A change in the model of development is the real key to reducing pollution, says an article in Henan Commercial News. An excerpt follows:

 

A latest survey from the State Oceanic Administration shows that the Bohai Sea is still the most polluted coastal water in China. More than one fifth of the country's sewage is dumped in the Bohai Sea every year, probably making it a dead zone in 10 years if no measures are taken to check the pollution, a marine ecology expert said. He said the results were already abominable. The biological species in the sea are dying, especially those living in the area close to the sewage tunnels. The poisonous pollutants would come back to people through the food chain, threatening the public health and safety.

 

There was suggestion that the authorities should open a canal connecting Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea to dilute the pollutants in Bohai Sea.

 

It sounds more like a joke. Bohai Sea is a limited area of water, which has a limited capacity to withstand pollutants, so is the Yellow Sea. This canal will only introduce pollutants to the latter.

 

As a matter of fact, the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Earth itself are all limited spaces for waste. It is ridiculous to pretend the waste is not there once it is put somewhere faraway. Even the problem is not so urgent for now, how about several decades later?

 

Industrialization was initiated to create more wealth and improve people's living standard, but the waste produced in the process is now endangering people's health and lives. The civilization with industry at its centre views everything from the perspective of cost and revenue with no regard to their ecological function. Such model is unlikely to sustain.

 

What people need is a deep-rooted respect for nature and the environment. By enhancing their self-discipline, people can live in harmony with the nature and have a sustainable development for both the future generations and the planet they live on.

 

The endangered Bohai Sea is calling for people to begin a switch in the model of development in society and economics as soon as possible. Otherwise, people will see as much hurt as the sea itself.

 

(China Daily October 23, 2006)