Large areas of north China, including Beijing, have been enveloped in heavy smog. After being choked by pollution for several days, the PM2.5 levels of certain regions in Beijing astonishingly hit as high as 900 micrograms per cubic meter. Not only is it the heaviest smog this year, it has also lasted longer than other smoggy periods, and thus has caused quite a lot of complaints from citizens as well as on the Internet.

According to a report released from UN authorities, efforts to clean up the air of northern China had yielded initial successes. Residents in Beijing seem to have experienced fewer smoggy days before November this year. Beijing has always been the worst-hit area for smog pollution, and if its situation could take a turn for the better, it would have a symbolic significance for smog control in the whole northern region.

However, bad weather in November has swept away all of the public's good impressions. Citizens have vented most of their anger on the government, despite a majority of them understanding that everyone bears his share of responsibility in creating the smog. We all want to live in a bustling metropolis, in a big house with warm temperatures in winter, while everyone has a car to drive. Yet in the meantime, we all want blue sky. Such a contradiction is hard to resolve.

No matter how many efforts the government has made, the only thing the public want is a result, rather than the process. This is the nature of public opinion, and the government can therefore only face up and adapt to it. It should never feel wronged if its works do not meet with approval. Instead, it should realize how urgent it is to control pollution, as well as to seek a balance between the development of Chinese society and environmental protection, through citizens' discontent.

Smog control is a tough battle in China's economic and social development, which involves many aspects such as technological progress, economic transformation, construction of regulations and social morality, determination to take firm action, and patience.

The complaints about the smog on the Internet have piled some pressure on the government as to the next move. It is thus not meaningless. But we should also promote the adage that change begins at home when it comes to an environmentally friendly way of life. In the end, no matter how much the government is able to do, it comes down to the actions of every one of us to retrieve the lost blue sky.