For more than 20 years one of 93 million people named Wang in China has been planting trees for the purpose of preventing the desert from encroaching on Yinchuan. The Great Wall of Trees is 42-km and 10-km wide. For his efforts, Wang was rewarded with some time off to participate as a torch bearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

It reminds me of a story of three union guys, Wang, Wang and Wang. Their job was to plant trees. One dug a hole, another put the tree into the hole and the third filled the hole. One day only two showed up. Wang dug a hole and Wang filled it up. Wang dug a hole and Wang filled it up. Another Wang standing by asked, “How come all you do is dig a hole and fill it up?”

The hole-digging Wang replied, “just because Wang is sick, it doesn’t mean the two of us get the day off.”

42 kilometers long. Ring a bell. That’s the length of the modern day marathon. Sounds to me like this place might be a good location for the Olympic Marathon, no?

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One of the world’s most polluted cities, Beijing, will have a “green lung” opening in it after the Olympics finish. The Olympic Forest Park will be a bit to the north of the Bird’s Nest, home to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The park cost $1.12 billion!

1. Add 10 years to your life.

2. Listen to Chopin through hidden speakers.

3. Walk below the water surface.

4. Observe wetlands through glass corridors

5. Stand right next to lotus flowers.

6. See hedgehogs and squirrels.

7. 500,000 plants and 180 species

8. Pieces of Mt. Taishan (something about if you can’t go to the mountain, bring the mountain or something like that.)

9. Man-made lakes with purified water

10. Spend $1 million a year to maintain it.

Is it worth it having a ‘green lung’ in a big city like Beijing?

What’s in your city?

There’s at least one state in the union that is happy about the overuse of fossil fuels and the subsequent rise in oil/gas prices - North Dakota. Yeah, North Dakota. It is a state and the 20-30 people who live there add to the 304 million+ population of the U. S.

Turns out there is oil under them grasslands, two miles under. “Landowners in western North Dakota have a much better chance of striking it rich from oil than they do playing the lottery, says one local. Some of their neighbors in the town of about 120, from bar tenders to Tupperware salespeople, have become “overnight millionaires” from oil royalty payments.

Can anything good come our of North Dakota? Wait! That’s Nazareth. Apparently there is, at least for dozens of people who are millionaires through no fault of their own other than being born in the right place. Kind of reminds us of the middle east, eh? North Dakota is expected to produce a record amount of oil this year.

In 2005 there were 266 millionaires in the state. In 2006, there were 388, an increase of about 50%. 2007 figures aren’t out yet. One University of ND director is predicting that half of the county’s population of 4,000 will be millionaires in the next 3-5 years. In 1997, ND ranked 42nd in per capita income. Last year, it ranked 30th.

And all because of the rest of the world gluttonously consuming oil. As for me, I still don’t want to live in ND. But, I’d think about it.

Dubai has a Wind-Powered Rotating Skyscraper.  Tokyo is building a Sky Tree. The two are tall. The similarities stop there though Tokyo definitely sounds like it is doing something earth friendly. The Tokyo Sky Tree is expected to be a major tourist draw at 610 meters when it is completed in 2012. Tokyo hopes 5.4 million people will take a look in the first year and 2.7 million/year for the subsequent 30 years.

The Tokyo Sky Tree is designed for terrestrial digital broadcasting and to take the place of the current analog broadcasting format by 2011. It will also aid in anti-disaster measurements. There will be observation decks at 350 and 450 meters.  The surrounding area - commercial facilities, offices and colleges. The cost Y65B ($600 million).

Read about the debate surrounding the construction here. (subscription may be required.)  Suffice it to say that in the debate, nobody is talking about how friendly or not the new tower will be to the Tokyo environment.

We do love it when a plan comes together, when the world gets along. Here’s a guy who has people all over the world dancing together. On a different level, 31 provinces in China have received $4 million from Norway, the European Union and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to draft programs to fight climate change over the next two years.

The project is called  Provincial Programs for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in China (PPCCMAC). Try and say that three times real fast. At first, 14 pilot provinces will take a shot. Qinghai will address its retreating glaciers, for example.

