Residents taking part in drive to preserve ecological environment

Residents of Beijing have engaged in ecological protection by attending nonprofit events, reporting on polluters and debating online.

A consensus has been reached that it's not only the government's job to improve the environment; members of the public should get involved, too.

The Sina Weibo account of Beijing Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau has attracted more than 1.4 million fans. In December, the bureau received 2,207 complaints and reports about environmental issues from the public. Air quality, involving dust, smoke from restaurants and vehicle emissions, accounted for 61.1 percent of the complaints. Of those cases, about 96 percent have been resolved, according to the Weibo account on Jan 31.

The bureau said its 12369 and 12345 hotlines, WeChat and email address welcome tip-offs at any time.

Since 2014, Beijing has been holding activities from June 1 to 7 to promote a greener lifestyle. They include bike rides, using the subway or buses to lower exhaust pollution, cutting paper usage and keeping the air conditioner at 26 C in summer to save energy.

At last year's event, people took part in hiking, question and answer games, visited photo exhibitions and environmental educational bases. The organizers also encouraged netizens to upload personal stories and photos about their efforts to live a green lifestyle.

"It's good to have got exercise and gained knowledge," a 50-year-old attendee told local media qianlong.com.

Wang Xibao's photo was awarded the first prize at the environmental protection photo competition. In his photo, five baby birds wait for their mother in a nest, which is said to suggest the harmonious environment of the capital.

"Clean air is the basis for taking good photos," he told China Environment News. "I had to wait for such days in previous years. But in the last two years, the sky became bluer and water cleaner, so we can see more birds in parks."

In 14 years, more than 100,000 people have entered the competition, submitting about 120,000 photos.

Students from four primary and middle schools had a class where they watched a cartoon in which the main character is PM2.5. Students then learned to simulate the flow of haze with small fans, candles, an incense stick and plastic basin. Through this, they learned how haze is generated and where it goes.

From March to June of 2018, the speech competition themed "I Love Our Earth" was held among primary and middle school students. The event has been held since 1997.

Zhang Lixin, director of the Beijing environmental protection publicity center, told China Environment News that the activities were aimed to encourage people to play their part in building a beautiful Beijing by reducing emissions, saving energy and adopting a green lifestyle.

Singer Mo Hualun was made Beijing's ecological environment ambassador last year. He said he has great confidence for Beijing to maintain a blue sky.

"Beijing is a beautiful city and the haze problem can be solved with joint effort."

(China Daily 02/21/2019 page7)