Ma Jun
Ma Jun
Ma Jun, courtesy name Deheng, was a Chinese mechanical engineer and government official during the Three Kingdoms era of China. His most notable invention was that of the south-pointing chariot, a directional compass vehicle which actually had no magnetic function, but was operated by use of differential gears. It is because of this revolutionary devicethat Ma Jun is known as one of the most brilliant mechanical engineers and inventors of his day. The device was re-invented by many after Ma...
NationalityChinese
ProfessionEnvironmentalist
Date of Birth22 May 1968
CountryChina
We firmly believe the environmental issues cannot be addressed without extensive public participation, but people need to be informed before they can get involved.
We copied laws and regulations from western countries, but enforcement remains weak, and environmental litigation is still quite near impossible.
Even the government understands that the environmental challenge is so big that no single agency can handle it. It needs collaboration among all the stakeholders - companies, governments, NGOs and the public. Public accountability will be the ultimate driving force.
We want to use the environment to shift the way our society works.
What we aim to do, through public pressure, is help the environment protection bureau to enforce the law.
Brands who come to China, often they just care about price - so they actually drive the suppliers to cut corners on environmental standards to win a contract.
Urban residents, most of them middle class, have a much better sense of their environmental rights, and they're willing to take to the streets.
Of course, as consumers, we want cheap and good products; however, if these production processes are exceeding wastewater discharge standards and even causing heavy metal pollution, they will cause long-lasting damage to the ecological environment and public health.
China's environmental conundrums will not be solved by changes within government alone. New mechanisms are needed to allow the communities which may be affected by a given plan, and citizens concerned about the environment, to join in.
China leads the world in energy consumption, carbon emissions, and the release of major air and water pollutants, and the environmental impact is felt both regionally and globally.
China is bearing the environmental cost for much of the world because China is the factory of the world.
China has leapfrogged into this information age, and Web users have grown very significantly, which knocked down the cost of doing the environmental transparency.
On April 16, 2010, 34 Chinese environmental organizations, including Friends of Nature, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Green Beagle, questioned heavy metal pollution in a letter sent to CEO Steve Jobs.
When I look at China's environmental problems, the real barrier is not lack of technology or money. It's lack of motivation.