Environmental Optimism Among Beijing Youth

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Melinda Liu

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Manuela Zoninsein

Wednesday, July 9th was the launch of a student-led national conservation campaign called the Green Long March, referring to the epic journey by Chinese communist stalwarts retreating from Kuomintang adversaries in the 1930's. Conversations with student volunteers from the Beijing Forestry University (BJFU) revealed a sharp contrast between negative perceptions of China's environmental challenges by much of the outside world — versus the optimism and pride many locals feel on the eve of China's Olympics debut.

    The second annual Green Long March will take thousands of student environmentalists from 32 different universities along 10 routes across 26 provinces to spread awareness of conservation efforts. Part of their aim is to conduct education campaigns—and to “spread the spirit of the Green Olympics,” said Yu Jishun, the Secretary General of the Youth League at BJFU.

    Yet the "Green Olympics" slogan seems a bit laughable at the moment, at least for those of us who've been confronting Beijing's thick smog for weeks now. I looked out my window this morning and could barely identify the form of a gargantuan ‘Z’—the OMA-designed CCTV Towers and the second largest office building in the world—defying gravity just across the street.

     Despite the limited visibility in Beijing, members of China’s largest youth environmental movement are looking at their surroundings with rose-colored glasses. Han Renya, one of the volunteers, hopes that foreign visitors during the Olympics will see “the air and sky as clean; and the streets and rivers clear of trash" (she may get her wish on the latter, but hopes for clean air have been looking pretty bleak, at lease so far.) Ma Chizhi, one of the student leaders for the Green Long March, feels “encouraged by recent changes, and wants to share these successes and encourage others to participate.” He wants foreigners to understand that “during these Green Olympics, all Chinese people are trying to make our environment better.”

     This optimism, in large part, should be attributed to SEED-SCALE, a development model created by Dr. Daniel Taylor, the President of Future Generations which worked with BJFU to organize the Green Long March. Rather than “always identifying the problems, we’ve taught the students to find the successes and see how things are changing,” is how Denise van der Klamp, a Hong Kong-based organizer, explained it. Said Frances Fremont-Smith, Executive Director of the organization, “Sure, we have polluted days in Beijing; but, there are people doing what they can—and [during the Olympics] we want the world to see that.”

    To someone living in the West, reports of China’s environmental problems understandably inspire apocalyptic visions. My parents regularly worry after my lungs; friends repeat reports of silver iodide-loaded rockets shot into the skies to encourage cloud-clearing rains; former colleagues have recently learned about fear and loathing in the city of Qingdao because its algal blooms threaten to obstruct Olympics sailing races.

     While those in the West is more likely to criticize China's failings in hopes of bringing about change for the better, many Chinese are seeking recognition for their country's advances. If recent media coverage of China is any indication of what’s to come in August, Olympic events could be perceived in dramatically different ways depending on whether you're inside or outside China. It's a classic glass-half-full-or-half-empty situation.

Tag(s): Featured, Greening of Beijing, People's Games

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