环保有我一份责任　北京请你节约用水_北京绿岩环保科技有限责任公司

　　编者按： 　　随着2008年奥运会的临近，民众越来越关心“中国”品牌的树立，学习英语的热情也被点燃。越来越多的外宣干部和业内同行向我们表达了期待看到双语栏目的期望。因此，我们在2006年第一期起开办了《双语视窗》栏目以满足广大读者的需求。
　　看看周围的媒体，《北京青年报》、《参考消息》、《国门时报》上有许多精粹的小短文，像一只只啄木鸟，善意地提醒了中国人习以为常的行为背后“尚未和国际接轨”的细节，读后让人回味不已，在获得借鉴意义的同时，也带来更深入的思考。我们效仿中英文对照的版面形式，旨在通过外国友人的视角来看中国，从中折射出东西方观念、习俗的异同。通过一篇篇这样的文章，让读者在领略异域文化同时，也能达到学习英语的目的。
　　
　　我想多数人会同意这样的观点：当你看到了问题，你应该去解决它。我想这恐怕也是对我在中国所做之事的最简单的解释。不论是水资源短缺、水污染还是水量分配，困扰这一伟大国家而且最终对其发展形成制约的主要环境问题就是水了。现在，我正和中国人民一起解决这些问题。这些问题并非中国有，相反，由于城市化与人口增加，已经有限的淡水资源承受的压力越来越大，全世界都在应对这些问题。
　　然而，中国与其他国家所不同的，是她史无前例的发展步伐――世界上还有哪个地方一幢幢高楼似乎一夜间就冒了出来?此外，2008年的奥运会使北京尤其要面对更多的土建工程与人口流入问题。北京的水资源已极为紧张，曾作为北京主要水源的密云水库水位已经低了不少，水质也有所下降，每年城市的地下水位也在明显降低。这不仅使水的储量承受更大的压力，而且会引起城市下沉，因为弱化着的地表越来越难以支撑不断增加的城市重量。因此，无论是从经济角度还是环保角度，我们都有充分的理由从现在开始就要正视水的短缺与污染状况，而不要到了真的为时已晚时再行动。
　　这就是你要参加解决的问题。你，一名读者，你的家人、朋友、同学和同事：这个群体的每一个成员，都能起到积极作用而使情况加以改善。你在刷牙或洗盘子时把水龙头关上了吗？见到漏水的龙头和跑水的马桶你很快就修好了吗?请关注你周围的河沟：河水是正常的还是有臭味，且变了颜色?
　　变化是从教育开始的，然而，只有通过行动才能实现。我现在北京与贝西?达蒙女士一起工作，她是一名生态设计师，也是美国非政府组织“保水者”的发起人。这一组织的目的是把各个年龄、各行各业的人带到一起开展一系列项目，这些项目以有目共睹的有教育性的有文化意义的方式来治理、保护水资源。为了在北京帮助传播这一理念，我们与珍妮.古道尔的“根与芽”合作，该组织在北京和世界各地的很多学校举办活跃的环保教育活动。
　　最近，我们成功主办了为期一天的研讨会，参加者是当地的小学与中学老师，还有一些大学生，代表了各自大学的环保小组。研讨会很独特：为了说明水对社会得以存在有多么重要，我们演示了人体在多么大的程度上是水，而自然界又是如何以水为中心而运行的；我们描述了人体的各项功能与水的密切关系，并进一步演示了人体各系统如何与自然界相类似，当把人体静脉、动脉组成的心血管系统与从空中看到的河流体系放在相同的尺寸下，二者是那么相像，简直无法区别，这使研讨会参加者极为惊愕。我们还演示人的骨骼与一棵树的相似之处。而神经呢，当一个人高兴时，神经就会松弛下来，而且有很多弯曲，就像一条正常的河流有很多或陡或缓的拐弯一样。与此形成对照的一张照片是神经在感受痛苦时就变得又直又僵硬，在这张照片旁边，我们放了一张河流的照片，这条河因受控于人类的工程建设而变成笔直的、不正常的、没有生气的了。
　　参加者一旦对水有了新的认识，那么保护这一珍贵资源乃当务之急也就显而易见了。接下来我们还用一些时间考虑他们与自己的学生或绿色组织能够承担的具体项目。
　　那天说出了很多非常好的项目构想，有些已在实施当中。天津二中正在启动一个绿色校园项目，他们还想把污水处理与收集雨水包括在计划当中。北京一所大学的学生正在发起一场在浴室中减少用水量的运动，浴室现状是学生们付一次钱洗多长时间都可以，这就总是导致浪费，他们制止浪费的方法包括改变收费办法，并给浴室换上节水型喷头。
　　最终，我们“保水者”与“根与芽”的目标是实施与水相关的社区行动计划，目前当地学校正在实施着。这些计划将会包括认领并整治一段当地的排水道，检测并监督水质，实施污水处理系统，或编写保护水的教育宣传资料。他们的工作不仅为北京提供了很好的服务，也为学生们得到亲手操作的实验性知识提供了无与伦比的机会。我们打算帮北京的学校与美国积极参与水保护项目的伙伴学校建立联系。这一联合将在构想、信息、问题与成功事例方面加强国际间的交流。
　　爱因斯坦曾经说过：“你不可能用当初造成这一问题的同一种思维去解决这一问题。”你是否想到了一个护水项目？你是否向往为改变现状而采取行动？或者你有需要解答的问题？
　　(本文作者是美国一名生物与废水处理专业的研究生)
　　
　　原文：
　　I think most people would agree that if you see a problem, you should fix it. I guess that"s the simplest explanation for what I"m doing in China. Whether it"s shortage, pollution, or allocation, the chief environmental crisis plaguing this great country and ultimately setting the limits on growth all comes down to water. I am here to work with Chinese people in fixing these problems. They are hardly unique to China - on the contrary, they are being dealt with worldwide, as urbanization and population growth put more and more pressure on an already limited supply of fresh water.
