Chris Packham, host of a BBC nature show, recently created an international stir when he suggested that pandas should be allowed to go extinct. In his statements he questioned whether it was wise to allocate so much funding towards saving an animal that’s ‘not very bright, doesn’t reproduce well in captivity, and is unfortunate enough to reside in the world’s most populous nation.’
I personally don’t think pandas should be written off, however I do think Packham made some good points and anything that gets people talking about conservation can only be a good thing.
China however does not agree and his comments have been viewed by the nation as slanderous to their most loved and iconic animal. The story made it onto the front page of almost every Chinese newspaper and let’s just say the coverage was not exactly balanced.
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For a city that prides itself on convenience and being cutting edge, it is surprisingly hard to recycle in Hong Kong! There’s no recycling service that you can sign up for at your residence, so I’ve been forced to carry my recyclables three-blocks to some sidewalk recycling bins. It’s also not easy to find said bins, luckily I happen to live near some.
It might also be hard to recycle where you live, but don’t be discouraged as there are other things you can do to minimize your impact. You can try buying biodegradable plastics whenever possible, for instance it’s quite easy to find biodegradable garbage bags. You can also try to lessen your usage of aluminium by making drinks like lemonade or Kool-Aid instead of buying soda pop.
Hong Kong really needs to get in on the green movement. They’re currently trying to implement a recycling service, however, I find it hard to believe it takes the SAR years to do such a thing when they can reclaim the harbour in about ten minutes.
UPDATE: I recently spent some time in Beijing so I thought I would share with everyone an observation on the Chinese capital. Taking a contrarian stance to Hong Kong, in Beijing every trash can also has a separate bin for recycling. I was told this started last year around the time of the Olympics, but it seems to still be going strong. And there you have it, Beijing managing to beat out Hong Kong on such an important environmental issue. PRC FTW!
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