China’s Green Challenge – SLA Thursday Forum

China’s Green Challenge

SLA Thursday Forum, Kent House

In environmental debates, most people might think of China in relation to its increasing growth and its demand for energy and consequent pollution. But China also leads the world in many areas of environmental legislation, design, and implementation – including installation of solar hot water and photo-voltaics, and the regulation of car emissions.

At the next monthly forum held by Sustainable Living Armidale (SLA) four local people will share their  knowledge of contemporary China, and answer questions. Isabel Tasker is a lecturer in Chinese language and culture at UNE, who first went to China to study in the late 1970s. She will set the scene with a brief overview of China’s geographical diversity, and some ideas from China’s cultural heritage about the relationship of people with nature.

Graham Patterson and Wendy Smith first went to China in 1996.  Graham was a foreign expert at the Beijing Foreign Language University and Wendy taught there.  Since 2000 they have been in China teaching every year for 3 to 6 months, at Wuxi, Beijing & Shanghai.  As English examiners they have travelled to about 15 other cities.  At the forum Graham will talk about the current migration to the cities, the pros and cons in relation to energy and transport, and the issues of migrant workers and children. With this population movement away from the countryside, issues of food production, controls and wastage are increasing, and Wendy will talk about this, highlighting the growing organic food movement in China.

The final speaker will be local architect Mahalath Halperin, who has visited China in recent years as a board member of the International Solar Energy Society. She will touch on some current policy and environmental legislation, areas in which China is a world leader. She will also talk about the Dezhou Solar Valley, where many of the ideas and new laws have been put into practice.

The forum will be followed by questions and discussion. Everyone is welcome.

“China’s Green Challenge” is the next SLA Thursday Forum on June 2nd at 7 pm at Kent House, 141 Faulkner St (opposite Central Park) followed by light refreshments. No charge, though a gold coin donation appreciated.