中国环境与规划(一)

CHINA,THE ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING

中国人常说:"良药苦口,忠言逆耳"。在中国做了十年规划,我看到了一些不是简单的问题。有些问题不知道是否应该说出来,但是如果不说出来,我认为有愧领导的爱护。有一次,我与好朋友前纽约环境保护局局长、世界上一流的水处理专家ALAPPLETON交谈这些问题。没想到,他与我有许多共同的看法。后来,我告诉他我正在写一本有关对中国规划建议的书,不如他来个"友情演出",替我写一篇我们对环境保护共同看法的文章。为了得到更多"外脑"的意见和支持,我要求编辑必须将原文登出。这是一个大胆的做法。但是,如果你是有心的读者会了解我们的苦心。如果环境保护及规划上诸多问题再不引起中国官员的重视,我们相信在中国快速发展进程中,中国的后代会为我们目前的一些建设付出沉重的代价。

For 2500 years,China has struggled with the consequences of deforestation,which among other things shaped China's cuisine due to the need to substitute charcoal for scarce wood in cooking. Historians now understand the waves of nomad invasions that so influenced the political fate of one imperial dynasty after another,as that fate was influenced by changing ecological conditions on the steppes. Understanding,managing and struggling with nature is a central theme of Chinese history.