We've been in China for a week now going through the process of adopting our son. We're all adjusting as well as can be expected after just a week together, thanks for asking. Welcoming a 2-3/4 year old into your family when neither of you speak the same language has its challenges. Doing it halfway around the world presents a whole other set of challenges. And in going through all of this, I find myself making concessions here in how I try to live sustainably and am admittedly rationalizing the lapses in behavior as "acts of survival." But I'll bet even Paul Hawken would do the same if he were in my shoes right now.
There's probably no need to mention that my carbon footprint from the air travel alone is probably comparable to that of a large tire factory. We flew China Southern, though, and their literature highlights a focus on sustainability and air travel environmental efficiency--which right now sounds like an oxymoron. The hotel where we're staying in Guangzhou has reminder cards all over to reuse towels, and requests that bed sheets not be changed daily. However, our compliance with their request has not been honored and each day we get fresh towels and bed linens. I need to put a call in to housekeeping about that.
And unfortunately, the water quality here is so poor that the hotel advises against drinking from the tap. Thus, our bottled water use has become a shameful necessity. I'm keeping the empties just to see how bad it's going to be. So far, it's with a mix of shame and pride to say that we've gone through more bottles of water in two days than I have used in more than a year at home. If you want to discover for yourself just how precious potable water can be, go to a place where it doesn't flow freely from the tap. I found a recycling center about a block from the hotel and will try to drop these off there before we leave. I've seen people haul in enormous 50-gallon bags of recyclables. But in a place where the living wage is so underwhelming, I have a feeling the recycling efforts are considered a source of income. That, too, needs to change.
In the moments I've had to think about it, my impression is that China is at the very early stages of a conservation effort. It probably took their horrific pollution problem for them to realize something needed to be done. Also, as a nation vying for a position of power in the world economy, you can't entice foreign business if you have to Photoshop in blue skies on your brochures.
One thing I know. If there's one place where the government can influence individual citizen behavior, it's China. Here in Guangzhou (population 10 million), it seems they were able to make motorcycles illegal (except for police use). I'm sure there is not a city in America where the government could eliminate motorcycles without rankling the public. So even though the problems seem daunting, I'm going to guess China could be able to pull off solving them. It won't be immediate and there is a lot of remediation that will need to happen first. But if change is to come and it's initiated by the government, the Chinese people will fall in line.
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