“Now I know the only one who cares about the environment out of 1.3 billion people who don’t,” said an American friend of mine after he was approached by a Chinese friend of mine who is interested in environmental law. Having stayed in the US for 3 years, I no longer feel surprised or offended when my American friends criticize, or simply make fun of, China on environmental issues. Even I, after living in one of the most polluted cities in China for 13 years, find it hard to argue for the Chinese side on this issue. Yet China is in the situation that the US faced decades ago, when the dust-storm in Alabama evacuated the peasants and damaged all the crops, and when all the lakes and rivers were filled with toxins emitted by the world-known 3M. The point is not to criticize, because we both have been there. The point is to understand more about each other and to help the globe which we all live on, unless Uncle Sam’s land can magically float away from the earth, leaving the polluted world behind. Now that we have the Internet, the excuse of distance-therefore-ignorance no longer holds. For those who don’t want to be a close-minded but liberal/critical thinking Carl, I have something for you. The China Sustainable Energy Program (www.efchina.org) is founded by some government officials, experts, and scholars from both the US and China. It updates news on sustainable development in China, including technology breakthroughs and policy changes. Sustainable development for a country with a 1.3 billion population is harder than it sounds, so please take a look at it before dumping all the complaints about China in my face next time. I love both China and the US, and I love the earth even more. Thanks. Charlie