Protecting Our Planet: Essential Questions on Ecological Environment

Foreword

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Humanity has got onto a fast-moving automobile on an expressway with steep cliffs in the front. However anxiously we want the automobile to stop immediately, it keeps speeding up all the way under the drive of its two wheels: one is the outstanding wisdom and the other is the selfish nature of humanity. The science and technology created by the outstanding human wisdom and the production and consumption modes chosen by the selfish human nature may lead humanity onto a road with no return. It is already the critical moment for humanity to make the ultimate decisions whether to go forward or turn right at the crossroad of life and death. The choice is to be made by our generation, but it will affect our children and future generations.

Acknowledgements

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The author and translator would like to express their sincere thanks to all the authors and translators of the works this book have referred to and cited from.

Special thanks go to Gao Liji, who kindly wrote the preface to this book, and Pang Huandong, Ren Yanan, Sun Xinyue, Zhang Fuxiao, Chen Chen, Xu Mengyu, Meng Jing, and Pang Xinyue, who also participated in the translation and proofreading work of this book.

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Preface  Historical Responsibility of the Author

1. What is happening to the concentration of carbon dioxide on the earth?

2. What is the threshold of carbon dioxide concentration that will trigger calamities for humanity?

3. Does the growth of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere have any impact on human beings?

4. Why shouldn’t we take the growth of carbon dioxide concentration lightly?

5. Why does the growth of carbon dioxide concentration lead to the malnutrition of hundreds of millions of people?

6. Why is air pollution the most serious risk to global environment and human health?

7. How many degrees Celsius has the average global temperature risen compared with that in pre-industrial times?

8. What does a global temperature rise of 1.5℃ mean?

9. Why is a rise of 2℃ considered the threshold for the survival of ecosystems and human societies?

10. Will climate change push mankind to despair?

11. What is the second most important greenhouse gas contributing to global warming?

12. Which emits more methane, human activities or natural sources?

13. Why is methane considered a possible trigger for climate change?

14. What are the other greenhouse gases apart from carbon dioxide and methane?

15. Does nitrogen contribute to environmental pollution?

16. Does air pollution lead to a decline in intelligence?

17. Is the world dimming?

18. What are the reasons behind global dimming?

19. What are the hazards of global dimming?

20. Will the Arctic Ocean become an ice-free ocean?

21. Why is the entire cooling system in the Arctic heading in a precarious direction?

22. What serious consequences will the sharp rise of temperature in the Arctic bring about?

23. What causes the rise of the sea level?

24. Why has the melting ice on Greenland passed the tipping point?

25. How is the melting of Greenland ice sheet related to sea level rise?

26. What impact will the melting of Greenland ice sheet have on the circulation of ocean currents?

27. What will happen to the world when fossil fuels run out?

28. How fast is the Antarctic warming?

29. What is the relationship between Antarctic ice sheet melting and sea level rise?

30. Why is the Antarctic ice sheet melting at an alarming speed?

31. What serious consequences will the sharp warming of Antarctica bring about?

32. Why is it possible that the Asian Water Tower will become a tower without water?

33. What tragedy will the global mountain glaciers face?

34. Why does the ozone hole appear?

35. How severe is the depletion of the Antarctic ozone layer?

36. Are there ozone holes in the Arctic?

37. Are there any new opponents in restoring the ozone layer?

