By Zhao Lijian

Mr. Zhao Lijian is The Asia Foundation’s Environment Program Manager in Beijing where he develops and manages projects including a Pearl River Delta initiative focusing on cleaner production in the industrial sector, clean water, and environmental entrepreneurship training. He is a LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) Fellow and holds a MSc. degree in Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management from the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), Lund University in Sweden. He can be reached at zhaolijian@asiafound.org.

When the lights went off one night late last month at Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” Olympic stadium (officially known as the National Stadium) and the Water Cube, it did not signal the end of the country’s glory surrounding all things Olympic. Rather, it signaled a commitment to protect the environment and combat new climate change. This was the first time ever that China participated in the March 28 Earth Hour activities that included switching off lights at landmark structures throughout the city. Besides Beijing, 18 other Chinese cities – including Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Wuhan – joined the effort. Turning the lights out reflects Chinese businesses’ and ordinary citizens’ increasing awareness of environmental issues.
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By Chris Plante

Chris Plante is The Asia Foundation’s Director for Environment Program. He can be reached at cplante@asiafound.org.

As The Asia Foundation’s Director for the Environment Program, I work on environment and sustainability issues. Recently as I was traveling to support rainwater harvesting and a safe drinking water law in Rajasthan, an arid western state of India, I thought about the geographic and climate parallels to the places I’ve lived in the American West. The parallels led me almost immediately to Wallace Stegner and the geography of hope.

Written in 1960, Wallace Stegner’s “Wilderness Letter” emphasized the importance of the relationship of people to land and nature. It also highlighted the hope that geography, especially America’s western landscapes, has given to people over time and throughout history. Stegner believed that we are shaped by the land – and that we shape the land. The geography of hope, as he summarized in his letter, identified the West itself as an especially important place for hope. As I met with people in Rajasthan, I saw a similar hope and similar relationships people had to their land.
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