Text | Don't forget Lu Zhuangyuan
Edit | Don't forget Lu Zhuangyuan
preface
As one of the indispensable links in the future development of society, "environmental protection" has always been a topic that has attracted much attention from all walks of life. Nowadays, the awareness of environmental protection in various countries in the world is also increasing, but there are many differences between China and Western countries in urban environmental protection.
As we all know, the green belt plays a pivotal role in the planning of mainland roads, and the lush green belts on both sides of the road have become a specific image of urban roads in the minds of countless Chinese people, and a large area of green adds a pleasing color to the city.
However, the green belts that can be found everywhere on China's roads are few and far between them in Western cities. So, what is the role of green belts in environmental protection? Why do Western countries, which have always regarded themselves as "pioneers in environmental protection", not have green belts?
The big role of green belts
In life, you can often see that the vehicles coming and going on the road will set off a lot of dust or dust, and once these dust are inhaled by the human body, it will cause certain harm to people's health, and then the inconspicuous green belt on both sides of the road comes in handy.
Plants planted in green belts generally have uniform villi on their surfaces, which can help plants firmly absorb dust in the air. At the same time, plant leaves can also secrete some sticky oil, once dust falls on the leaves, it will be adhered to the oil.
It has been reported that even coniferous plants with poor adsorption capacity are not to be underestimated in their ability to absorb dust. In the case of pine trees, one hectare of pine forest can absorb 36 tons of dust. It is enough to see how much the green belt has for air purification.
Moreover, when fuel vehicles are driving, they emit a large amount of carbon dioxide, which is one of the main culprits of global warming. Through their own photosynthesis, green plants can absorb carbon dioxide in the air and release the oxygen needed for human survival.
The role of green belts is not only reflected in air purification, but also plays an important role in solving the problem of noise pollution. According to the survey, the sound of normal vehicles speeding by on the road is about 70 decibels, which is enough to interfere with the normal life of nearby residents.
Most of the green belts on both sides of the road are shrubs or relatively low trees, and their dense leaves form a natural barrier that can effectively block the transmission of sound, thereby reducing the impact of vehicle driving and honking noise on people's lives.
Not only that, but green belts are also a big help to improve the aesthetics of the city. People's impression of a city largely depends on the intuitive feeling at first glance. And the bright green and vibrant green belts everywhere on the road can often bring people a feeling of vitality.
At the same time, green belts also have a certain effect on alleviating people's fatigue. Just like in normal life, after a tiring day of work, people often go to the park for a walk to relax, because the green plants in the park can help people relieve eye fatigue.
Similarly, the green belt on the highway can also effectively relieve the driver's visual fatigue, help the driver concentrate, and reduce the accidents caused by fatigue driving. At the same time, the changing scenery produced by different plants on the green belt can also keep the driver in a high state of concentration.
It's not that Western countries don't want to plant, but they can't
If the benefits of green belts are so many, why don't Western countries plant green belts on their roads? In fact, it is not that these countries do not want to plant, but for many reasons, they cannot be planted, and they can only envy and helplessly the green belt.
First, the climatic conditions of European countries, objectively limit the construction of green belts in these countries, the climate there is not suitable for the growth of shrubs and evergreen trees, many European countries belong to temperate climate, suitable for growth are mostly tall deciduous vegetation.
This vegetation is not suitable for planting in the green belt, because these plants do grow very luxuriant in spring and summer, but once it comes to autumn and winter, the leaves on the trees will gradually fall off, unable to absorb dust, nor can they reduce the noise on the road.
Second, foreign industrialization generally starts early, especially in European countries, and its urbanization process is also relatively early. In Europe at that time, most people only cared about the pursuit of rapid economic development, and their awareness of environmental protection was very weak, so the construction of roads was mainly practical.
As early as the middle of the 19th century, European cities have planned and built traffic roads, and the early roads, unlike today, were not built specifically for cars, after all, people's travel methods were still mainly horse-drawn carriages, and there was no need to consider the impact on the environment.
Therefore, naturally there will be no such facilities as green belts. Later, with the further acceleration of industrialization, the rise of automobiles made European countries gradually aware of this problem, but at this time urban construction has matured, and it will be very difficult to re-build green belts on roads.
