Profoundly Understanding the Multiple Relations in Ecological …
491
the ecological environment. With our economic growth and continuous population
increase, especially the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization, the
conflict between inadequate resources such as water, land, energy and minerals and
fast economic growth is becoming more conspicuous. A direct consequence is the
serious environmental situation. If the traditional development mode continues, it will
deplete the resources, overwhelm the environment and make development hard to
sustain. To meet people’s new expectations for a beautiful ecological environment, the
key is to improving their lives, to bolstering the sustained and healthy socioeconomic
development, and to demonstrating China’s positive and responsible image.
We cannot set ecological civilization against economic development. There are
some people who put the sole emphasis on “lucid waters and lush mountains” in
total disregard of economic foundation. Ecological progress is not giving up development, but to pursue high-quality development at low resource consumption and
high efficiency. Development doesn’t mean economic development alone or simply
GDP growth. Resource conservation, environmental protection, sci-tech innovation,
cultural prosperity, social progress and many other factors all make part of the connotations of development. The sentence “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable
assets” is a full and complete statement that integrates protection and development in
an organic whole. Affluent life at the price of ecological deterioration is not ecological civilization; beautiful environment surrounded by poverty and backwardness is
not ecological civilization either. We must try and strike a balance between economic
development and environmental protection.
5 Paths of Developing Ecological Civilization and Their
Relations
The Third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee said ecological civilization should be developed through green, circular, and low-carbon development. In
the new era, China has acquired a deeper understanding of what ecological progress
implies. Green development is elevated to be a development concept, with building
a resource-saving and environment-friendly society being an important aspect. It
also coordinates work in such areas as energy conservation and emission reduction,
circular economy, improvement of environmental quality, and low-carbon economy.
Circular economy is a term that generalizes the down-sizing and recycling activities in the process of production, circulation and consumption. It gauges development in terms of resource efficiency. In traditional economic growth mode, the earth
was regarded as an infinite resource repository and junk yard. While one end of the
economic system exploits multitudes of resources from the earth to produce products,
the other end discharges massive amounts of waste water, waste gas and garbage to
the environment. This is a linear growth pattern following the route of “resources—
products—scraps.” When the industrial chain is extended in the principle of “material metabolism,” “process coupling” and “resource sharing,” economic growth has
491
the ecological environment. With our economic growth and continuous population
increase, especially the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization, the
conflict between inadequate resources such as water, land, energy and minerals and
fast economic growth is becoming more conspicuous. A direct consequence is the
serious environmental situation. If the traditional development mode continues, it will
deplete the resources, overwhelm the environment and make development hard to
sustain. To meet people’s new expectations for a beautiful ecological environment, the
key is to improving their lives, to bolstering the sustained and healthy socioeconomic
development, and to demonstrating China’s positive and responsible image.
We cannot set ecological civilization against economic development. There are
some people who put the sole emphasis on “lucid waters and lush mountains” in
total disregard of economic foundation. Ecological progress is not giving up development, but to pursue high-quality development at low resource consumption and
high efficiency. Development doesn’t mean economic development alone or simply
GDP growth. Resource conservation, environmental protection, sci-tech innovation,
cultural prosperity, social progress and many other factors all make part of the connotations of development. The sentence “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable
assets” is a full and complete statement that integrates protection and development in
an organic whole. Affluent life at the price of ecological deterioration is not ecological civilization; beautiful environment surrounded by poverty and backwardness is
not ecological civilization either. We must try and strike a balance between economic
development and environmental protection.
5 Paths of Developing Ecological Civilization and Their
Relations
The Third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee said ecological civilization should be developed through green, circular, and low-carbon development. In
the new era, China has acquired a deeper understanding of what ecological progress
implies. Green development is elevated to be a development concept, with building
a resource-saving and environment-friendly society being an important aspect. It
also coordinates work in such areas as energy conservation and emission reduction,
circular economy, improvement of environmental quality, and low-carbon economy.
Circular economy is a term that generalizes the down-sizing and recycling activities in the process of production, circulation and consumption. It gauges development in terms of resource efficiency. In traditional economic growth mode, the earth
was regarded as an infinite resource repository and junk yard. While one end of the
economic system exploits multitudes of resources from the earth to produce products,
the other end discharges massive amounts of waste water, waste gas and garbage to
the environment. This is a linear growth pattern following the route of “resources—
products—scraps.” When the industrial chain is extended in the principle of “material metabolism,” “process coupling” and “resource sharing,” economic growth has