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Greener, Cleaner, 50 Days Away...

上一篇 / 下一篇 2008-06-20 08:13:04
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It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating the One Year Countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Kind of a mind trip when one day, you go into work and suddenly realize how fast the clock has ticked because you're no longer reporting that it's 365 days away, or 100 days away, but 50 -- less than two months. China's first-ever Olympics - arguably the most anticipated one yet - seems to have grown as fast as Yao Ming did when he was 11 years old...

It's quite remarkable, the amount of changes I have witnessed in Beijing. In about one month's time, I can say that I've been here for 2 years now. When I refer to changes, I'm not just referring to the obvious things such as the city's infrastructure and construction of new subway lines, Olympic venues, the biggest airport terminal in the world... I'm also referring to the intangible changes.

Namely, lifestyle changes to make the environment cleaner, safer and more efficient for everyone. The last time I checked, Beijing has a growing population of 17 million people -- not including the 10,500 athletes and officials bound for the city come August. With 1000 new vehicles hitting the road each day, it's no wonder that the use of public transportation is being encouraged.

I love the subway's new ticketing system. It's pretty fun to use and reminds me of New York's MetroCard. I was such an idiot when I first came across this new system in the subway. I asked the woman at the cashier, "Wow, these new tickets are so nice, isn't it a waste to throw them out each time?" "Hahaha!" She and the other passengers around me almost choked with laughter. For some reason, I thought that the new card-like ticket I had just purchased for 2 yuan was going to be chucked away, like the old red and blue paper tickets. Ahh, so that's what the high tech walk-through machines are for! You swipe it, well more like hold it against a matching cut out to get in, and insert it into a slot to get out. Instead of wasting all those trees, these cards get reused, recycled...Brilliant! With the traffic these days, I'm opting for the subway a lot more, especially since the new trains are more spacious and centrally air-conditioned.

According to a statistic I read on BBC, for every 3 cigarettes that are sparked in the world, one of them is smoked in China. The ban on smoking in most public places is really cleaning up the city. I remember when it was once ok to light up in taxi cabs, and that was less than 2 years ago...The city has come a long way.

Another example:
I was buying groceries a few weeks ago, and was surprised at first when I wasn't given any plastic bags at the check out. The cashier stood there silent for a few minutes. We kind of just stared at each other. I was waiting for her, and she was waiting for me to move out of the line. I guess she assumed I that I knew about the new charging-for-plastic-bags rule, and would have requested some bags if I wanted to pay for them. It's gonna take me a while to remember to bring out a big shopping bag, but those San Mao's add up, and being constantly reminded that bags cost extra will have people changing their habits.

It's changes like these ones that are making Beijing a world-class city. It's all still relatively new, and it's gonna take time for these implementations to become second nature, but there's no denying that Beijing is taking action and not just talking...

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引用央视网友 / 2008-12-10 21:42:24: :\'(

引用 Goldenhawaii / 2008-09-30 22:28:07: It\'s the first time to come here . Just left a message \"You\'re gorgeous \".

引用央视网友 / 2008-07-23 19:06:58: I'm in Taiwan right now and I must say, Taiwan's MRT system is so much cleaner and efficient than the TTC system. The wonders of just placing your metro pass to beep you through is amazing! I was also dumb struck as to where to place my "token". As for the plastic bags, I was really glad when they also started implementing the charge for plastic bags here a few years go, but I stll find alot of people here that litter. I've complained about it many times, but a friend reminded me about the politics between the public and private sector of garbage disposal. Oh, all hail corporate greed.

引用央视网友 / 2008-07-03 13:11:52: it's true that changing one's rooted habits takes time, but it's worth trying the effort, isn't it?

引用央视网友 / 2008-06-29 21:39:08: I was buying groceries a few weeks ago, and was surprised at first when I wasn't given any plastic bags at the checkout.I guess she assumed that I knew about the new charging-for-plastic-bags rule, and would have requested some bags if I wanted to pay for them.

A proofreader is picky.

引用央视网友 / 2008-06-29 14:20:23: love you,jen,by the way,is Jackie Chen still in CCTV?

引用央视网友 / 2008-06-25 13:24:54: nice.the pose in ur newest pic ,what is the meaning ?

引用央视网友 / 2008-06-21 23:44:43: We waste tons of plastic and toss it into our landfills. Politics aside & regardless of how we feel about freaking global warming, let's do something that's right and good just because it's right and good...w/o making it all about politics.

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