This idea from Dongguan is a good one. Often we end up with excess plastic bags simply because we make spontaneous purchases when we don't happen to have a reusable bag with us. -- Matty

In adjusting our thinking and behaviour in the face of climate change and environmental degradation, we could use a new perception of beauty. For example, some people think that wind-power turbines are ugly and that they scar the landscape and ruin scenic views. I don't. We need to see these turbines as the graceful green machines that they are. They are certainly more beautiful than plastic bags that are caught in the branches of trees, floating in rivers and seas, stuck around the necks or legs of innocent animals or blocking up drainage systems.
At the very minimum, we all need to be attentive to how we dispose of plastic waste. There are so many different types of this (chiefly) petroleum-based environmental menace that even recycling companies don't accept all forms of it.
That's one area where people in cities and towns around the world can demand action. Many local governments, keen to raise their recycling rates, would support such a campaign. -- Matthew

A lot of this goes back to the seemingly endless argument that goes on between the west and China. The west says that China needs to limit its environmental impact because it will have repercussions for the world. China, on the other hand, says that it is not fair for the west to limit them like that because the western world already went through this sort of transformation ages ago and therefore can afford to focus on limiting environmental damage. This is fair in the sense that the west is telling China not to do what the west has already done. On the other hand, if China's consumptions reaches the per capita consumption in the west, then the environmental devastation around the world would be of epic proportion. It is a difficult situation all around and we have to work together to reach a compromise that allows China to continue to advance economically without causing world-shaking levels of pollution. It's a difficult middle-ground, but hopefully the awareness among the youth in the east and the west will lead to a better and cleaner future.

Good to hear that students are taking a large interest in the environment in China. How much of the student population is involved in this kind of thing? Are all the students this informed, or is it only a small portion? I'm attending University of Colorado in Boulder, and its surprising the amount of students who take the environment as a non-issue. I would say somewhere between a third and a half of the students think that climate change is propaganda. In fact, while three of my friends and I that are environmental studies majors, going into research, fully believe in climate change, I have two other friends, also environmental studies but going into the policy side of things, who thing its completely made up. Kind of scary. So does this article tell the full story of students environmental stand in China?

-Rick

To work at a non-profit it is truly a sacrificial job in my opinion. In no place in this world that I know of, will you a make a considerable amount of money in such work. In my opinion, this makes those who work for NGOs earn much more respect. Nevertheless, those who do work for an NGO deserve an average salary and a stable position just as Zhang wishes. I hope the Zhang life holds a bright future and he is able to support his family and live his dream. I believe the current restrictions on NGOs in China are making jobs unavailable in the sector. The current basis for not allowing them to have more than one similar NGO in one city or county and to not allow an NGO to grow outside a particular country does not makes sense. NGOs will not usurp the CCP current government control but will focus on its purpose to protect the environment, support human rights, etc.