A rooftop garden at 28 Nanchang Road in downtown Jing'an District catches the eye. It is one of the models the city has put upto encourage Shanghai to be more environmentally friendly.

 

Families in Shanghai are paying much more attention to environmental issues, but adults still need to do more to set examples for their children, according to a new survey.

 

The Shanghai Women's Federation conducted the survey about the attitudes towards environmental protection and energy saving in Shanghai families to encourage a green outlook.

 

The survey covered 508 families in five districts. People in the survey ranged in age from 19 to 79 and were from wide backgrounds.

 

The survey showed nearly 90 percent of families thought the environment near their community had been improved in the past five years.

 

"We see from the survey that many families are paying much more attention to environmental protection issues as they have been long influenced by the concept of sustainable development," said Wang Ling, a federation officer.

 

According to the survey, nearly 70 percent of families prefer organic food, 53.8 percent prefer environmentally friendly decorative materials and 85.3 percent choose gas-saving cars.

 

Many said they don't use throwaway chopsticks, sell recycled waste regularly and take their own bags for shopping. "While many families admit environmental protection is important, they should still make more efforts," Wang said.

 

Nearly half of the families said they eat frogs and a kind of algae produced in the northern area that will affect the ecologic environment.

 

Only 26 percent separate the garbage before discarding it.

 

Researchers found in their interviews that children have a better awareness than their parents.

 

"Our teacher told us that the frog is a beneficial animal because it eats pests, so we shouldn't eat frogs," said Yu Tianze, a nine-year-old pupil.

 

Researchers suggest parents watch their own behavior to set a good example for their children.

 

(Shanghai Daily June 6, 2007)