38. Is ozone layer depletion the primary cause of climate change?

39. Which international convention has achieved unparalleled success?

40. Can ozone holes heal on their own?

41. Can reducing ozone-depleting substances contribute to the protection of global climate?

42. What can we do for the ozone layer?

43. Why is global warming the evil backstage manipulator of extreme weather?

44. How is wildfire related to climate change?

45. What diseases will global warming bring to mankind?

46. What are the misconceptions that hinder vigorous emission reduction?

47. Are cognitive biases responsible for human’s incompetence in addressing climate change?

48. Why is today’s emission reduction of great importance to the future of humanity?

49. What can we do to address global warming?

50. What is ocean acidification?

51. How severe is current ocean acidification?

52. What are the hazards of ocean acidification?

53. How severe is current ocean warming?

54. What are the hazards of ocean warming?

55. What are the causes of ocean acidification and warming?

56. Why is the oxygen in ocean declining rapidly?

57. What causes the decrease of oxygen in ocean?

58. What harm will the reduction of oxygen in ocean bring?

59. How important are coral reefs?

60. Why are global coral reefs heading to a dead end?

61. Why is the world’s largest coral colony dying slowly?

62. What are the reasons for the disappearance of coral reefs?

63. Why is the current situation of coral reefs in China distressing?

64. How should we protect coral reefs?

65. Why are mangroves reputed as forest on the sea?

66. Why is plastic pollution in the ocean shocking?

67. What are the hazards of ocean radioactive pollution?

68. How are the land-based sources of ocean pollution distributed in China?

69. Why does overfishing endanger nearly 90% of the world’s fishery resources?

70. Why are China’s offshore fishery resources declining seriously?

71. What are the prominent problems in China’s offshore waters?

72. What will be the fate of global sand beaches?

73. What is the general situation of marine reserve construction in the world?

74. What is the general situation of marine reserve construction in China?

75. What are the prominent problems of China’s marine reserves?

76. Why should we build marine reserves?

77. How should we better establish marine reserves?

78. What caused the disappearance of China’s 28,000 rivers?

79. Why are the world’s rivers drying up at an alarming rate?

80. Why is it that antibiotic pollution of rivers has become a global problem?

81. Why has water pollution become a worldwide catastrophe?

82. Why do most ecologists have negative attitudes towards the construction of dams?

83. How many large rivers in the world are blocked by humans?

84. Why are wetlands called the kidney of the earth?

85. What is the global picture of wetland losses?

86. What is the picture of wetland losses in China?

87. What crises are China’s wetlands facing?

88. What are the prominent problems of China’s coastal wetlands?

89. How to protect wetlands in China?

90. What should we pay attention to in protecting wetlands?

91. What is peatland?

92. What are the important ecological values of peatlands?

93. What crises are peatlands facing?

94. How to protect peatlands?

95. Why are the world’s lakes undergoing rapid warming?

96. What causes lake warming?

97. What hazards will lake warming bring about?

98. Why is the global algae bloom in lakes deteriorating?

99. How to control algae bloom?

100. Why do China’s Five Great Lakes still have the hidden risk of environmental deterioration?

101. Why are lakes in China shrinking rapidly?

102. How serious is lake pollution in China?

103. What should China do in the governance of lake ecology?

104. Why is 80% of groundwater in China unsuitable for drinking?

105. Why has North China Plain become the world’s largest funnel area of groundwater?

106. Why is Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei an area with the most serious land subsidence in China?

