FutureGenerations

Jamie Henn of the organization 350 describes his experience in China with the Green Long March, in the article China Marches to a Green Beat, published in WireTap Magazine.

From the article:

"Despite a little sweat, our Long March up Baiyun Mountain wasn't as physically taxing as Mao's. My first morning marching, I joined the students at a local supermarket in Guangzhou where they passed out sustainable shopping bags, conducted consumer surveys about energy saving methods, and ran green-themed games for both children and adults.

I was struck by how open and energetic the students were. In the US, a lot of young people are a bit wary of chatting up complete strangers, let alone lecturing them about lifestyle change. In China, people seem more used to interacting with each other on a daily basis. Students here weren't at all shy, holding shoppers' babies while they filled out surveys. I can't remember the last time I held a stranger's baby, let alone while canvassing.

While it's a challenge to see how individual conversations can lead to the type of massive changes China and countries around the world need to make, the students were optimistic. "We are planting the seeds for a Green China," said Ma Chi Zhi, a GLM student leader. "The Green Long March is inspiring Chinese youth to become the pioneers of environmental change." As in the United States, youth here are seen as the vanguard of environmental reform in China."

WireTap is the Webby-winning, national news and culture magazine by and for a new generation of progressives. Here you will learn about political and social issues that matter to the 50 million 18- to 30-year-olds in America.

350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth.