when thinking about the process by which solutions are developed, it is important to understand the role of personal conditions, the desire to change one’s conditions, and how that will motivate a persons creativity.

A the recent China Daily story Environment-friendly old man greens the mountain, while short, is a simple example  of how one person can be motivated to change their surroundings.

I think it is important to remember that it is little anecdotes like this that will motivate others as well.

Liu Shuiyan, 77, a farmer in Xishan village, Pucheng, Shaanxi province, has spent the past 19 years greening the mountain next to his village.

His efforts to plant trees, thereby controlling soil erosion, and green the barren mountain were prompted by a mudslide in the summer of 1989 that damaged his farmland and destroyed the wheat harvest.

Liu has since sunk 10 wells, built more than 2,000 m of road and dug five irrigation channels for the 10,000 trees he has planted, which cover a 33-hectare area of the mountain.

Now imagine if his neighbors took it upon themselves to do the same.