107. Why is global groundwater being exhausted?

108. Why is water shortage a global crisis?

109. Is China a country with water shortage?

110. How to build a water-saving society?

111. What is acid deposition?

112. What are the main causes of acid rain?

113. Why is acid rain called killer in the air?

114. How is acid rain distributed in the world?

115. How is acid rain distributed in China?

116. How to prevent acid rain?

117. Why is it a dangerous practice to sterilize tap water by adding chlorine?

118. How does the hardness of drinking water relate to heart diseases?

119. What are the main types of drinking water filtration?

120. What is the status quo of global soil erosion?

121. What is the situation of global land degradation?

122. What are the policy obstacles to the prevention of land degradation globally?

123. How to control land degradation on a global level?

124. Why is soil pollution an invisible killer?

125. What is the current situation of soil pollution in China?

126. What are the main sources of cultivated land pollution in China?

127. What is the situation of cadmium-polluted soil in China?

128. How to restore cadmium-contaminated soil?

129. Why is soil pollution threatening food security?

130. Why does China have serious soil salinization?

131. What are the causes of soil salinization?

132. How to improve salinized soil?

133. What is the average cultivated land per person in the mainland of China?

134. How many kilograms does China annually import grain per person?

135. How serious is global food waste?

136. Why do genetically modified soybeans spread unchecked in China?

137. Why is China losing its control over seeds?

138. Why is black soil in Northeast of China a big concern?

139. How powerful is the carbon sequestration of the soil?

140. What are the drawbacks of intensive agriculture?

141. What are the advantages of small-scale diversified organic agriculture?

142. Why will the rising global temperatures eventually lead to the collapse of agricultural crops?

143. How to cultivate healthy soil?

144. What are the wrong practices in afforestation?

145. How fast is the global forest disappearing?

146. Why does China’s forestation rank first in the world?

147. Will deforestation bring about the spread of diseases?

148. Why hasn’t the overall degradation of China’s grasslands been fundamentally reversed?

149. What are the causes of China’s grassland degradation?

150. What are the two different voices regarding grazing bans?

151. How should we protect grasslands better?

152. Why is desertification a global problem?

153. What are the main causes of desertification in Inner Mongolia?

154. Why is China’s governance of deserts and sandy lands turning better?

155. What are the hazards of e-waste?

156. Does e-waste have any use value?

157. Why does China’s current e-waste recycling lead to secondary pollution?

158. What are the good practices of e-waste recycling abroad?

159. Why is it imperative to establish an e-waste recycling system?

160. What should government departments do in recycling and disposal of e-waste?

161. What should consumers do in e-waste recycling and disposal?

162. What is harmful waste?

163. What are the hazards of harmful waste?

164. What are the prominent problems in China’s management of harmful waste?

165. Why is fish on the earth disappearing massively?

166. Why did Chinese Paddlefish become extinct?

167. What is the primary reason for the mass disappearance of amphibians?

168. How many reptiles in the world are in danger of extinction?

169. Why do mammals face an increasingly fast speed of extinction?

170. Why might humans not be able to hear any birdsong in the future?

171. Why will the extinction of insects lead to a catastrophic collapse of natural ecosystems?

172. Why are the world’s bees disappearing at an astonishing speed?

173. What are the reasons for the disappearance of bees?

174. How important are bees to nature and humans?

175. How to protect bees?

176. How many times faster is the current speed of plant extinction compared to that of natural extinction?

177. What hazards will plant extinction bring?

178. Why cannot humans survive on a planet with only domesticated species?

179. Why are human beings on the edge of the cliff of the sixth mass extinction?

180. What causes the mass extinction?

181. What is biodiversity?

182. Why is biodiversity the basis of human survival?

183. What are the prominent problems China faces in dealing with biological invasion?

184. Why are 1.1 billion people at the risk of hearing loss?

185. What are the hazards of mercury?

186. How to prevent human emissions of mercury?

187. What are the hazards of cadmium?

188. How to prevent human emissions of cadmium?

189. What are the hazards of lead?

190. How to prevent lead pollution?

191. Why is our planet being flooded with plastic waste?

192. Why is plastics called the ghost killer of the ocean?

193. Why are plastic particles everywhere in the world?

194. Why is human body the terminus of plastic pollution?

195. Can plastics do harm to fertility?

196. Can plastics release powerful greenhouse gases?

197. Can plastics poison species in soil?

198. Are biodegradable plastics a way out?

199. What are the four current modes of plastic waste disposal?

200. Why cannot plastics be burnt in the open air?

201. Which countries have strict ban of single-use plastic bags?

202. What should the government do in banning disposable plastics?

203. What should enterprises do in banning disposable plastics?

204. What should each of us do in banning disposable plastics?

205. Why are precious metals and other mineral products becoming increasingly scarce?

206. Will there be a global crisis of sand shortage?

207. Can biofuels replace petroleum?

208. Why can the change of a bulb also contribute to the change of the world?

209. Which industry has the largest carbon emissions?

210. Why is the global population explosion the largest source of climate change and environmental problems?

211. What are persistent organic pollutants?

212. Why do persistent organic pollutants pose a major threat to human survival?

213. Why do endocrine disruptors have a profound impact on human reproduction?

214. What are the hazards of chemical fertilizers?

215. What are the hazards of pesticides?

216. Why does the overuse of highly toxic pesticides continue despite prohibitions?

217. What are the major problems in pesticide management and use in China?

218. How to exercise strict control over pesticides?

219. Will synthetic chemicals push humanity towards decline and degradation?

220. Why is human fertility declining?

221. Why should we re-examine and plan the chemical production system?

222. How shall we maximize control over the production of chemicals?

223. Can science and technology completely solve climate and environmental problems?

224. What are zoonoses?

225. What are the factors leading to the spread of zoonotic diseases?

226. How can we prevent the reoccurrence of global zoonotic pandemic?

227. Why isn’t GDP growth a good solution to social problems?

228. Should we choose urban-rural integration or dualization?

Preface   Historical Responsibility of the Author

Gao Liji

The responsibility of an author is, undoubtedly, to promote social development and historical progress. In this sense, Ma Qingping’s forthcoming book of popular science Protecting Our Planet: Essential Questions on Ecological Environment as well as his previously published ecological monograph Woe of Human and other works are the natural results of his hard work and courage to shoulder the historical responsibility as an author.

As human beings living in this world, we have to do something beneficial to humanity or to others. Of course, the contributions different people make cannot be the same due to their different professions and capacities. All authors with great achievements should have the ambition of taking responsibilities courageously, keeping aggressive invariably, and striving to be first-class consistently so as to make contributions to the development of history. Ma Qingping is just one of the promising authors with great courage and determination to take historical responsibilities.

As human society enters the 21st century, science and technology have been developing by leaps and bounds, but the increasing climate disasters have also sounded an alarm for humanity at the same time. They, like the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all living beings, will bring irreparable tragedies to human beings once the load-bearing line of life breaks. Facing up the reality and deeply concerned about the fate of our country and our people, Ma Qingping works hard on writing and has completed his Woe of Human, which, in the form of popular science and with plain language and accurate data, gives the strongest voice of ecological crisis by revealing the severity of current climate change and environmental damage, and the terrible doom faced by humanity as well.

After its publication by China Environment Publishing House in 2015, Woe of Human was so greatly welcomed by readers, especially experts, scholars and environmental protection workers, that it was printed twice during the year. It won the third prize of the 6th National Popular Science Innovation Award for Environmental Protection in November 2017. It was awarded China Environmental Science and Technology Award in 2018, the highest award of China’s environmental protection science and technology, for its strong scientificity, outstanding innovation, remarkable social benefits, and obvious demonstration leading effect.

Protecting Our Planet: Essential Questions on Ecological Environment is a companion to Woe of Human. By deepening and supplementing the contents of Woe of Human, it further elaborates the extreme importance of environmental protection in face of ecological deterioration and puts forward many original insights and operational countermeasures through multi-dimensional and in-depth analyses of ecological problems.

At present, books dealing with ecological problems are still few and far between in China and are often limited to certain types of ecological crisis in certain regions. However, Protecting Our Planet: Essential Questions on Ecological Environment takes a global perspective and explores various problems in the field of ecology concerning atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere and chemicals. It not only analyzes the reasons for these ecological problems but also puts forward some countermeasures to cope with these problems. Focusing on the analyses of over 200 key subtopics related to human survival in the field of ecology from the perspective of climate change, oceans, rivers and lakes, wetland, soil, forests, grassland, biodiversity, and chemical pollution, this book is one of the rare popular science books on the all-round study of ecological environment in China.

Driven by his sense of responsibility and mission, the author completed the book after an in-depth study on ecological problems day and night for several years, which shows the sincere love of a conscientious intellectual for the Party and his motherland.

"Ji Chang (King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty) completed Book of Changes in confinement; Zhongni (Confucius) wrote Spring and Autumn in frustration; Qu Yuan composed Li Sao: Departure from Sorrow in exile; Zuo Qiuming finished Discourses on the States in blindness; Sun Bin completed Sun Bin’s Art of War after the removal of his kneecaps; Lü Buwei compiled Lü’s Commentaries of History after his migration to the capital of State Shu; Han Fei wrote Difficulty of Lobbying and Indignation Out of Solitariness during his imprisonment in the State of Qin; and the three hundred poems in The Book of Songs were all songs sung by sages and men of virtues in great determination, said Sima Qian in his A Letter in Reply to Ren An". In fact, all these people, including Sima Qian himself, finally left their names in the annals of history for the great achievements they made because of their unwillingness to give up when suffering major setbacks in life. As far as I know, although he has not encountered major setbacks, Ma Qingping has also achieved his success in writing out of a hard journey on the road full of thorns after setting up his lofty goals and aspirations by following the examples of the ancient sages and men of virtue.

Ma Qingping, Han nationality, a research librarian with a degree of Bachelor of Arts, was born in October 1962 in Changyi County, Shandong Province. He is currently a member of the Party Committee, vice president and deputy editor-in-chief of Weifang Daily.

In 1980, Ma Qingping left his hometown of Changyi and began his study in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature in Qufu Normal University. In 1984, as a selected student by the Organization Department of Shandong Provincial Party Committee, he was assigned to the Party Committee of Gudi Township, Hanting District of Weifang, to serve as Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Youth League Committee. After working there for only one year, he won the merit award from the Hanting District Committee and the District Government. In the second year, he was transferred to the Discipline Inspection Commission of Hanting District and then to the Discipline Inspection Commission of Weifang in 1986, working on case investigations first and later on research and writing. During this period, he was awarded the title of Outstanding Discipline Inspection Cadre of Weifang for two consecutive times.

