四川德阳什邡市最近发生的居民环境意识的觉醒是我期盼很久的。2009年4月我和女儿去大地震后快一年的什邡市红白镇中心学校做志愿者，主要工作是教英文。我们在希望给当地灾后学生一些鼓励和启发的时候，却时时刻刻从他们身上学到了很多，真正受到启发的是我们这些自以为是的城里人。
     每次进红白镇之前，坑坑洼洼的公路旁的废墟外，你可以看到整个地区的自然风光还是非常美。这里山清水秀。而就在此时，我几次都经过一段路，那里烟囱排放的白色烟雾笼罩整个山谷。据说那是一个磷矿的生产设施。
     我愤怒（就像前些年在武夷山附近看到要建造工业园区一样愤怒），不仅为自己在这里短暂生活的健康担心，更为那些长期生活于此的学生和老百姓叫不平。所以我几次三番对学生、老师和校长说我最想做的事是带领学生去抗议那家工厂。
     不过我的话并没有得到响应，而且似乎没有人关心我的话题。我想或许这是大灾后的情况，失去亲人的当地人还没有从那悲痛中走出来，谁有空去顾及一个烟囱，虽然那不是一般的烟囱。
     其实这些年那个烟囱污染山谷的场景在我脑中一直挥之不去。我与当地的个别老师还保持着联系。那些勇敢可爱的学生还在我的脑海中出现。
     从最近的铜矿事件，我很高兴当地百姓有了环保的觉悟和意识。
     中国式的牺牲环境、牺牲健康来换取GDP的增长是不可持续的，是竭泽而渔，是断子孙后代的路。
     说实话，全世界没有像我们中国人这么干的。而我们竟然是一个号称最早提倡人和自然和谐相处（天人合一）的民族，是一个有着“前人栽树，后人乘凉”成语的民族。这太有讽刺意味了。
     现在看来，光靠各级政府来推动环保是解决不了问题，只有靠全民意识的提升。这也是我这次去报道联合国里约会议的体会。

附在里约会议间写的专栏：

The start of bottom-up governance

by Chen Weihua

The media center in the Rio+20, or the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, that was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was packed with hundreds of journalists for two days, yet few seemed to pay much attention to the two giant screens that broadcast live the speeches by leaders from about 130 countries.

It was mostly the kind of uninspiring speeches you hear time and again. On Friday these leaders, many coming a long way across the oceans, signed a 49-page document called The Future We Want, but the watered-down version of the original text is really a tiger without any teeth and is far from the actions needed to meet the urgency of a planet in crisis.

It is certainly not the kind of future most people want as leaders are not willing to be committed to major actions required for the sustainable development of human beings on Earth.

After all, when top negotiators from the world's 190 nations haggle, what do you really expect?

That is why the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said at the beginning of the talks: "Let me be frank: Our efforts have not lived up to the measure of the challenge. Nature does not wait. Nature does not negotiate with human beings."

In the past weeks there have been protests in Rio de Janeiro or just outside Rio Centro, where the Rio+20 meetings were held. As for the media shunning the speeches of heads of state and governments, I would interpret it as another protest against the current top-down governance framework in the world. When I talked to Zhang Jianyu, program manager of the Environmental Defense Fund, on Friday, he made the same argument.

Having come to the venue every day since June 14, I feel Rio+20 was not about leaders, who while they were there only contributed to more traffic jams on roads heavily guarded by soldiers and police.

The hope, excitement and future are often found in the hundreds of side events hosted by members of the public, including youths from many countries who are deeply worried about the legacy left by our generation. As I talked to many participants of Rio+20, they also shared the feeling that rich side events, whether on renewable energy, green economy or public participation and new ways of consumption, were the real highlights of the conference.

For example, a 10-day learning program on sustainable development that I visited several times was winding up. From it hundreds of students were graduating, and they will go around the world to spread the message of sustainable development. In a sense, it is sowing the seeds for sustainable development internationally.

To me, spreading messages and sharing experiences and best practices seems to be far more important an achievement of the Rio+20 than the empty promises of leaders.

If anyone wants to make Rio+20 a landmark, it certainly will not be for producing the document The Future We Want. Rather, it will be a landmark because civil society is building up awareness and strength in a big way. People are getting ready to force government leaders into action.

Bottom-up governance is preparing to replace the top-down structure.