6/28/13

6/28/13, Beijing

Today in class we gave our final presentations answering the question “Can China Go Green?” It was interesting because the class was almost split between yes and no. For our presentation, Eileen and I talked about the progress China has already made. Unfortunately, it is projected by scientists that energy consumption will not peak by 2030, and that by the time China goes green it will be too late. Of course it is possible fore China to go green with a switch in priorities, but if it is a slow process it might not happen soon enough. I also want to say that China can go green because our species depends on it! It might be difficult, but it’s completely necessary if we want our species to survive. Some of the conversation was about how China should switch to a more service-based economy like the US did. This is one of the main ways we reduced our pollution and increased the safety of our air – by pushing our industries to other countries. I don’t think China should do the same. Although it would create better living conditions for people surrounding the current factories in China, it doesn’t seem to make sense to push these factories elsewhere.

The reason I think this is because China is currently producing more renewable energy technology than any other country in the world. If they push their factories to a different country, they will most likely continue to use coal to support the industry. It makes more sense to me to keep the factories where they are right now and retrofit them with new technology to make the processes cleaner and more efficient. As a planet we cannot handle any more pollution in our atmosphere. Moving industry to another country would only increase pollutants emitted as well as create more shipping miles to bring items back to the 1.3 billion people in China.

6/27/13

6/27/13, Beijing

Today in class we talked about different objectives and challenges China is facing today regarding whether China can go green or not.

Objectives include:

1. Keep economy going
2. Satisfy people’s growing material needs
3. Improve their standard of living
4. Establish a fair and just society
5. Provide a clean environment and conservation of resources

What needs to happen for China to do these things?

1. Population control. This is why there are no current plans to abandon the 1 child policy
2. Switch mode of economy from manufacturing to service based
3. Improve efficiency of resource use
4. Develop substitute resources (get rid of coal)

Some challenges include:

1. World’s largest population
2. Health and education needed
3. Food security
4. Water scarcity
5. Current air pollution
6. Soil erosion and degradation

In order for China’s development to be considered sustainable, there needs to be harmony between the economy, society, and the environment. When these are not in harmony, the growth is not sustainable.

Some steps in the right direction have been taken in recent years. For example, China leads the world in renewable energy installation. Himin is a Chinese company that creates more renewable energy technology than any other company in the world. Again, the massive population is a huge barrier to these methods being successful especially with solar power because of how expensive it is. Solar panels are expensive to build and use precious metals.

6/26/13

6/26/13

This morning we returned to Beijing after being on the train overnight. We didn’t have class today so we went to the silk market to buy any last minute things before we go back! I can’t believe we’re already going back in just a few days. It’s weird to be back in Beijing because it was oddly comforting. Around campus I know which restaurants I like the best and where to go to get things when I need them. It probably feels comfortable because we just hopped around between a lot of different cities and only spent a couple days in each place. I loved Jianjiajie because of how great the scenery was. It also had really clean air, cleaner than areas in the US. It felt great to be able to breath in clean air! The air in Beijing is a lot worse, but it’s still only the 17^th worst city in China!

6/25/13

6/25/13

Today we drove to Changsha city and talked to a WWF expert about the Yangzte river conservation projects. The conversation was specifically about protecting the river dolphins. River Dolphins are one of the current main focuses of WWF and they are doing “integrated management,” which is creating policy and advocating. They have campaigns for the general public to gain understanding and support. He said that River Dolphins could disappear within 10 years if more protection is not pushed, so the protection of the dolphins is crucial. In order to help the dolphins, they had to take back some of the lake that had been filled in by farmers. The lake had been filled in because the ruler at the time thought it was more important to create space for food than leave space for water. This was obviously a huge mistake! But since WWF was calling for the lake to expand again, they helped out the farmers who were losing their land to this project. They helped them by promoting and showing them alternative ways to make a living such as sustainable farming. As I mentioned before with the Panda habitat conservation areas, this is also extremely valuable for migrating birds and other animals. They are currently creating 6 protection areas for the dolphins. The dolphins do not currently inhabit most of the areas so it involves breeding and moving them. It is possible for this project to be successful because the dolphins lived in these rivers in the past. They do not currently live there because at one point the rivers were all connected and then dried apart. So although it is not currently a natural habitat for these dolphins, they did live in those rivers at one point.