　　What sets China apart from other countries, however, is its unprecedented pace of development -swhereselse in the world do new highrises seem to sprout up virtually overnight? On top of this, there are the additional construction and the population influx that Beijing in particular will face because of the 2008 Olympics. Beijing"s water supply is already under grave stress: the Miyun Reservoir, which previously supplied much of the city"s water, is critically low and the quality of its water is declining. The city"s water table also drops markedly every year; this not only puts further pressure on water quantity, but also causes the city to sink, as the weakening ground becomes less and less able to support the growing city"s weight. Thus there are strong economic and environmental reasons for rectifying Beijing"s water shortage and pollution now, before it is really too late.
　　That"sswheresYOU come in. You the reader, your family, friends, classmates and colleagues: every member of this community has an active role to play in effecting positive change. Do you turn the water off while you brush your teeth and wash the dishes? Are you quick to repair leaky faucets and running toilets? Notice the canals in your community: do they appear healthy or are they smelly and discolored?
　　Change begins with education; however, it is only realized through action. I"m working in Beijing with Betsy Damon, an ecological designer and founder of an American-based NGO called Keepers of the Waters. The goal of her organization is to bring together people of all ages and disciplines to initiate projects that restore and preserve water sources in visible, educational, and culturally significant ways. To help spread this philosophy in Beijing, we"ve teamed up with Jane Goodall"s Roots and Shoots organization, which has an active environmental education program in numerous schools throughout this city and worldwide.
　　Recently we held a successful daylong workshop that was attended by local primary and secondary school teachers as well as several university students representing the environmental groups on their campuses. The workshop was unique: To convey how critical water is to the survival of society, we showed to what an extent our bodies are water and how the natural environment also revolves around it. We depicted the intimate connection between the functions of the human body and water, and further showed how human systems have parallels in nature. Our participants were amazed that, when shown on the same scale, the human cardiovascular system of veins and arteries and an aerial view of a river system were so much alike as to be indistinguishable. We also showed them the similarities between a human bone and a tree. Nerves, when a person experiences pleasure, look relaxed and have many curves, like a healthy river that also has numerous bends and curves. We contrasted these with a picture of a nerve straight and stiff as it feels pain; alongside it we placed a picture of a river that has been manipulated by human engineering and rendered straight, unhealthy and lifeless.
　　Once our participants had gained a new appreciation for water, the urgent need to protect this precious resource became plain to them. We followed up by spending some time thinking about concrete projects that they could undertake with their students or green groups.
　　Many great project ideas were voiced that day and some are already getting underway. A secondary school in Tianjin is beginning a campus greening project and wants to include greywater treatment as well as rainwater collection in their plan. Students from a local university are campaigning to reduce the water usage in their bathhouses. Currently, students pay one price for a shower of unlimited length, which invariably leads to waste. Their approach to cutting waste includes changing the pricing scheme and replacing the showerheads in their bathhouses with a water-saving type.
　　Ultimately, our goal is for Keepers of the Waters and Roots and Shoots to implement water-related community action projects that are carried out by local schools. These projects could include adopting and restoring a local waterway, testing and monitoring water quality, implementing greywater treatment systems or creating educational material on water conservation. Not only would their work provide a great service to the city but also offer a matchless opportunity for hands-on experiential learning for the students. We intend to link Beijing schools with partner schools in the US that are actively involved in water protection and conservation projects. This alliance will foster the international exchange of ideas, information, questions and success stories.
　　Albert Einstein once said: "You can"t solve a problem with the same kind of thinking that created it in the first place." Do you have an idea for a project, a desire to act for change, or questions you want answered?
　　（感谢北京青年报《双语视窗》栏目张爱学编辑对本文提供的支持。）
　　
　　责编：周瑾

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