout the country.
While there seems to be a new issue raised in the media each week about some kind of pollution or food safety issue, air pollution is what often first comes to mind when pollution as a topic comes up. I agree that the air in China leaves much to be desired, especially with the large number of smokers everywhere, but the main thing that surprised me when I arrived in China almost three years ago was actually the amount of litter and rubbish that can be found in the major cities.
Chinese people are fiercely nationalistic and criticism from a "wai guo ren" would be sure to provoke angry responses. Americans would be the same way if someone were to criticise the United States. I'm sure if I asked people the question "Do you love China?" randomly on the street, I would get looks of surprise because it would seem to be a rhetorical question for any Chinese. That's why it's surprising to me when I see people randomly littering and using pretty much anywhere as a rubbish bin. I would be hard pressed to count the number of times I've been in traffic and have seen another car roll down their window, then launch a tissue, cigarette box, or whatever out onto the street.
Littering is often disregarded when compared to other forms of pollution. It's easy not think of it in environmental terms when you look up at the sky each day and the sun is obscured by a thick haze of smog or you walk by one of the local rivers and smell something straight out of the sewer. These things sneak up on you and you often don't realise it. Added to the problem is the high number of street sweepers, and people don't even consider throwing away their garbage because they know somebody in an orange jacket will come behind them and fix the problem that they are making.
Education is considered the best way to try to change people's perceptions about littering. Education was also thought to be the answer in the United States once disposable packing entered the marketplace. I highly disagree with this. Chinese people place an extremely high value on money, which can be seen by their saving rates when compared to the rest of the world. Education doesn't work because there is no immediate and direct effect towards changing behaviours. To solve China's littering problem, along with other environmental issues, a straight line to the pocketbook should be adopted. It's amazing how quickly people run out of buildings to move their cars when they know the police are coming to write parking tickets. Imagine how quickly they would stop littering if they knew a hefty ticket awaited them for their snot covered tissue they didn't want in their car for a few extra minutes.
Fines for littering exist in some of the cities, but as with many things here, ENFORCEMENT is a major concern. I have never seen a person fined for littering. Rarely have I seen a person fined for driving through a red light. I can only guess this is because Beijing worries that if police are overly aggressive in fining people, it will cause social unrest. The opposite of this is how much social unrest will it cause when the country becomes a garbage dump?
This brings us all back to Earth Day and trying to save what environment we do have left. It's not possible to protest every factory belching smoke or hold rallies proclaiming our love of trees. Education takes years to truly change peoples' habits and produce noticeable results. The quick fix is likely to be highly unpopular, but the reality is that it would be the most effective way to slow down the ticking of China's environmental timebomb. I have high hopes for China's future, having worked extensively with young people from several different universities. They realise the issue and instead of throwing their litter in the road, many of them drop it off at overflowing rubbish bins. The next step is not just to celebrate Earth Day, but implement Earth Day along with a heaping portion of enforcement. China has the people to do it. We all know there's no shortage of people, but that's another story. So, when you celebrate Earth Day, don't just think about what you can do, DO what you can do. Maybe it will keep the environmental timebomb here in China from exploding.
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Earth Day is an annual event whereby people attempt to raise awareness of impending environmental issues and corrective measures that can be taken before it's too late. This year, 22 April will mark Earth Day and the motto is "Mobilise the Earth". However, what exactly does it mean to "Mobilise the Earth"? Many cities will host events attempting to raise awareness, but will any long term benefit be realised? Earth day is now in its 42nd year, having been first celebrated in San Francisco in 1970. When Earth Day first began in the west, China was still firmly following the principles of Chairman Mao and had not yet begun its opening up policy and rapid modernisation.
While there seems to be a new issue raised in the media each week about some kind of pollution or food safety issue, air pollution is what often first comes to mind when pollution as a topic comes up. I agree that the air in China leaves much to be desired, especially with the large number of smokers everywhere, but the main thing that surprised me when I arrived in China almost three years ago was actually the amount of litter and rubbish that can be found in the major cities. 
Education is considered the best way to try to change people's perceptions about littering. Education was also thought to be the answer in the United States once disposable packing entered the marketplace. I highly disagree with this. Chinese people place an extremely high value on money, which can be seen by their saving rates when compared to the rest of the world. Education doesn't work because there is no immediate and direct effect towards changing behaviours. To solve China's littering problem, along with other environmental issues, a straight line to the pocketbook should be adopted. It's amazing how quickly people run out of buildings to move their cars when they know the police are coming to write parking tickets. Imagine how quickly they would stop littering if they knew a hefty ticket awaited them for their snot covered tissue they didn't want in their car for a few extra minutes.
