China Environmental Law

It is understandable that some people confuse the concept of being “green,” with greenery.  The two are not always the same especially when the greenery planted in parks is not native (and requires lots of scarce water to keep it alive) or is simply a potted plant which will be thrown out after it has bloomed, but for its brief life has been pumped full of fertilizer (which makes its way down the drain) to keep it perked up for its public performance. 

Therefore when I read that

Beijing has prepared 40 million potted flowers to decorate streets and Olympic venues, according to a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

These flowers will be placed not only at Tiananmen Square and Olympic venues, but also along the axis of Beijing, airport expressway, ring roads, and around Olympic Village and hotels.

“July and August are usually the hard time for flowers. We picked up over 20 kinds of heat-resistant flowers from more than 500 species of seasonable flowers to decorate the city, including chrysanthemum and salvia,” said Wang Sumei, vice director of Beijing Landscape Forestation Bureau.

I know that there will soon be a reference to . . . this year’s “green” Olympics.  

Even if the “green” credentials of these plantings are dubious, I have to say I am a fan of the floral sculpture art practiced in China.  A friend sent me some pictures entitled “Beijing Olympics Gardens” which are apparently part of an email making the rounds in the US.  Actually I think the pictures are of a display staged in Shanghai several years ago (note the blue sky), but I am sure you can see the same kind of thing somewhere in Beijing during the Olympics. 

Is it just the perspective or is the cross upside down on this “church?”