Loading...
This farmer brother worked hard for a year, and finally had to be arrested in a police car because of a fire, which instantly pushed the old topic of "straw burning" to the forefront. The law enforcement officer's sentence "You are too bold" is not only a warning, but also a helpless sigh for the repeated prohibition of straw burning over the years. Having said that, isn't it just for farmers to make it convenient, save trouble by burning, and can also repel insects and kill germs? But the problem is that this fire is not only burning straw, but also burning air quality, and even related to our environmental future.
Let's start with the peasant's point of view. There is a terrible amount of straw, and it is piled up there and occupies an area and gets in the way, and insects are raised and the ground is destroyed. Burn off, smoke floats, and the problem is solved. It's the same as sweeping the floor in the morning, after sweeping it up, there is a little garbage left, and it burns down, how crisp it looks! That's how some old farmers see stubble burning, especially the older ones, who grew up watching their parents do this – "Hasn't this always been the case?" Why can't you do it now? "This generation has their habitual thinking that since it works, it should be used.
But the problem is, the sky is different now. The black smoke from the burning of the straw, you know, not only smokes the sky over your village, but also directly affects the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and particulate matter are floating everywhere, an autumn harvest, hundreds of villages are burned, and the air quality of the whole county has to drop by several grades! You think it's just the folks' business? The whole city, the whole country, will be implicated!
As soon as the environmental protection policy was introduced, many places explicitly banned the burning of straw. Why? Because everyone began to realize that burning straw is not a little trouble for farmers, but for our common air quality and environmental safety. If it burns like this, how many breaths of fresh air will be left on the earth for us to breathe? And every autumn and winter, the haze and the smoke from straw burning are mixed together, and even breathing becomes a problem.
But the farmer's eldest brother also has a hard time, how can the straw in the field be dealt with if it is not burned? Keep it? Leaving it to rot for months can also bring pests and diseases that can affect the next year's harvest. Some people say, then return the straw to the field, the straw is not only environmentally friendly, but also can increase soil fertility. But if you tell the farmers about this, many people will shake their heads. The theory is good, but is there really such a god in returning straw to the field? In some places, I tried it, but the crops grew sparsely after returning to the field, and the soil became slimy and difficult to plant. What does this make farmers think? I feel that this "high technology" is just talk on paper, and it sounds good in books, but in practice it is they who suffer the loss.
So this thing seems simple, but behind it is actually a complex game. Environmental protection and farmers' livelihoods cannot be easily ignored. A ban on stubble burning can be the road, but shouldn't the supporting solutions follow suit? Experts are shouting loudly, calling for environmental protection and advocating the return of farmland, but how can these plans really be implemented? The big brothers of the farmers still use the tools and means of decades ago, let's take this time in Shaanxi to arrest people, told the farmers that they can't burn, so what to do with the straw next, you can't let people buy a straw crusher worth tens of thousands of dollars, right? This is not something that farmers can afford.
In fact, our agricultural policy and environmental protection policy should have a better combination. It is necessary to ensure that farmers have a way out, but also to ensure that the environment is not destroyed. Many developed countries have long begun to explore the recycling and reuse of straw, such as using it as biofuel, or processing it into feed and building materials. However, these technologies and inputs are still too far away for most of our current farmers. So, can we give more support to farmers? It's not just about banning straw burning, it's about providing concrete and actionable alternatives, and making these measures really accessible to the field.
On the other hand, the fact that the farmer brother was taken into the police car is also a reminder. Environmental problems are no longer a trivial matter, it is related to the quality of life of each of us. If you let yourself burn straw today, you may breathe polluted air tomorrow. As for farmers, they also have to understand that at this point in society, many of the habits and practices of the past have to be changed, not only because of laws and regulations, but also for the sake of a better living environment for their children and grandchildren.
So finally, I would like to ask: how do you think our environmental protection and farmers' livelihoods should be balanced? Do we want farmers to continue to suffer from the old ways, or do we want to give them more support so that environmental protection is no longer an empty word? What do you think about this?