We are currently on an overnight train back to Beijing!

6/24/13

6/24/13

Today we went to the West Dongting Lake Wetland Conservation Park and went boating on the lake. It didn’t feel very sustainable because we could smell the gas that the boat was burning. It was really great to see the wetlands though, we ran up stairs in the rain to get to this platform where we could see really far out. It was a lot of fun and a bit crazy. We learned about how much the lake shrunk. A lot of the lakes have shrunk drastically in China. They now grow crops on the edges, which is great for migratory birds. It also helps with flood control (a problem sometimes caused from deforestation), which decreases soil erosion. We learned about how they plant a specific type of tree on the sides of the lake that can go weeks without sunlight and still be okay. These trees can handle water very well, so when the area floods and there is not a lot of sunlight they will still survive. I didn’t catch the name of the trees, however. 

6/23/13

6/23/13, Cili

Today we drove to the top of a canyon and hiked down it. It was so beautiful! I love spending so much time out in nature because it allows us to appreciate it so much more. Around halfway through the hike we had the option to pay extra to take this huge slide down a little further, so of course, we all did it and it was a blast. We had to wear these canvas things that tie around your waist and legs. I was trying to go as fast as I could. Throughout the hike there were signs with little phrases about protecting the environment. I see this very frequently in China and I appreciate it so much! I never see things like this in the states. If you’re in a forest preserve in the states and there is a plaque it is usually about what type of tree is right in front of you, or it might be a map. In China it’s usually something about respecting nature or disposing of trash properly. It’s great for environmental awareness. After the hike we went to see the Jiangya Hundro-power Dam. We couldn’t see much so we stayed for a little while and left. I was just thinking about how we learned about how detrimental dams can be in class. Dams seem like a harmless way to produce energy at first, but they have negative affects on the organisms in the water because of the reservoirs and temperature change.

We then drove to Cili and are staying in a hot spring resort. When we first got here we all went to the hot springs! It was so amazing! I’ve never been to a hot spring before. They had one large main bath and then there were smaller ones that had different qualities. Some of the baths included coconut water, salt water, coffee water, rice wine water, ginseng water, mint water, and some other herbs I’ve never heard of before. It was extremely relaxing. Kris and I did the fish treatment, so we sat by a pool with fish in it and they ate dead skin off of our feet! Sounds really gross. When the first fish came near me I freaked out and thought I couldn’t do it! But then I got used to how it tickles and was able to stay in. My feet have never been so soft in my life! It was such a cool experience. I never thought I would be able to have fish eat my feet! 

 

6/22/13

6/22/13, Hunan Province

This morning we visited the Huanglongdong eco-park. It was gorgeous! They had some of the area we saw split up between different crops that people use. There were also a lot of windmills in the area. At the front of the park is a building with a green roof and I was told it’s the largest green roof in China. It didn’t seem very large so that was kind of a disappointment. I’m hoping there are larger green roofs in the states! Green roofs are great though, no matter the size! This one was especially cool because it was on a slant and I could see birds hanging out up there. I thought that was nice because green roofs have many benefits but it was cool to see that it was clearly giving some more space to animals.

We met some local high school students this afternoon. It was really cool to talk to them and just be in the high school! The classrooms are so different than what I grew up in. It was a different environment altogether. The students all spoke English and although it was sometimes hard to understand, it was really neat.  

Afterwards, we went to a large fancy dinner with local government officials where we were served all sorts of fancy food such as snake soup. I did not eat that of course, but there was some amazing tofu and lots of other vegetable dishes I could eat. We talked to the officials about the environment. They told us that they have improved their local environment by shutting down small factories in the area. While this seems great, I kept thinking about how that means the production of those items is just shifted to further away. So the environment might just be getting worse somewhere else. If the local factories provided items utilized in the village, it would also mean that there would be further shipping miles for the goods to travel from the new factories. On the other hand – it might not be worse for the environment because they mentioned that they only closed the smaller factories. Sometimes larger factories are able to use newer technology and might have the resources to produce the products more sustainably. This is very optimistic thinking and in many cases is probably not the reality – but it would be beneficial if that is what happened!

