Ok, it's just a ride but it sounds important, right?
March 6
Today was a long day of walking. We saw the Great Wall of China. Sustainability is an issue for the farmers. One the way to the Great Wall the problem of feeding the massive population of China using only 15% arable land was reiterated. We do not realize how blessed we are in the United States with the resources at our disposal. This also makes me realize why sustainability is often a back seat thought for Americans because we have the illusion that our resources are limitless. [a side note for this: Almost the entire CONTINENT of North America was clear cut of forest in only about 300 years! ] Each farmer only receives about 1/3 to ½ an acre. The life of the farmer is very tough due to poor soil quality and limited water. Farmers have supplemented their income by turning their homes into hotels or restaurants for city dwellers on weekend trips. Nothing in the farm is wasted. Many of the street lights in the Great Wall area are charged by solar panels. The actual Great Wall shop uses a chair lift but then has a Tobbaganato ride to get to the bottom. This was a really fun trip for us. This evening we will go the train station and board a high speed, over-night train to Shanghai.
Great Wall, Olympic Park, lunch at Great Wall farmer’s house, Silk Market, Train Ride.
A side note to the clear cutting...Weyerhaeuser was one of the first companies to view forest as a "crop" rather than a resource like coal or oil that is mearely used up. They started replanting trees in the 1930s but saw a need for sustainability as early as the turn of the 20th Century.
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