When I look at China's environmental problems, the real barrier

In the long chronicle of human progress, wisdom often reveals that the greatest barriers are not of the hand, but of the heart. Ma Jun, one of China’s foremost environmental thinkers, declared: “When I look at China’s environmental problems, the real barrier is not lack of technology or money. It’s lack of motivation.” These words strike like a gong in the still air of modern civilization. For they remind us that knowledge, wealth, and power are hollow without the will to use them rightly. The true challenge of our age is not invention, but intention.

In ancient times, the sages understood this truth well. The builders of great empires—from Babylon to the Qin Dynasty—possessed the means to alter rivers, raise walls, and move mountains. Yet their triumphs often crumbled, not from lack of skill, but from neglect of purpose. Motivation, the sacred fire that moves the human spirit, is the force that turns wisdom into action, and vision into reality. When that fire fades, even the brightest technology lies dormant, and gold itself becomes useless dust.

Ma Jun’s insight comes from a life devoted to awakening that very fire. As an environmentalist, he created the Pollution Map Database, revealing the hidden costs of industrial growth and empowering citizens with knowledge of their surroundings. Yet he observed a troubling pattern: despite access to technology and financial means, progress remained slow. Why? Because the will to change—the deep moral and civic motivation to protect the earth—was often missing. People had grown accustomed to convenience, blind to the silent suffering of rivers, forests, and air.

History offers many echoes of this truth. In the 19th century, London’s Great Smog suffocated thousands, not because technology to prevent pollution was absent, but because political and industrial leaders lacked the motivation to act. It was only after tragedy that laws were born to protect the air. Likewise, in our time, we possess solar power, clean energy, and efficient designs. Yet the planet continues to burn because humanity’s collective will remains divided. Knowledge without moral courage is a ship without a sail.

Ma Jun’s words, then, are a call to responsibility. They remind us that environmental problems are not external to humanity—they are reflections of our own priorities. A society that measures success only in profit and production will always find itself impoverished in spirit. To rekindle motivation is to reawaken reverence for life itself—to see the forest not as timber, but as breath; the river not as waste, but as a living vein of the earth.

The lesson here is timeless: progress must be driven by purpose. Technology and money are tools, but they require a guiding heart. Just as the ancients tempered metal with fire and patience, so too must modern humanity temper innovation with conscience. The motivation to protect the earth cannot be forced by law alone—it must arise from a shared understanding that the fate of nature and the fate of humanity are one and the same.

For each of us, the path forward begins within. Cultivate awareness of the natural world. Support sustainable practices, hold leaders accountable, and choose daily acts that reflect respect for the environment—whether in consumption, conservation, or community. Great change begins not with grand gestures, but with the awakening of a single will, multiplied across millions.

Thus, Ma Jun’s words stand as both challenge and guide: “The real barrier is not lack of technology or money—it’s lack of motivation.” Let these words burn like a torch in the heart of all who hear them. For when the spirit of responsibility is stirred, when motivation joins hands with knowledge and wealth, the barriers before us will crumble, and the earth may yet heal beneath the light of human resolve.