After dinner we went to an amazing Chinese show that had acrobats and all sorts of amazing things. I’m not sure what to call the show because it was a series of skits. I was so impressed by the acrobats! I have never seen anything so amazing! The show was inside which was nice, but we were talking about how much electricity she show consumes because it is in a large building. After the show is over, there is a second part outside which also uses a lot of lights because it takes place at night. 

6/21/13

6/21/13, Daping Village

Today one of the women at the home stay we are at talked to us about the earth and how important organic farming is. She told us about how at first she was criticized by a lot of people for pushing organic people because a lot of them thought it would fail. The first two years were not good for the farms, but they are doing better now than they have before. Now that a group of the farmers only practice organic farming, it is also attracting tourists and people interested in organic farming. We learned about how if the land is split up between several crops, pesticides are not needed because there are a variety of bugs going for different plants. With this variety of bugs, there are natural predators and the bug populations are naturally moderated. This is why monocultures are unsustainable – because one species of bug is able to grow drastically in population. She explained that it is important to protect the planet from the heart. I valued everything she said immensely and really appreciated her words about protecting the planet.

After, Ping gave a lecture about soil and it’s properties. We then watched a movie called “Dirt!” which was about the importance of dirt. It is what sustains us all and we deplete the nutrients with our unsustainable practices and pollution. The documentary was actually extremely inspirational and I want to go save the world even more now! Tonight we are flying to Zhangjiajie. 

6/20/13

6/20/13, Daping Village 

Today we arrived in Daping village. All of the families surrounding the farm we are on practice organic agriculture. We took a tour of the farm and the man living here showed us their composting system as well. They also use biomass for electricity. All of their waste goes into a tank and the gas is separated off of the top and used. They compost their food scraps and extra organic material in a sectioned off area in the backyard. There is a section that is completely dry, one that is wet where the water runs off into, and a compost pile with finer ground material that is ready to be used to fertilize the plants. He told us about how they rotate crops seasonally. For example, he grows rice in the spring and summer but he can use that rice field for other crops in the fall. This is what keeps the soil full of nutrients and balanced out. Crop rotation is extremely important in organic farming. In monoculture, extra fertilizers are needed because the same crop is continually degrading the soil.

6/19/13

6/19/13, Chengdu

This morning we went to the Chengdu Panda reserve and saw Giant Pandas and Red Pandas. Unfortunately we did not get to take pictures with them. We learned about how the Panda population is very small and it is hard to get them to reproduce in captivity. We were able to talk with a WWF expert on Panda conservation. We learned that there are three stages of protection from the Chinese government:
1)Restrict human entrance to habitat
2)Build infrastructure for research
3)Active surveying of area and taking active measures

Panda protection has increased immensely as their habitat has been declining. Some current challenges include the following:
1)Half of all Panda habitat is not currently under protection
2)Panda habitats are currently fragmented into around 18 areas and some of those areas have as few as ten Panda
3)Road construction, mining, and other human activities interrupt and separate these habitats
4)Climate change continually affects these habitats
5)Economically unsustainable

Panda habitats are extremely important for other animals as well (especially birds) and investments in protection have been increasing. Many international NGO’s are involved in the protection.

6/18/13

6/18/13, 11:00pm, Chengdu 

This morning we took a plane to Chengdu from Taiyuan. Chengdu is in Sichuan province. Sichuan is pretty much located in the middle of China if you look at it on a map. It is a lot hotter here than it was in Shanxi and Beijing and it is extremely humid. The other two places felt a lot dryer. Chengdu and Taiyuan both have worse air quality than Beijing. In class we learned that Beijing isn’t even on the top 10 most polluted cities in China! It’s crazy because everyone thinks Beijing is so bad but it isn’t compared to other places in China. I think it must be focused on because the 2008 Olympics brought a lot of attention. The air here is weird because it is so smoggy that you can’t really tell if it is about to rain. It’s so smoggy that it’s hard to tell if it is foggy or not and it’s hard to see clouds because we don’t see a clear blue sky. Tomorrow we’re going to see Pandas!