Earth Day Speech by Environment, Science, Technology and Health Officer Deborah Seligsohn

Posted on Jun 30, 2004

President Qu, Deputy Director-General Yue, Vice President Tang, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning. It is a pleasure to be here today to commemorate the first Earth Day with you by looking through this "Window on the American Environment." While I have not yet viewed the television series, from the accompanying book I can see that it is a very ambitious effort. The producers have interviewed a large number of environmental leaders in the United States, from early founders back in the 1970s through those involved in the contemporary movement. I am sure you will hear many different opinions, because the diversity of the American environmental movement is part of its strength. The ability of individuals and non-governmental organizations to express their opinions and make their voices heard in the press and in the electoral process is the root of the movement and why it flourishes today.

I vividly remember going outdoors with my elementary school class on Earth Day 1970 to examine our environment by looking at what grew in the pond behind our school. The motto of that first Earth Day was "think globally, act locally," and our young teacher wanted us to better understand what was right around us. Nowadays teachers have access to all sorts of wonderful educational materials to help students study the environment and learn about concepts like biodiversity, climate change and protection of the ozone layer that were still foreign to us in 1970. But we knew then about toxic chemicals, deforestation, water pollution -- the subject of our pond study -- and land use issues, and we were learning to understand how much of an impact we could make on our futures.

Earth Day 1970 was a novel idea proposed by individuals -- not a government -- that grew on its own, so that in that very first year over 20 million Americans participated. We said, "think globally," but Americans were not yet thinking as much beyond their borders as we do today. Equally it would have been unimaginable in 1970 that China would air a 22 part television series on the United States. It would be another two years before the images of President Nixon's famous trip to China would be broadcast on our television screens in the United States and we started to have the opportunity to learn about each other.

Today the United States and China have a great deal to celebrate together for Earth Day. We are working together in areas from water conservation to the protection of endangered species to the development of new, cleaner sources of energy. We have an active program to work with Beijing to support its goal of a Green Olympics in 2008. Together we are researching climate change and exploring the possibilities for using hydrogen and fusion as energy sources. The United States government, through agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Parks Service and dozens more has an active program of cooperation with its Chinese counterparts. We are working with local partners to help make President Bush's initiative on illegal logging and China's own goals on forestry protection a reality. Our National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is actively partnering with its Chinese counterpart to protect the ocean's precious resources.

But the relationship between our governments is only part of the story. As is shown by our Peace Corps program, where young Americans come to China to volunteer, many on environmental protection projects, environmental protection is a people-to-people project. American and Chinese professors and their students are working together. Non-governmental organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense and the Energy Foundation to name just a few among many are able to work effectively with Chinese partners to help protect China's environment and thus help the world. The Chinese and American people's care about environmental protection, and we both have very beautiful countries to protect. I have traveled over much of China and have discovered that its geographical and biological diversity is a true treasure, in much the same way as the many Chinese visitors to America's National Parks like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and Yosemite have seen in the U.S.

On the non-governmental side business also plays an important role, and one that we in the Embassy actively encourage. American companies bring with them more than thirty years' experience in complying with Environmental Protection Agency regulations and management systems that make environmental stewardship a basic part of doing business. In some cases they can also bring new, cleaner ways of producing goods. We also see increasing numbers of companies contributing directly to environmental improvement by participating in recycling or reforestation projects.

We in the United States Embassy are committed to thinking globally and acting locally, working with China to resolve global environmental issues and trying to contribute to a better local environment with our own recycling program, started by one concerned individual in our office. Each of us in this way can make a difference.

I congratulate CCTV and the producers of this program by giving everyone in China this opportunity to think about the American environment as part of their global thinking.