Micro-Actions for Future

    My story starts with my little town on north bank of Yangtze River, which comes from the drops of Tibetan glaciers and from the 5000 years history. The river is the 2nd largest river of the world and the longest river in China. What scattered like stars on my little town are numerous lakes and ponds. Accompanied with summer seasonal flood of the Yangtze River, my little town has peacefully walked through the 1500 years history as a prefecture in Tang dynasty(AD618～907).A little boy was growing up in a little town with clear water and blue sky. My childhood memory is happily filled with catching fish and shrimps in crystal clear creek. At that time, fireflies were always dancing in the dark night sky with shining stars. At that time, clear pools still were survived from machine fill, natural riverbank was not occupied by industries and running creeks were not buried by rubbish or road.

    There was a rapid economic growth in my teen-age youth. One day, the town TV station in excitement reported a riverfront local chemical plant successfully became quoted company, and some kind chemical products was TOP 1 in output across the world. The consequences are no doubt, no clear water and no blue sky. My little town is filled with the plant’s atmosphere. Poor the pools were permanently buried by landfill, no running creek any more. And the natural Yangtze River shoreline has been industrialized by chemical port and even the running creek becomes silent.

    After 10 years away from my little town I returned as a 30 years old young man, the town has Holden it’s breathe in billowing yellow chemical smoke for three decades. The creek has been already dead in depression, even mosquitoes or flies will never come again. With an innocent thinking, I tried to seek but failed to find the running creek in memory. What I found only is the dying creek was swallowed by plastic and green algae.When I was young I asked my mom why the stream was so clear, she said fish eat shrimps, shrimps eat dust and the water becomes clear. But now the rushing creek only runs in memory, how could we explain to the children why the dirty stream without any grass grows?

    The rapid development of technology brought convenience to people's lives and greatly d people's sense of space and time. For example, it requires 30 days for 16,000 kilometers sailing across the Pacific Ocean from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 1840 of China’s Qing Dynasty, but now it takes less than 1 day by air. However the technology is a double edged sword, people began to pursuit efficiency and convenience under accelerated pace of life by scientific technologies.The rapid use of disposable cups, cutlery and other tableware, hotel disposable slippers and toothbrush and so on, and the Chinese use of disposable chopsticks，which generally exacerbated energy consumption of the forest and oil, moreover the process of producing and consuming such goods significantly increased greenhouse gas emissions. Particularly in the past 10 years, global warming has been worse. Antarctic glaciers begin to melt, according to new study; the sea level at the end of the century may rise 1.9 meters, which is far beyond expectations. If this continues, within 100 years, Boston and Shanghai will be submerged by the sea and the Hawaiian Islands will disappear.We may have different living habits and speak different languages, but we share the only one earth, if allowing the natural environment swallowed by industrial pollution, allowing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, what have been destructed are not only the ecological nature but also human history. If the human get lost in the past, then what is the future? How to face the future generations, how to face the future? There is no sadder thing than after becoming "environmental refugees" at our old age, people had to tell stories about the past to the future generations like this, the water used to be clear and the sky used to be blue, and your father once unarmed fishing shrimp in clear creek. Maybe when there is no need for humans to face the past as dinosaurs, there is no future for human beings.

    In ancient China, we have an old saying “Minor steps accumulated a thousand miles.” Today young people from US and China gathered together here in Boston, I would love to take this opportunity to call on our young friends to reduce personal energy consumption. We may start with micro-actions of improving our living habits. I have 8 practical recommendations for everyone:

    1, drive less, using public transport;

    2, cook your own food and buy less processed meat;

    3, contact people by e-mail as much as possible for saving paper;

    4, get close to nature in rural areas once a week and preserve a right mental attitude

    5, washing rice water can be used first to wash vegetables and clean with the clear water again, also to wash hands, wipe furniture and gardening;

    6, bring your own bags when shopping instead of using plastic bags;

    7, refuse disposable tableware, bring and use permanent chopsticks, lunch boxes and cups;

    8, reduce using air conditioners, electric fans, readily turn off the power;

    To see the future, it is imperative to relieve pressure of the natural eco-environment. If you agree and determined to practice my micro-actions above, which means you are saving the future of the planet. My dear young friends, let’s start from minor steps, from this time, to the high-energy lifestyle to a more eco-friendly way of life of low energy consumption, low expenses. Great s start from minor steps! Let micro-actions to be our habit, and become the fashion among young people.

    In China, we have a traditional wisdom of “man is an integral part of nature”; In US; we have modern hi-tech ecological solutions. They both tell us humans ought to adapt to nature and keep harmony with nature. Saving the environment is to save the human himself. Countless people lost their lives and homes in recent earthquake and tsunami disasters, more and more people realized how important it is for environmental protection. While it's still in time to saving resources and protecting the environment, let’s start with micro-actions to save the earth and the human green future.