Don't overlook any small act of kindness
There is an old saying in China that goes“勿以善小而不为，勿以恶小而为之” .
This means that even if a good deed is small, it should still be done, and even if an evil deed is small, it should not be done.
Two days ago, my HJC colleagues and I participated in an environmental protection charity event, which made me once again deeply understand the meaning of this saying.
HJC is located in Changsha, Hunan, China, and the Xiangjiang River is an important river in Changsha and one of its main water sources. Everyone has their own “mother river” in their hearts, and for the local residents of Changsha, the Xiangjiang River is their "mother river".
In the past two years, humans have been engaging in activities on the Xiangjiang River and leaving behind a lot of garbage, severely polluting the water quality of the Xiangjiang River.
By chance, we learned that a local charity organization in Changsha regularly cleans up the river garbage, so we applied to join their volunteer team.
Dan is a member of this charity organization, and on the first day we met, she told me the story of the birth of "Green Hunan"——
In the late 1990s, China’s economy was growing rapidly, and industrial development was booming nationwide. Due to a lack of emphasis on environmental protection, China experienced significant industrial pollution during the 1990s.
A few college students saw the severe industrial pollution in their hometown but there was no team responsible for monitoring it, so they spontaneously formed a grassroots charity organization called "Green Hunan". From then on, they immersed themselves in the cause of environmental protection.
Listening to Dan tell the story of the birth of “Green Hunan ” reminded me of the birth of HJC.
Ten years ago, the founder of HJC also returned to his hometown to establish the HJC brand in order to provide safe drinking water for the people there.
Perhaps because we share a common philosophy with "Green Hunan", after hearing Dan’s introduction, I decided to join their volunteer team and protect the environment of our hometown together.
To be honest, I feel a bit ashamed that HJC colleagues have been in the water purification industry for 10 years but have never participated in environmental protection charity events. In the past 10 years, we have been thinking about how to improve reverse osmosis membranes to provide healthier drinking water for everyone. But in reality, we overlooked one thing, which is that if you truly want to understand the current situation of an industry, you should go to the forefront of that industry.
After all, compared to improving the desalination rate of RO membranes, solving water pollution problems at the source is the most effective way to provide healthier drinking water for humanity.
Although HJC joined the frontlines of environmental protection a bit late, luckily we did not miss out, and there is still time for everything.
Activity Review
Before setting off, our team leader Dan reminded us that in recent years, more and more people have been camping and fishing along the Xiang River, and most of the river garbage is left behind by these people. Therefore, we would encounter dangerous items such as broken glass and lighters, so we should pay attention to safety.
Less than a minute after setting off, we found garbage left behind by a camping site. If this garbage is not cleaned up in a timely manner, it will be washed into the river with the rising tide, polluting the water resources.
We originally thought that there would be government-appointed cleaning personnel regularly cleaning the Xiang River, so we expected the riverbanks to be clean. But in reality, there is a lot of man-made garbage left on the riverbanks, and our living environment is much worse than we imagined.
During the cleaning process, we found that the most common garbage along the Xiang River are actually small items. These items are easily overlooked by the cleaners due to their small size and uneven distribution.
These garbage items were found in two fishing spots.
We walked along the Xiang River for 5 kilometers and “collected” 51.19 kilograms of garbage. The total number of garbage items collected was 686.
Cigarette butts ranked first in the mixed category with 193 items, accounting for 78.5%.
Other plastic products ranked first in the plastic category with 75 items, accounting for 30.7%.
Other foam products ranked first in the foam plastic category with 115 items, accounting for 72.9%.
Glass fragments ranked first in the glass category with 34 items, accounting for 28%.
Household waste is the main source of river garbage. These garbage items are commonly used daily necessities that are casually discarded and end up in the river, becoming regular guests in the water.
Once these garbage items are generated, it takes at least 200 years for the Earth to completely degrade them. In other words, while we enjoy a happy afternoon by the river, the Earth has to pay for our actions.
But in reality, it only takes 5 minutes to take away the garbage. In those 5 minutes, you can bring happiness to yourself, to the Earth, and to everyone.
The place where we picked up the garbage is the water source base of Changsha. Most of the daily water used by Changsha residents comes from here. If this garbage is not cleaned up in a timely manner, it will eventually enter our bodies and affect our health.
Dan, our team leader, said, “One event may not bring significant help to environmental pollution, but that doesn’t mean this event is meaningless.”
I agree with this view because I grew up in a densely populated country. If everyone is doing the same “small thing,” then the impact of this small thing will be magnified by billions. So, do not underestimate the power of every small thing.
Ernest Hemingway wrote in his novel “No man is an island,entire of itself;every man is a piece of the continent,a part of the main.If a clod be washed away by the sea,Europe is the less,as well as if a promontory were,as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were:any man's death diminishes me,because I am involved in mankind,and, therefore,never send to know for whom the bells tolls;it tolls for thee.”
If everyone does not value environmental pollution, then the next toll of the bell will be for each and every one of us.
