Win Competition of Environment Protection for Beijing
- by Lucy Gan

Although the 2008 Olympics are still three years away, another special competition has already started in Beijing. This time, the competitors are not the athletes from all over the world, but the people living in Beijing. The special competition is not held in a stadium, but in every street and every corner of Beijing. I suppose some of you may have already guessed what the special competition is. Yes, it is the competition of protecting our environment and creating a green Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Someone may ask who is our rival in this competition? The modern Los Angeles, the charming Sydney, or the historic Athens? No, none of them. The real rival is ourselves. It is our bad habits of neglecting to protect environment in our daily life.

Several years ago, I was very lucky to have an opportunity to live in the United States for about two years. I not only enjoyed the beautiful environment there, but also appreciated the American people's active way of protecting their environment. Now, whenever the environment protection is mentioned, a beautiful view of California will arise in my mind: white clouds flying across the blue sky, green grassplot sprinkled with colorful flowers and small animals playing happily among the trees.

I remember that at the beginning of my coming to America, I often went to my father's working place, the United States Geological Survey, to have fun. Each time I found a lot of people riding bicycles to their offices. Among the cyclists, an old man with white hair attracted my attention. Curiously, I asked my father," Why does the old man ride his bike to work every day? Doesn't he have enough money to buy a car?" Father laughed, "No, not because of money. Actually, he is one of the greatest scientists in the world. He can afford to buy a motorcade if he likes. He is just an environmentalist and usually doesn't drive unless going shopping, or in bad weather. In America, there are a lot of environmentalists, who actively protect their environment. For example, in Palo Alto city we are living now, there is even a bicycle-to-work day on May 19th every year to encourage people to decrease air pollution caused by cars".

Later, I also learnt another interesting fact of environment protection there. In some states of America, in order to decrease air pollution, save energy and reduce traffic jams, state governments encourage people to take buses to work or to share a car among several people. They even set special "diamond lanes" in some main streets, which are only for the vehicles with 2 or more people.

The positive actions of American people and the effective measures the American government takes in environment protection fully won my respects and deeply affected my consciousness in environment protection.

When I was back in China, people often asked me: " What do you think of America?" I always bolt out:" Wonderful, especially the beautiful environment." Frankly speaking, after several years, the faces of my American teachers and friends have gradually faded away from my mind, but the blue sky, green grass and lovely animals in California often arise in my mind, and became my dream of visiting there again.

The 2008 Olympics provide us with the opportunity to publicize and practise environment protection in Beijing. Is it possible for Beijing to Is it possible for Beijing to become as beautiful as California? The answer is "yes", but the dream needs every Beijing citizen's full support and active moves to accomplish.

From now on, if every student who is driven to school can take bus or ride bicycle to school once a week, if every car owner goes to work in a car pool once a week, we can make a difference. If everyone can actively protect the environment in our daily life, the blue sky, green grass and lovely animals in California will appear in Beijing.

Tiny streams can combine into a vast ocean, small trees can together be an immense forest. Beijing is often described as a beautiful and aged picture. If every Beijing citizen adds a trait of green on the picture, the whole Beijing will become an ocean of green. Let us unite together to win the competition of environment protection in Beijing, and present the world a big gold medal. That is "Green Beijing, Great Olympics "

打好环保比赛、创建绿色北京

　　尽管2008北京奥运会离我们还有3年之遥，但有一项规模宏大的特殊比赛已经拉开了序幕。这场比赛的参加者并非来自世界各国的体育选手，而是身处北京的每一位公民，比赛的场所就是我们身边的街区小巷。我想大家已经想到了我所说的这项特殊比赛，这就是"创建绿色北京、保护美好环境"。那么在这场环保大赛中，我们究竟要与谁一比高低？是繁华现代的洛杉矶、风光迷人的悉尼、还是古老神奇的雅典？都不是！比赛的对手就是我们自己，就是我们自身淡漠的环保意识。
几年前有幸在美国加州度过的一段时光，既让我享受了那里宜人的环境，更让我领略了当地人民高度的环保意识。每当说到城市环保，我的眼前总会浮现出加州那蔚蓝的天空、明媚的阳光、碧绿的草地以及嬉戏在树枝间的松鼠、彩蝶和百灵鸟。
　　记得刚到美国时，常去爸爸工作的美国地质调查局玩耍，每次均能看到许多人骑自行车上下班，而其中一位满头白发的骑车老人，引起了我的好奇。我问爸爸，"那个爷爷为什么总骑车上班，是不是没钱买车？"爸爸笑道："没钱买车？嘿，说出来吓死你，他可是世界上顶级的大科学家。要论钱，他可以买一个车队呢。" "那他咋不买车呢？骑车多累呀！" "他有车，但平时除非下雨或购物，一般不去开。在美国有许多人都是环保主义者，为了节约能源和减少汽车尾气对大气的污染，他们用实际行动倡导人们尽量少开车。而我们所居住的这座美国城市，还特别将每年的5月19日定成了'骑车上班日'，以支持和宣传这种有效的环保行为。"
后来，我还在经常的搭车出行中获知了他们的另一件环保趣事：在美国的许多州，政府为了鼓励大家多坐公交车或几人合用一辆车，以节省能源和缓解交通压力，在城市内一些主干道路上开辟有专门的'钻石车道'，只有乘坐了二人或二人以上的车辆才从此通过。美国人民这种自觉的环保意识和政府有效的环保措施使我从内心对他们充满了敬佩。并深刻地影响了我的环保理念。
　　回国后，常常有人问我："美国好吗？"我总会脱口而出："确实好！最好的是环境。"说句真心话，回国三、四年，美国那边同学和老师的面孔已经逐渐模糊，但加州那宜人的自然环境，却每每清晰地浮现在我的眼前，成为我最深的记忆和期盼故地重游的缘由，也成了我心目中北京环境的蓝图。2008奥运会为我们倡导和实施北京的环保提供了契机，北京能否有朝一日也拥有象加州那样美丽的环境？答案是肯定的。但需要我们以真正的环保之心和切实的环保行动去一步一步地实现。
从现在开始，如果每一位有车的朋友一星期可以少开一、两次车，每个让家长用车接送的同学一周能主动让家长少接送一两趟而改乘公车或骑自行车，我们就会有拥有更多的蓝天……。只要我们每一位北京市民都能够自觉的从身边的环保小事做起，加州的蓝天、白云和绿草地就会在北京安家，美国的松鼠、彩蝶和百灵鸟就会来北京落户。
　　涓涓细流可以汇成滔滔江海，片片绿叶能够造就莽莽森林。只要我们每一位北京市民都拿起手中的环保之笔，在我们所处的街头巷尾，为北京这幅美丽而古老的画卷添上自己的一抹绿色，就能使北京掩映在绿色的海洋中。让我们一起行动起来，用我们集体的力量来打赢这场环保之赛，向全世界展现一块最大的金牌，这就是"绿色北京、精彩奥运"。