What is your definition of clean water? After visiting, hearing and reading up on stories about water pollution in China and actually visiting some of the villages myself, I wondered why locals are so nonchalant about the situation. Is it reality, resilience or helplessness?

I took the following photos on a recent trip to China to illustrate how water resources are used by locals. Some of the images are eye-opening and remind me of how fortunate I am to have clean water here in the United States.

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A documentary short film about an environmental campaign that our partner Green Anhui worked on has been selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as a finalist to compete for an Oscar in 2011.  The film, “The Warriors of Qiugang” is about a local village in China who stood up against three factories that have been polluting their local farmland and waterways.  This is a big deal as the film nicely illustrates the type of environmental and social justice battles that are often fought in China.  Since 2006, our partner Green Anhui has worked with Qiugang Village and their leader Zhang Gongli (aka the “warriors” profiled in the film) to fight against the three local factories. Their fight eventually led to the shutdown and relocation of these factories.

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Dear Chairman and distinguished delegates from around the world:

As a Chinese American, I’ve seen a lot of bickering between the two countries [U.S, China] in the last week, each claiming that they cannot act unless the other does. Here’s an analogy: a boat is sinking and it has one hour to get to shore. All citizens of all countries are on this one boat. If one country says that they will only raft only if the other countries would commit to rafting, then we will never get to shore.

In this situation, I want to urge all of you to put aside your national interests and negotiate as citizens of the planet. If one country claims that it cannot act unless others do, then it is not serious about addressing climate change. Instead, I urge that every country offer their fair share of responsibility for the planet and ask others to follow their lead.

I believe any action that does not meet the basic requirements of the Kyoto Protocol is a failure for all of us. What we need to aim for is something that is even more STRONG, BINDING, AND AMBITIOUS than even the Kyoto Protocol. A “Balanced Package” means developed countries must accept higher emission reduction targets, offer more financial aid and technology for developing countries, so that they can too mitigate their own emissions and adapt to climate change.

Thank you.

Grandpa Hu (not his real name) said “my loyalty always lies with Chairman Mao.” His red pin emblazoned with the golden head of Mao proudly hung on his left chest. It sparkled in the sun, its statement pronounced by the backdrop of his dark blue vest. Grandpa Hu wore a pair of wide-rimmed Polaroid sunglasses, which were unusually fancy for a retired peasant. He seemed healthy and strong. His description of how his family was unaffected by the flood sounded proud and almost cheery. Grandpa Hu said he used to work for the Forestry Department, until they decided they needed someone who was literate to do the job. He was told to retire early. His accent was very thick and I had to wait for my host to transcribe his words to match my speculation of what he may have said. (more…)

Posted by Min Zheng

I am in love with my new job.  On my very first day, as I dived into my role as the new China Program Associate, I worked with our guest from a partner organization in China, Green Camel Bell.  Not only did I learn about the work of Green Camel Bell in China, I also got to learn about the progress on environmental projects in San Francisco.  In addition, on only my third day of work, I was already walking barefoot around the office.  Initially, I was hesitant to move my life from NYC to SF for this job.  Now, I worry about losing the job.  It seems too good to be true.  I get to read news articles that interest me, work on solving environmental problems in China big or small, and travel to China on the 19^th of this month for 28 days.

Today marked my third week working at Pacific Environment as the China Program Associate.  I have been reading up on news, learning about the sub-grant wire process and translating partners’ mid-project reports.  At first, I definitely felt overwhelmed in adjusting to the workload, but I’ve had great help from my supervisor and co-workers in adjusting to the work as well as to San Francisco.  Now, my goal is to understand the work of the grassroots environmental non-profits in China and help them enhance China’s environment.  It would be great if our partners can get the industries to pay for their pollution discharge.  It is hard enough for China to fix its water pollution problems with Chinese industries, now China has to deal with pollution problems caused by international enterprises.

