Younger Chinese Have Stronger Sense of Environment Protection

Xu Yaping has been teaching mathematics in a middle school in Chongqing in southwest China for ten years. But now, she has to rewrite part of her teaching material to include environment protection.

"It's a great challenge for me to link dull numbers and geometrical graphics with environment protection," said Xu, " because that's not what I've learned during my years at college."

Five years ago, the school authorities of the Chongqing No. 32 Middle School, where Xu works, asked teachers to supplement their teaching material with environment protection in a bid to let students to realize the importance of protecting the environment.

After a long arduous effort, Xu finally worked out a subject which combined environmental protection and mathematics. For example, Xu would ask students to figure out with index and function methods how many years it would take for 30,000 cubic meters of forest to disappear if the forest was cut at an average rate of five percent a year.

After students figured out the answer, Xu told them what important roles forests play in containing water and fighting against wind and sand and desertification.

Chen Shasha, a student, said that she had learnt a lot about the importance of protecting environment from books. However, "I could not firmly grasp the reality of the problem. Now I'm shocked by facts and figures that I have calculated concerning China's environment."

China had witnessed a rapid development of industrialization in the 1970s and 80s, resulting in a worsening environment and pollution. Of the world's ten most polluted cities, China has nine.

However, with the economic development and the improving living standard, the environment has become a hot debated issue in China.

Both the central government and the Chinese people are paying much attention to the problem. Teaching environmental protection has become a integral component of the curricula in primary and middle schools.

Some schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou and several other big cities were awarded the title "green schools".

The Chongqing No. 32 Middle School was one of the pioneer schools that opened environment education classes in China.

Geography, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, Chinese and English classes all included topics concerning the environment said the school principal Zhang Lianying.

"We hope that our efforts will have a great impact on families and contribute greatly to improving the environment across the nation," said Zhang.

Zhu Yongji, a sixteen year old student, used to use styrofoam food containers for his lunch to save time and trouble. Realizing the harm of the material for environment, he began to use a stainless steel container and chopsticks instead.

Zhu also persuaded his mother to use washing powder free of phosphor and urged his father to sort out the garbage before discarding it.

The booming "green schools" throughout China has greatly improved primary and middle school students' awareness of the environment, said Wang Lilue, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Environment Education Coordinated Committee.

A latest nationwide survey shows that primary and middle school students have a stronger sense of environment protection than their parents.

"We have confidence that China's environment will be improved dramatically in the next century," said Wang.



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