At the end of 1987, Ma Qingping participated in the preparatory work of Weifang Supervision Bureau and in January 1988, he was transferred to work in the publicity and education section as the deputy section chief. His works were published on the front pages of newspapers such as Legal Daily, Dazhong Daily, and Qilu Evening News, and many of them won awards of various types.

I have known Ma Qingping for 35 years. I encountered him for the first time in 1986 when I was in charge of Weifang correspondent station of Shandong provincial news units. At that time, as a promising young cadre he was just transferred from the county to work in the office of Weifang Municipal Commission of Discipline Inspection. We lived in two adjacent buildings in the same courtyard. He loved writing very much. Knowing that I had published several books, he was very interested and often chatted with me on writing books. Soon we got acquainted with each other.

In 1995, when I was transferred to Weifang Daily to take charge of news business, Ma Qingping had worked there for two years as the deputy director and then the director of the general office. As one of my subordinates, he had done a lot of constructive work in cooperation with me and soon became my right-hand assistant and best friend regardless of the age. At that time, I travelled a lot because of my work to organize and plan publicity activities. I often took him and the director of the editor office with me on business trips to other places and counties. During these years, we went on business together for at least dozens of times. Despite his administrative work, he would always like to find time for writing in his spare time. And I often gave him warm encouragement. We understood each other and talked about everything under the sun. I even asked him to help me polish the epitaph I wrote for my dead parents. In face of the reality of materialism, we shared a lot on issues such as how intellectuals should devote themselves to learning despite of material poverty.

Gradually, I found that Ma Qingping, with a keen eye for things, had great potential in writing. So I suggested that he fully recognize and tap his own potential. I even advised the main leaders to transfer him to the editorial or journalist departments. He was not transferred for some reasons, but he took various posts in the office, including the deputy director and director of the office, the director of the distribution department, the director of the property management center, the director of the economic management office, the committee member and director of the newspaper office successively, becoming a true versatile talent of the newspaper office. During this period, he was awarded the title of Outstanding Communist Party Member and merits many times for his outstanding work in the office. He also reaped a harvest in his writing and won many awards for his excellent news works. In September 2002, his article Innovation Needs Learning from Examples: Features and Enlightenment of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Four Newspapers published in Press and Publishing Guide Journal won the Outstanding Paper at the Fourth Annual Conference of Journalism in Shandong Province. In 2008, his The Exploration and Practice of Hot News Reports won the first prize of the 6th China Prefectural Newspaper Articles/Books.

Ma Qingping’s professional and technical position is Senior Research Librarian in the Archives Series. He has served as a member of the Evaluation Committee for Senior Archival Professional and Technical Positions in Archives in Shandong Province for three terms, and as a member of the Evaluation Committee for Intermediate Professional and Technical Positions in Archives in Weifang for four terms, including two terms as the chairman. In January 1999, he was awarded a special honorary certificate by Shandong Provincial Archives Bureau for his outstanding contributions in the provincial accreditation of the standardized target management of archives of governmental institutions. He published many articles on archives in such periodicals and newspapers as Theory and Practice of Archives, Lantai Digest, Chinese Journalists of Prefectural and Municipal Newspapers, Humanity Education, Archive Management Collection, and Shandong Archives. In June 2006, his article Constructing the Functions of Newspaper Marketing Archives published in Chinese Journalists of Prefectural and Municipal Newspapers won the first prize of the 4th China Prefectural and Municipal Newspapers Article (Book). In August 2008, his On the Filing and Management of Newspapers’ Infrastructure Archives published in Chinese Journalists of Prefectural and Municipal Newspapers won the award of Outstanding Article of Chinese Prefectural and Municipal Newspapers. In June 2012, his article How to Do a Good job in the Management of Newspaper News Publicity Archives won the Outstanding Article of the 10th Chinese Prefectural and Municipal Newspapers.

After a long period of practice and accumulation, Ma Qingping began to write with broadened horizons, rich imaginations and varied genres and subjects. His writings of prose, poems, literary reviews and historical documentary literature were published in various newspapers and magazines. In 1998, his 50,000-word Weixian Battle, a work of documentary literature, was published on Weifang Evening News in instalments and was widely acclaimed by readers, which laid a solid foundation for his future writings.

