Latest comments posted about A mountain’s “revenge” on people, pollution and power? on ChinaDialogue en-gb http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/2438-A-mountain-s-revenge-on-people-pollution-and-power- http://staging.chinadialogue.net/images/cdlogo.gif http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/2438-A-mountain-s-revenge-on-people-pollution-and-power- How can we dare to claim that our life would be better without technologies? The question is, which has been closer to the truth of nature, the Chinese mystical contemplation or the Western scientific research? My answer is the Chinese mysticism, for a simple reason. The universe will never be understood completely. Although scientific discoveries have achieved much, in comparison with the universe itself, we still know very little. Therefore understanding the universe at the highest level can not be achieved simply through scientific means, instead it requires complex dialogue and meditation between humankind and the universe. In fact, our survival has never been so much under threat because of technologies. They have brought nations closer than ever, both stimulating competition and conflicts on a global scale. Modern competitive pursuit of wealth has overly exhausted resources and polluted the environment. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:15:33 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7910 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7910 However, modern science has triumphed over mysticism. For example, in the 19th Century, the Chinese agricultural society with their simple and self-sufficient ways of life based on the Taoist concept, “man and nature are one”, were affected by foreign invasion and the Industrial Revolution. Now, China has become the world’s biggest producer of commodities. The two thousand year tradition of mystically contemplating the relationship between man and nature has brought Chinese people to understand this interdependent relationship at a very high level without relying on scientific evidence. In contrast, the West has studied the universe through deep scientific research which has resulted in highly developed technology. These technologies have sent us to space, allowed us to travel by aeroplane, and saved lives through complex medical equipment. The advantage of technologies is undeniable, but everyday we still learn more truth about nature. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:12:26 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7909 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7909 “A small country has fewer people. Though there are machines that can work ten to hundred times faster than man, they are not needed. The people take death seriously and do not travel far. Though they have boats and carriages, no one uses them. Though they have armour and weapons, no one displays them. Men return to the knotting of rope in place of writing. Their food is plain and good, their clothes fine but simple, their homes secure; they are happy in their ways. Though they live within sight of their neighbours, and crowing roosters and barking dogs are heard across the way, yet they never visit each other till death.” This quotation is from ancient “Tao Te Ching” of Lao Tsu. Its anti-technology idea seems incomprehensible in our modern time, but in my opinion, the Taoist master profoundly understood the weakness of the competitive nature of humankind. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:10:01 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7908 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7908 I agree with the villagers's view in this article. We should all have the common sense to know that polluted snow melts faster than perfectly pure snow, which is indeed hard to thaw. It is rational that the villagers constantly stressed to the climbers that they take away their dirty trash and pollutants. The characteristic features of so-called global warming is actually just displayed by local climate change such as melting glaciers and polar icecap thinning. Which one of these, can you imagine, is not caused by more frequent and more intense human activities in places without human footprints ever before, which pollute local clean water, sky and earth? I think global warming is caused by extraterrestrial radiation. But I think that human activity can have harmful, even fatal effects on the local environment. The environment is unable to escape the destiny of degradation. Human greed will ultimately destroy the earth. (Translated by Ming Li.) Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:08:26 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7903 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7903 As an artist, I totally agree with your view. We have built the world with help of technology we thought it would be better for us but has turned up to be a weapon to destroy ourselves. I have expressed my concern through my paintings which visualising the tension between human and environment. I would like to share my vision with you. www.chenping.com.au Chen Ping Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:03:18 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7900 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7900 Global warming is imputed to natural elements but, just like the mass emission of greenhouse gases, the warming is man-made to a great extent. Local villagers' attitude and rational toward the environment, though more or less deified, expresses the effects of human action on the environment. The the village having newly been connected to electricity mentioned in Guo Jing's article is not really a causes of glacial melting in and of itself. Power generation in China is mainly thermal power generation heavily reliant on coal, which emits much more CO2 than that from burning petroleum in same amount. Now the CO2 volume is around two times as its peak (near 300p/mv) in last 650 thousands years, and is accelerating its growth, according to a research on Antarctic ice layers. However, the electricity is still usable if it is a clean energy like power generated from photovoltaic technology or wind force, and the global warming can be slowed down under this mode of power utilization. The rub here might be the promotion and usage of these new energy technologies, as the solar power generation by photovoltaic system is high in costs and the wind power generation is confined to geographic distribution and national grid. Also, west China has a poor economy itself, which makes it a big conflict between its economic growth and environmental protection. So, what need to be done now is to work out how to make a successful transformation of energy use, instead of confusing matters by simply blaming the power connection. Translated by Ming Li Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:16:42 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7898 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/2438#comment-7898