Norway says, “The finalization of such plans for all provinces of China will be a remarkable achievement, which I think will meet broad international recognition and be an inspiration and model for many other countries.”

Sichuan is one of the pilot provinces. The area experienced an 8-magnitude quake in May. Good luck stopping those. Shanxi is a coal-rich province looking for alternatives. For good or for bad, IMHO, it’s always a good thing seeing the world work together to solve problems.  What do you think?

Wind power. There’s an obvious reason, okay, maybe not so obvious reason to some why it is such a good thing. Wind power was attributed to helping Tyson Gay run the fastest ever 100 meters in history - 9.68 at the U. S. Olympic trials in Eugene, OR. The record, however, was aided with the help of a tailwind that was deemed too strong.

In competition, winds over 2.0 meters/second cause a runner’s time to be disqualified. Gay had a tailwind of 4.1 meters/sec.  The world record is 9.72 seconds, set by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt. GP wants to point out that when the wind is at our backs, wind power, too, there is potential to set even more important records than dash. How about a record for the least amount of fossil fuels used for example.

Wind power…there’s something to it.

Britney Spears is looking for something greener, quieter, something with a big backyard where she can hang out or is it let things hang out. When I saw this news I thought Britney was looking to help out with the green movement; she’s not. She’s looking for a new house. She also wants something that is ‘less trafficked’, something where she and the kids can find some normalcy, whatever that might be.

I think Britney would do well to get her head screwed on straight. Though GP would like to see her activism, she needs to get herself straightened out, get her family back together, control her behavior. The green movement will be fine without her. After all, what’s more important than family?

Those guys on the airplane tell you to put your O2 mask on first, then help your kids. We want to see Britney take care of herself, then come out. GP does hope she finds life greener in another backyard.

A U.S. scientist will blame global warming if ships are able to sail over the normally frozen over North Pole at the top of our globe. Frankly, I’d like to make the trip in a ship. I mean, how often do you get to do that sort of thing? The scientist from the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in CO says, “Symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed to be ice at the North Pole, not open water.” Yeah, a guy working at the snow and ice data center would say that, wouldn’t he? I want to know why he thinks so.

The scientist says that “for the first time that I am aware of, the North Pole is covered with extensive first-year ice.” And I ask, “And…?”

Scientists worry that a rapid meltoff in the Arctic could threaten permafrost in continental soil elsewhere above the Arctic circle. And, I ask again, “And….?” I may be wrong but there are always a lot of coulds, mays and believes in such statements. No? Don’t get me wrong, I am for loving our home, Earth, and being a good steward, but I don’t get the impression that the Earth is as vulnerable as many scientists are trying to make it out to be.

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Japan’s PM Yasuo Fukuda says “countries like China and India ”are part of the international deal,” but that they have the ”right to grow in the way that we grew.’” Some might argue that considering the size of those two countries, but nevertheless, Japan will be hosting the G-8 leaders from July 7-9th and Brazil, China and India have been invited to join in the discussion on climate change. (I wish they would invite me.)

Japan’s Fukuda said,  ‘In the …I would like to deepen common recognition (with participants) over the (climate change) issue and send a powerful message that we will work together.”

Japan’s former PM, Shinzo Abe echoed, ”I strongly hope this will be agreed on and shared at the summit as a common goal of humankind.” This= halving global emissions by 2050.

And Tony Blair chimed in, ”I think and hope we will this year get agreement on an essential shared vision around 2050….It wasn’t entirely clear at Heiligendamm that everyone was signed up for it. I think it’s got to be clear this year that they are.”

A climate change meeting is scheduled for 2009 in Copenhagen and a climate change framework is expected to be agreed upon to succeed the Kyoto Protocol which will expire in 2012.

I wish they would invite me to come.

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Trendshealth is a new magazine in China promoting green living concepts. Zhou Xun is a tiny (yet, BIG) Chinese movie star. (Can you say Zhang Ziyi?) Zhou Xun was also appointed as a National Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program.

But Green-haired Zhou Xun? We don’t mind. And if she get help get one-fourth of the world’s population to be more earth friendly. She can be on my team for sure.

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