PSU Magazine Fall 2013

wholesale adoption of sustainable development principals. So, PSU pre– senters emphasized broad sustainability concepts like whole system design, full cost accounting (human and natural), and better cooperation between gov– ernment entities. Also, there was considerable discus– sion of simple, low-cost solutions. For instance, the Chinese were greatly impressed with Portland's citizen involvement strategies. But with more than a billion people to "involve," both sides agreed that smaller, village– level initiatives might work best ini– tially in China. E om course evaluations and inter– iews it was clear that the visitors were pleased with their experience in Portland. According to Hammer, eval– uations show "not only were they sat– isfied, but it exceeded expectations. They said they were struck by the level of commitment (by program organizers) and the caliber of people." The Chinese visitors were also impressed with Portland's air quality, general cleanliness, and friendly peo– ple. They found the cooperation among government entities, business, and PSU intriguing, but were a bit amused that Oregonians talk so much about salmon. Zhi Feng, a reporter for the Port– land Chinese language newspaper, China Times, attended many of the class ses ions and field trips. He ays the trip dispelled at least one myth about urban America. "They thought A second delegation of Chinese officials celebrated completion of the program on campus in September. the U.S. was a cement city." Accord– ing to Feng, the officials were amazed at all the greenery and impre sed with traffic control and urban sprawl con– tainment policies. On the American side, Howe was pleased with both the thoughtful ques– tions from the Chinese and their engagement in the material. "They thoroughly enjoyed being students again." Although the Chinese are u ed to straight lecture with no questions, Howe and Hammer designed the cur– riculum to encourage two-way dialogue. However, says Pete Sandrock, Metro regional government chief oper– ating officer, the delegation was not about to be just led around. On a site visit to Metro greenspace at Oaks Bot– tom in Sellwood, the Chinese listened politely as officials explained the importance of wildlife areas and the nearby Willamette Greenway. "That was all very interesting," he says, "but what really caught their eye was a nearby house." They prevailed upon Sandrock to ask for a tour. So, much to everyone's delight-including the homeowner-there were 36 Chi– nese officials taking a tour of a home in Sellwood. B esides government presenters and site vi its, one of the key components of the program was the involvement of bu ine people, among them Bill Blosser of CH2M HILL, Ron Woodling of SERA Archi– tects, and John Miller, a farmer and developer from Salem. The PSU pro– gram, says Miller, "provides me ... huge benefits by creating opportunities to directly connect with a wide array of Chinese policymaker . It also pre– sents Oregon to the Chinese in a com– prehensive way that demonstrates how good planning, strong environmental protection, and responsible business practices can be combined to make a wonderful place." All in all, says urban college dean Toulan, "It was a smashing success. The Chinese left very excited. If Oregon was looking for a PR firm, they couldn't have done any better than PSU." The Chinese visitors will need that enthusiasm, says Rosario Aglialoro, executive director of the Northwest China Council. Aglialoro, who spent several years in China, likens the situ– ation there to an earlier era in the U.S. when there were few coordinated efforts to control pollution and regu– late ociety. However, he says, despite tremen– dous pollution and resource i sues, the Chinese are making great strides. The Chinese government is work– ing on the environmental objectives that came out of its 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-2005). These objectives include capping sulphur dioxide emi - sions, bringing all surface water to acceptable levels, treating half of urban ewage (currently only 30 per– cent i treated), increasing treatment of urban refuse, expanding nature reserves by 32 percent, and stabilizing deserts at year 2000 levels. "Generally speaking, I have confi– dence in their ability and creativity," says Aglialoro. "It' tough to predict success, though. I'm healthily skeptical it will be an ea y road. Like everything else in China it takes time to see what works and what doesn't." D (Steve Dodge, a Portland freelance tlffiter, tlffOte the article "Building on Tal– ent" in the spring 2001 PSU Magazine.) FALL 2001 PSU MAGAZINE 13