The place where fishermen returned the collected crude oil has a nice name, Golden Bay Bridge. To 35 year old fisherman Cui Zhanyou, it has become a bridge of no return.

On the evening of July 27^th, when Cui was transporting barrels of oil to the collection center, his boat was overturned by rough waves. After days of searching, Cui’s family still could not find a trace of him. (more…)

While Greenpeace activists await the results of their medical check-ups after being exposed to Dalian’s crude oil and as several fire fighters recover from their injuries, those responsible for the Dalian ecological nightmare act as if the oil stains had been removed from their own feathers.

Oil along Dalian Beach (photo by Wen Bo)

Chinese media outlet CBN A-Views reported that on August 3^rd, the Dalian government welcomed PetroChina’s Chairman Jiang Jiemin and his delegation at the Dalian Shangri-La Hotel  and expressed gratitude towards the oil giant’s contribution to Dalian’s economy.

Chinese netizens poured their outcries over cyberspace denouncing PetroChina for its lack of courage to admit its responsibility. Many demanded a formal and public apology from the company and requested compensation for the victims and the marine environment of Dalian.

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Photo: Greenpeace

In the very recent memory of Tom Beeke, a passionate Canadian birder, Dalian’s Jinshitan resort was still his land of discovery. Tom got a job as English teacher at Dalian Maple Leaf International School several years ago. Besides living close to the sandy beach, it was also a great treat being able to venture around Jishintan coast, bushes and wetlands to watch birds.  This summer, Tom’s new book, Birds of Dalian, hit the local book market.

Dalian, located on the East Asia-Pacific Flyway of migratory birds, is an important stopover site for birds migrating between Siberia and Australia. For those birds, who are now in Siberia, their journeys south will soon start.  For this year’s new chicks, their first ever encounter with the coasts, islands and the sea around Dalian will begin one month later. (more…)

Zhong Yu of Greenpeace bears witness to the Dalian oil spill (Photo: Greenpeace)

Twenty-two years ago, when my high school classmates unfolded a banner with the words “Save Our Seas!”, we put the Greenpeace logo on the banner.  At that time, we were protesting marine debris littering the coasts of Dalian.

Now, twenty-two years since that unofficial Greenpeace banner hung in 1988, Dalian received its first official support from Greenpeace with the deployment of several Greenpeace teams to respond to the massive oil spill in Dalian.

Zhong Yu, senior action coordinator with Greenpeace China, was not prepared for what she saw nor for what she would encounter.  Like many clean up workers and local fishermen, Zhong did not wear protective gear when she walked into thick crude oil along the beach. The photo of her wearing a red Greenpeace T-shirt and blue jeans was the first telling image from Greenpeace bearing witness to the Dalian disaster. (more…)

Firefighters responding to the scene of the Oil spill in Dalian, China (Photo from Netease)

To Chinese firefighter Jiang Hui, his Darley fire truck was his darling. Jiang had been a driver with a $1 million fire truck since his unit purchased it three years ago, and he liked this American brand.

Jiang was among the earliest squads to reach the burning and smoky scene in Dalian. While shooting water and foam to the fire, the blazing crude oil quickly rushed near their feet. The tires of the fire truck caught fire.  Jiang jumped into the truck and tried to move it, but the flame started to engulf the fire truck.  Another firefighter ran to the truck’s front side, pulled Jiang out of the cabin and dragged him away.

The heat was too hot to bear. While some firefighters shot water canons towards the burning oil tanker, others had to shoot water towards the front line of firefighters to cool them down.

“Water, Water!”, “Foam!” were the shouts of the firefighters mixed with the sounds of continuous explosions and blazing noise of fireballs.

A Dalian TV cameraman, Lu Jianwei, captured a short conversation of a firefighter, later identified as Xu Zhiyou, talking to his wife over the cell phone. “Dear, I might not be back, treat mom well, treat our child well!”  On the other side of the line, his wife must have asked why. “Don’t ask, no time, I will stop here.” Then he turned off the phone and rushed towards the fire. (more…)