The awareness of environmental protection should be further encouraged so as to achieve sustainable progress in the country, says an article in Guangming Daily. An excerpt follows:

During the third session of the 10th Beijing People's Political Consultative Conference, a member put forward a special "bill." The bill, which was actually a radio and a razor, both powered by manual effort, provides a pioneering cure to deal with waste batteries: to reduce or stop the using of batteries.

On the first glance, this bill might be a promulgation of "back to the ancients" mentality. Yet actually, it bears the consideration of an environmentalist: to improve our living environment, technology renovation is important, while people's environmental awareness is essential.

Every citizen in this modern world should perform his or her rightful duty in environmental protection. When environmental protection practices are flavored with a sense of social morals, people's environmental awareness will outweigh their selfish motives. People will neither pollute for the sake of their convenience or benefit, nor will they decline to contribute their efforts to soothe environmental woes.

Environmental awareness has given birth to a series of non-governmental organizations that are devoted to environmental protection, such as Friends of Nature, Global Village of Beijing and Green Earth Volunteers.

Environmental awareness is also a representation of government policies and development models. In the early 1980s, environmental protection was listed among the pantheon of policy issues. And since then, the sustainable development mentality has become a guide of moves to industrialization.

Correspondingly, the promulgation of a series of laws on environmental protection and the adoption of "Green GDP" have reinforced policy-makers' environmental awareness.

As we become more conscious of environmental awareness, we are sure to see the day when our social living flourishes and the environment improves.

(China Daily February 26, 2005)