HU YINGZHE, a retiree with a monthly pension of only 2,500 yuan (US$312), took 30,000 yuan out of her savings to establish the Green Hope environmental protection association in Luohu District in 2004.

Hu has spent much of the last 10 years working to promote environmental protection. She once took more than 100 locals on a bicycle tour around the city to promote environmental awareness. She rode on buses with other Green Hope volunteers to call on residents to reject goods with excessive packaging. "Using less tissue paper equals planting trees," she taught locals. She called on restaurants to ban smoking and organized events on No Smoking Day. She took Green Hope members on tours to many communities and schools to promote a list of 40 environmental "dos and don'ts" she came up with.

In daily life, she practices what she preaches. Hu uses her bicycle to move around the city. Her family consumes less than two tons of water each month. Water used in showers is reused to flush the toilet. Water used to clean the vegetables is reused to water flowers.

Editor: Yan