Third, cost reasons. Due to the nature of land in European countries, most of their land is owned by individuals. If the government decides to occupy roads to build green belts, there will be a lot of private transactions involved, which will cost a huge amount of time and money, and the gains will outweigh the losses.
At the same time, even if the green belt is really built, the huge maintenance costs incurred in the future are not affordable for European countries. According to incomplete statistics, the lowest labor cost in Europe is 5 times that of the mainland, and the lack of labor also leads to the high maintenance cost of green belts in Europe.
Fourth, the construction of green belts has become a huge project for Europe. Because European urban construction has long been finalized, if green belts are to be added to roads, most roads will need to be expanded to varying degrees.
In this way, the buildings and so on on both sides of the road will also be demolished. You must know that there are many buildings with the characteristics of the period in Europe. These buildings are the cultural heritage of the entire country, and the government cannot tear them down just because they want to build a green belt.
Environmental practices in Europe
For a series of reasons, Europe does not have green belts on roads, but Europe also has its own way of protecting the environment. In order to improve the urban environment, European countries will plant lawns on large areas of vacant land, which not only makes up for the lack of greenery, but also provides people with leisure places.
London is very good at urban greening. After all, at the time of the Industrial Revolution, this was the place most polluted. The long-standing smog has given London the nickname "fog capital", which once led to the deaths of thousands of people.
After that, environmental awareness was deeply rooted in people's hearts, and the government also increased its efforts to green the city, building green parks and corresponding environmental protection facilities in various areas of the city, and more than 60% of the London metropolitan area is now covered with vegetation.
In the early 70s of the last century, a series of environmental pollution in Germany led to a significant increase in the discharge of harmful substances, a sharp reduction in organisms in the waters, pollution of the soil and groundwater around the dumpsite, and damage to the natural environment that is difficult to recover.
As a result, the German government at that time immediately realized the seriousness of environmental protection problems, vigorously promoted environmental protection measures, and introduced a series of laws and regulations on environmental protection. It also introduced the advanced move of roof greening, which not only saves urban space, but also completes urban greening.
It can be said that European countries do not have green belts, not because they do not pay attention to environmental protection at all, but because the planning and layout of each country has its own characteristics. Whether it is a green belt or a street park in Europe, it is a product of local conditions in urban planning, and there is no difference between advantages and disadvantages.
Who is really environmentally friendly?
As early as September 2020, China proposed at the United Nations General Assembly that it should "peak carbon" in 2030 and strive to achieve "carbon neutrality" in 2060, which is a solemn commitment to the world's environmental protection.
China's environmental protection is not just talk, in the vast land, each place has its own environmental protection examples. For example, the Maowusu Desert, through generations of people insisting on desertification control, its comprehensive treatment rate has exceeded 80%, creating a miracle in the history of world desertification control.
Moreover, China has been vigorously promoting renewable energy and sustainable development of clean energy such as wind and solar energy, which have no obvious harm to the environment. As early as 2020, China's solar power generation had exceeded one-third of the world's total.
Chinese's love for the motherland is very heavy, and the awareness of natural environmental protection has long been imprinted in the heart of every Chinese, and protecting every field, every inch of mountain range, and every section of river has become the consensus of the Chinese nation.
On the other hand, the environmental protection of some Western countries is just a series of guarantees to the outside world in vain, but the funds used to deal with environmental problems can never be realized, and they only like to point fingers at the environmental problems of other countries, in this way to improve their sense of existence in the world environmental protection.
According to statistics, in 2018, the per capita carbon emissions of countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany and Japan were much higher than those of China. Moreover, Germany and the United States also ship their own plastic waste to other countries, is it really "environmentally friendly" if the garbage is not in their own country?
epilogue
Environmental protection has become a global issue and a topic that every person on the earth cannot escape. The lessons brought by the industrial revolution to mankind are very heavy, and it is not feasible to focus only on economic development and ignore environmental protection, and we cannot blindly pursue economic development at the expense of the environment.
The green belt is only a small part of China's environmental protection work, and it can be said that it is a microcosm of China's environmental protection work, representing China's commitment to environmental protection. China's series of environmental protection practices also reflect China's unspeakable environmental spirit.