A person who sets a high goal may still end up achieving an average level; a person who sets an average goal may end up achieving a low level. Ma Qingping knows this very well and insists on setting a higher goal for his writing. Aiming to write national-level works, he worked hard for his goal by combining learning and writing organically.

A few lines of words in a book requires the hard work of several days. He wrote numerous notations and comments on the margins while reading Historical Records, History of the Han Dynasty, and Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance. Rigorous and meticulous, he revised his writings repeatedly and polished every word before he sent them for publication. As a result, every piece of his writings is of high quality and well received by readers. For these years, he has developed the good habit of deliberating repeatedly and soliciting opinions from all parties. For each of the dozen articles he wrote on place names, he asked me to check before their publication. He took all my suggestions seriously and would revise them one by one. Once, he brought me dozens of poems he wrote about historical figures and events for my advice. After I candidly pointed out the inadequacies in several of these poems, he made careful revisions to them for many times, but he published none of them eventually because he was still dissatisfied with them.

Success is always based on rich accumulation. At the end of 2012, Ma Qingping became a member of the leadership team of the newspaper, serving as vice president and deputy editor-in-chief. During this period, he became mature in writing and published many works. After full argumentation, he held the weapon of writing and started to write a book on environmental degradation and ecological crisis, which are the major issues related to the fate of human beings. By extensively collecting relevant materials through various channels, reading hundreds of works on environmental protection written by Chinese and foreign authors day and night, and repeatedly soliciting opinions from government agencies, scientific research institutes, experts and professors, he strengthened his confidence and determination to write the book well. But the high intensity and high pressure of writing caused him to lose a lot of weight. When I advised him to take it easy, he took the opportunity to ask for my advice. I suggested that his writing should be based on macro situations of the world with a radiation of China and the micro analysis of a specific area. He accepted my suggestions humbly and framed the chapters accordingly after careful consideration. When he brought the completed manuscript to me, I noticed that the title was too long and suggested that he refine the phrase of woe of humanity in subtitles into the title of his book. He followed my advice readily and thus came out the book with the present title.

Just as I expected, Woe of Human was a huge success upon its publication. I was very delighted with it. After rereading the book on the first day of the first lunar month of the Year of the Rooster, when the whole city was shrouded by fog and haze, I was so excited that I wrote an impromptu poem entitled Health Flying into Thousands of Households, which was later published on the 100th issue of Qilu Literature:

As the rooster heralds the break of the day,

Woe of Human causes a sensation in society.

With Qingping’s wisdom for the environment,

Health will surely fly into thousands of households.

Fights continue with no end. The success of Woe of Human greatly inspired Ma Qingping’s fighting spirit. In just two to three years, he published several books, such as Annotation of Jiujia Ma’s Inscriptions, Jiujia Ma’s Genealogy and Annals of Nangong Village.

As the most authentic and substantial ancient documents left by our ancestors, historical tablet inscriptions are an important carrier of history and culture. In recent years, Ma Qingping has annotated the imperial edicts handed down in the local folks, including the famous edict on conferring Junior Palace Guardian upon Liu Yingjie posthumously by the Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, and published these annotations on newspapers and magazines. He also conducted extensive investigations on the existing historical tablet inscriptions in Weifang, based on which he wrote the article Suggestions on the Rescue and Protection of Folk Historical Tablet Inscriptions. After it was published in Weifang Committee of Political Consultative Conference, this article attracted great attention from relevant authorities and measures were taken to rescue and preserve these tablet inscriptions. In 2018, his co-authored Collation and Annotation of Jiujia Ma’s Inscriptions was published by Jinan Publishing House. In this book, there are 93 inscriptions in seal script from the 30th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty to the year of 1935, including six imperial edicts of Emperor Jiaqing and Emperor Daoguang, the classic writings of local cultural celebrities in the past few hundred years, and the commendation speeches given by Li Yuanhong, the President of the Republic of China. These inscriptions can help trace the context of population migration in the middle and lower reaches of the Weihe River, reveal the village governance and folk customs at that time, and supplement the local historical records. They provide full and accurate primary materials for the study of the local customs around the Weihe River in the Ming and Qing Dynasties as well as the honor and title conferring system of the royal families in the Qing Dynasty. As one of the rare collections of ancient inscriptions in China, this book is of great historical value and cultural value. It won the 2nd

Silk Town Culture Award from the Party Committee and the People’s Government of Changyi.

Jiujia Ma’s Genealogy, edited by Ma Qingping, has many innovations in the field of genealogy in China. Taking the historical development of the Ma family as clues and selecting major events in the past five to six hundred years, the Genealogy, with more than 600 photos, contains the origin of family history, the distribution of original villages, an overview of genealogy revisions, the migration trajectory of the clan, the major events of the family, a glimpse of the old genealogy, Jiujia imprint, Jiujia cultures, Jiujia business, Jiujia talents, and the naming conventions of descendants. The column Historical Maps of Changyi in the book included 50 historical maps of Changyi from the 32nd year of the reign of Emperor Wanli in the Ming Dynasty to the year of 2018, making it the most comprehensive historical atlas of Changyi. With its inclusive content, this book is of important historical and cultural value and can serve as precious primary materials for studies on the historical and social changes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Where there is a will, there is a way. Ma Qingping is a man of will. Nangong Village in Changyi, the hometown of Ma Qingping, is an obscure small village on the east bank of the lower reaches of the Weihe River, but it has been written into the historical records since the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. Annals of Nangong Village, edited by Ma Qingping, is a continuation of the history of his hometown. Unique in style, this book displays Nangong Village from different dimensions. The Annals is divided into two volumes. The first volume is Written Records, mainly focusing on the development history of Nangong Village in the past 800 years. It includes both the vertical sections that focus on the history and the cross-sections that focus on the annals, which are perfectly integrated into an organic whole. The over-2,000-word Chronicle of Events dates back to the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the 15,000-word Figures includes over 40 figures in ancient times. All these greatly enhance the value of this village annals. The second volume is Picture Records, which has a total of 1,390 photos. It is very rare to have so many photos in a village annal across the country. These photos include painted bricks of the Han Dynasty, tablet inscriptions of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, maps, genealogy and land deeds of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (including 30 land deeds in the Qing Dynasty), and a wide variety of cultural relics such as portraits, banknotes, coins, textbooks, and daily necessities during the Republic of China. The pictures after the founding of the People’s Republic of China include those on the Party affairs and village affairs, culture and education, transportation, folk customs, geographical coordinates, aerial photos, village appearance, daily utensils, vehicles, honorary certificates, biodiversity, and others, vividly showing the local customs and social features of Nangong Village in various historical periods. Annals of Nangong Village has become an important historical material reference for the exploration into the changes of villages in the Weihe River Basin.

As Su Shi said, those who have achieved great accomplishments in history possess not only excellent talents but also unwavering determination and perseverance. Ma Qingping is such a person. He has climbed to the top of mountains gradually by integrating knowledge with actions and dedicating himself to writing without pursuing fame and fortune. With his great perseverance, Ma Qingping completed the manuscript of his new book Protecting Our Planet: Essential Questions on Ecological Environment after over a year’s hard work, which is about to be published soon.

As a retiree in the press who has witnessed his grow-up, I am very delighted to see the achievements Ma Qingping has made. Taking the opportunity of writing the preface to his Protecting Our Planet: Essential Questions on Ecological Environment, I would like to give my congratulations and blessings to him. I also sincerely hope that Ma Qingping can make greater achievements on his way of learning by adhering to his original intention, resisting material temptations, and keeping a peaceful mind.

Dehua Study in Weifang

January 16, 2021

1. What is happening to the concentration of carbon dioxide on the earth?

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According to the calculations of scientists studying the ancient ice cores obtained from drilling in Antarctica, the average content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past 650,000 years has remained between 160ppm and 280ppm, never exceeding 280ppm.

This was a period with fairly stable carbon dioxide concentrations.

However, the Industrial Revolution changed all of it. In the over 200 years after the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose at an unprecedented rate.

Mauna Loa Observation Station in Hawaii is an observation station with the earliest observations of carbon dioxide concentration and the longest continuous observation time in the world. In March 1958, Charles David Keeling, a scientist from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) recorded the first reading of carbon dioxide concentration on the volcano in Hawaii, which was 316ppm (316 parts per million). Ever since then, the work of carbon dioxide measurement has continued up to now.

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has kept rising at an alarming rate in the past six decades ever since 1958.

The following are monitoring data provided by SIO:

316.19ppm on March 29, 1958

320.16ppm on February 8, 1965

330.70ppm on August 8, 1975

336.84ppm on July 27, 1979

342.96ppm on April 1, 1982

353.19ppm on June 23, 1988

358.22ppm on June 15, 1991

359.48ppm on