Source: People’s Daily Online
“How long can a ballpoint pen last?” My daughter suddenly threw me a question.
I replied casually: “Ten days and a half months.” “No, no, you are talking about the refill, I’m talking about the case.” My daughter retorted, “The refill can be changed, and the case can last. Use.” I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, because on my desk, the more than 10 gel pens that were used up were left in the pen holder.
When I was a child, a mechanical pencil could be used and broken; when a ballpoint pen was used up, I would buy refills of various colors to replace it. Nowadays, with the development of the times and the faster pace of life, the little things like changing refills seem to be gradually ignored. But if you turn that number into billions, the little things can be startling. According to incomplete statistics, my country’s per capita consumption of ballpoint pens can reach more than 3 per year. It is conceivable what proportion of the “one-time” usage rate is behind this.
Looking back at my side, how many small things like “ballpoint pens” have been gradually ignored and taken for granted by us? On the bookshelf, books that will never be read again are covered with dust; in the toy box, the toys that the child does not touch will sooner or later be thrown into the trash; in the wardrobe, the defective out-of-season clothes are “sheathed”… …
Small things are actually not trivial, and what is reflected behind them is the need to improve the awareness of low-carbon environmental protection. How much waste and pollution will be caused if small “non-environmental protection” actions form a scale effect?
Small things are not difficult to change, as long as you increase your awareness and act in time: it may be just a good habit of turning off the lights and sorting garbage, or it may be just a little bit of changing waste items into scientific experimental equipment with your child. Childlike innocence may be just a little kindness to donate clothes and books to poor areas, or it may be just a small idea.
A friend told me that he used to worry about book storage space in the past. Later, he and his friend set up a second-hand book exchange group, so that some people who have the same needs as him, put the books they no longer read. Second-hand books are circulated, and everyone can gather together to share their reading experience, which can serve multiple purposes.
Indeed, from another perspective, there may be a huge market and potential hidden behind the problem. This requires guidance and support, as well as the attention and enthusiasm of the whole society. Only in this way can we discover strong demand and form a virtuous circle of the market. For example, some second-hand book websites and second-hand electronic product trading markets have effectively promoted the recycling and utilization of items. With the development of technology, it is believed that such a market will become wider and wider, and the potential will also become larger and larger.
Gathering sand into a tower is no small matter. Low-carbon life, starting from ourselves, starting from bit by bit, we are all participants and new forces. “People’s Daily” (14th edition on April 12, 2022)