By James Healy
As China grows more determined to solve air pollution, things certainly seem to be looking up. But don't look down, or you'll realize how awful we're doing at ground level.
I'm not talking about heavy metals in the soil - another serious issue the government has resolved to tackle - but something far simpler.
There's even a reasonable, though potentially challenging, solution to this vexing sort of pollution, a campaign to clamp down and clean up that I call "No Ifs, Ands or Butts".
Cigarette butts, that is. Just look around. They're everywhere underfoot. If enough people notice and object, China could stamp out this ubiquitous annoyance.
To be fair, not all smokers are inconsiderate, though the number who continue to puff in public places like restaurants, even in Beijing where it is illegal, might cause one to wonder on this point.
However, many smokers do indeed seem to have no regard whatsoever for the cleanliness of the nation's streets and sidewalks or the beauty and magnificence of its parks and landscaping. One cigarette after another, ad nauseam, the worst of these human chimneys flick their butts hither and yon, as if a magical elf has been designated just to clean up after them.
Go ahead, count. You'll find cigarette butts strewn along streets, in crosswalks, on sidewalks, in flower beds, in bushes – you name it. And let's be frank: These smokers' remnants are filthy, toxic and unsightly.
Let's not even go into the ramifications to the environment of what happens when these countless discarded stubs become soaked with rain, and the toxins they hold leach into the soil or groundwater.
So, what can be done? Regulating such poor behavior, let alone enforcing a regulation or levying fines, would almost certainly be futile.
What about making smokers pay up front?
Here's my (perhaps myopic) vision: Add a self-recoverable cleanup tax to cigarettes, earmark the funds to rid our streets of cigarette leftovers — basically forcing offenders to finance the cleanup - and pay a per-butt bounty to anyone who gathers these discards and brings them to a designated collection point.
Let's say the tax is a mere 10 percent, which means someone buying a cheaper pack of 20 cigarettes, for between 5 and 10 yuan (73¢ to $1.45), would pay a tax of 0.5 yuan to 1 yuan. At up to 0.05 yuan per cigarette stub, someone who collects 500 discarded butts (which wouldn't take much time along the average Beijing street) could collect 25 yuan.
The beauty of this solution to an ugly problem is that it's loaded with incentive: Though it's unlikely, smokers who can't afford the extra tax might quit puffing (win!) or use that ingenious contraption called an ashtray to collect their own stubs to claim a tax refund (win!). Or, anyone looking for extra cash can collect the discards, thereby cleaning up the environment (win!) and reaping a reward (win!).
So, come on, China. Since it's a win-win-win-win proposition, what's there to lose?
音频编辑:焦洁
Broadcaster:
James Healy is from the United States and has been a copy editor at China Daily since 2017. He is an advanced student of Chen style tai chi and enjoys Chinese culture, food and carvings.
儿童双语幽默小故事:狼来了Wolf Is Coming
双语儿童寓言故事:一只蚂蚁A Little Ant
儿童双语幽默小故事:白雪公主Snow White
双语儿童寓言故事:两只猴子Two Little Monkeys
双语儿童寓言故事:我与河马The Hippo and I
双语儿童寓言故事:这是不公平It’s Unfair
儿童双语幽默小故事:一定很拥挤It Must Be Crowded
Sonnets of William Shakespear
双语儿童寓言故事:穿哪条裙子?Which Skirt to Wear?
双语儿童寓言故事:三个好朋友Three Good Friends
儿童双语幽默小故事:聪明的野兔A Clever Hare
儿童双语幽默小故事:兔子和狐狸The Rabbit and the Fox
双语儿童寓言故事:找朋友Look for a Friend
儿童双语幽默小故事:好孩子 A Good Boy
双语儿童寓言故事:聪明的农民A Clever Farmer
儿童双语幽默小故事:我“聪明“的狗My “Clever” Dog
双语儿童寓言故事:中国熊猫The Panda in China
儿童双语幽默小故事:误会Wrong
双语儿童寓言故事:两只狗Two dogs
双语儿童寓言故事:一个愚蠢的人 A Silly Man
双语儿童寓言故事:Spring in the Green Season春天
儿童双语幽默小故事:聪明的国王所罗门The Clever King Solomon
双语儿童寓言故事:我不能愿意洗澡I Will Not Take a Bath
A Farewel to Worldly Joyes 永别了,尘世的欢乐
Super Why儿童英语故事动画:侏儒妖怪 Rumplestiltskin
双语儿童寓言故事:森林运动会The Sports Meeting in the Forest
儿童双语幽默小故事:渔夫和他的妻子The Fisherman and His Wife
双语儿童寓言故事:顽皮的弟弟Naughty Brother
儿童双语幽默小故事:我让奶奶高兴了I Made Granny Glad
儿童双语幽默小故事:一只口渴的狗The Thirsty Dog
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |