Puwei Li's story

Name: Puwei Li

What first triggered your interest in environmental issues?

I have to say I don't know. When I was a child, I just loved to go hiking and the like. However, I did start tangible work towards environmental protection in college. It was a great opportunity to be involved in our Green Club and set in all kinds of volunteer work such as 'Dinner Table Investigation' and 'Community River Maintenance'. I always get the sense of fulfillment when I contribute my own effort to our environment.

What are you working on, concerned by, or motivated by at the moment?

At the moment, I would say global warming is my huge concern. However, I am more into the whole sustainable development thing, which covers climate change, wildlife conservation, environmental policy and management, pollution and prevention, etc.

What do you anticipate working on, or thinking about, in relation to environmental issues over the next 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years?

I would love to work for environmental protection organizations who deal with various problems related to sustainable development. I consider education as a crucial part of helping with public awareness. Thus, if possible, besides working at NGOs, I want to reach out more young generations to lead them to think properly not only for themselves, but also for our only earth and future generations.

How optimistic or pessimistic are you as you look at where we might be in 2020, and why?

I used to be pessimistic since I thought what we human being had done was too much to recover. However, by getting to know more people in this field and witnessing the truth that nearly every nation and most citizens are aware of the danger we are in, I feel more optimistic about our future. There is hope, that if we work as a whole, after taking away so much from the environment, we can offer something back and eventually attain our goal of balancing economic advancement and sustainable development.

The opinions expressed here are those of the respective posters and do not reflect those of the BBC or The Open University. The BBC and The Open University are not responsible for the content of external websites.