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Life  

Lower Carbon, Higher Profile

 

By staff reporter ZHAO YAYUAN

DO you know the six good habits that will help reduce your carbon footprint at the dinner table, or the 50 rules that will enable you to lead a low-carbon life? The answers are available from a green-committed group on the Chinese online community Douban (http://www.douban.com): they welcome their visitors with an earnest "Are you going low-carbon today?" So far 1,376 people have joined this particular group, and Douban has 20 or more similar online forums, all launched by ordinary web users.

For most Chinese the concept of "low carbon" entered the national vocabulary only two years or so back. But way before this new term was coined many Chinese were already living an environment-friendly lifestyle, using electricity and water resources very sparingly.

Starting Out Small

 
 Getting garbage sorted helps cut the carbon.                         Photos by China Foto Press

Ms. Wei Ning, a 28-year-old currently working at a foreign bank in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, has always taken low carbon and environmental protection issues seriously. "There are many little things I can do to make a difference and I do them: printing both sides of paper; taking public transport or cycling; turning off the lights and appliances when leaving the room, and using cloth bags rather than plastic for supermarket shopping," Wei tells China Today.

Even on sweltering summer days, Wei seldom sets the air-conditioner below 26 degrees. In her view, a low-carbon lifestyle requires you to develop living habits that help save energy and protect the environment. Once the habits are there, a low-carbon way of life is easily achievable. Recently she's become interested in growing plants because she came across a carbon emissions calculator on Douban and learned that they could be offset by growing plants. Using the online calculator, she found that the carbon emissions of 140 kWh of electricity use could be neutralized by planting a tree. Therefore she bought several pots of houseplants home and grows them on the balcony. "Just seeing all that green makes me feel the air is fresher," says Wei.

Being diligent and thrifty are traditional virtues in China, and Wei has been deeply influenced by her parents in this regard. "Just like mum and dad, when eating out, I never order more than I can eat so as to avoid wasting food. And it's a good way to save money." As she sees it, an underdeveloped economy and consequent pressure of poverty caused her parents' generation to embrace thrifty living. Now people advocate a low-carbon life on environmental grounds. Two different motivations, but a common aim – mankind's long-term development. "A little thing like turning off the lights when you leave a room is a contribution to environmental protection, and to future generations too. I believe 'grains of sand piled up make a pagoda' and many small things add up to something big. If we all pay attention to environmental protection in every aspect of our lives, the effect will be immeasurable," she asserts.

Long Yuanfang, a student at China Foreign Affairs University, also shared her opinions on the matter: "On the one hand, the government needs to promulgate policies to influence people's behavior; on the other hand, individuals should play their part, such as growing trees, recycling water and sorting their garbage." She told China Today that as a member of the Environmental Protection Organization at her university, she often takes part in green activities.

Wei Ning and Long Yuanfang like to contribute in a low-profile way: that is not everyone's style though. Others, like newlyweds Wang Jin and Yu Yan, prefer more "conspicuous" action, wanting really to wave the flag for the low-carbon lifestyle and influence more people. This happy couple in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, decided to finish their wedding parade by bicycle! Their attention-grabbing action certainly carried home the message "less cars, less waste" to locals.

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VOL.59 NO.12 December 2010 Advertise on Site Contact Us