Green Wisdom in Ancient Chinese Architecture: Passive Cooling Strategies for Summer Heat Mitigation
【能源与环境】 | Energy & Environment
By Chen Ya, Jointing.Media, in Wuhan, 2025-06-24
In the myths of ancient Greece, it is said that Orpheus, the god of music, possessed a lyre whose melodies could move beasts and birds—even compel stones and timber to assemble into structures in the square, swaying to its rhythm. When the music ceased, those rhythms and harmonies solidified into the buildings, becoming their proportions and cadence. Inspired by this, the 18th-century German philosopher Schelling coined that timeless maxim on the relationship between music and architecture: *”Architecture is frozen music.” And indeed, the disciplined arrangement of materials in great architecture can evoke the same rhythmic and harmonic beauty as music.
In a courtyard of gray bricks and tiles,
under the dappled sunlight of an old locust tree,
a draft slips past stone steps and water urns.
A thousand kilometers away, inside a data center,
algorithms now simulate this very shade,
carving the wind’s path into the genetic code
of the next colossus to rise.
In the depths of summer, buildings without mechanical cooling have become a rarity in cities of concrete and steel. When the first air-conditioning system appeared in 1902, no one foresaw that, a century later, buildings would consume more than 30 percent of global end-use energy, or that forests of glass curtain walls would aggravate the urban heat-island effect.
Before the era of artificial cooling, builders worked with, not against, nature. By exploiting the physics of heat and light, they developed sophisticated strategies for insulation, shading, ventilation, and daylighting—an architectural expression of the Chinese ecological ideal of “oneness of nature and man”. These principles remain technically advanced and environmentally effective, offering both precedent and inspiration for contemporary green design and sustainable development.
The skywell(天井) of Huizhou dwellings functions as a passive cooling system. Warm air rises and exits through the stack effect; cooler air is drawn in at ground level. When water features—courtyard pools or ceramic vats—are added, evaporation can lower indoor temperatures by 2.6–4.3°C below ambient.
Revised for standard written English:
In Lingnan, the “cold alley” (冷巷) utilizes narrow passages to create a Venturi effect that accelerates airflow and expels heat. The meandering verandas of Suzhou gardens guide cross-ventilation while providing shade. Multi-eaved palace roofs trap insulating air layers, and vernacular attic designs strategically place windows at front and rear to drive convective cooling, keeping warm air away from living spaces.
The circular Fujian tulou (福建土楼) demonstrates dual climate-resilient and seismic-resistant design through its radial symmetry and monumental rammed-earth construction. Built with locally sourced laterite aggregate bonded by lime mortar—and strategically reinforced with traditional organic composites (brown sugar and glutinous rice paste) at structural nodes—the walls achieve remarkable 1.5-meter thickness. This results in a passive thermoregulation system that provides thermal lag for summer insulation and winter heat retention, functions as a hygroscopic buffer by cyclically absorbing and releasing moisture, and enables cradle-to-cradle material circularity through full biodegradability.
In arid Shanxi, the Qiao Family Compound utilizes inward-sloping monopitch roofs to channel rainwater into underground cisterns, while its high perimeter walls provide protection against sandstorms. Northern cave dwellings leverage loess soil’s thermal mass for passive temperature regulation; Lingnan bamboo pavilions employ rapidly renewable bamboo for lightweight structural frameworks. All materials follow a cradle-to-cradle philosophy—”from nature, to dust”—creating closed material loops. For instance， Fujian tulou’s fir beams are systematically repurposed；Han-dynasty brickwork remains fully reusable through reversible mortar techniques. Such practices dramatically reduce reconstruction resource demands.
From the tulou’s hygroscopic walls to the skywell’s evaporative cooling, the essence of Chinese vernacular architecture epitomizes the philosophy of working with nature rather than against it. As Liang Sicheng, the father of Chinese architectural history, astutely noted: “All architecture emerges from practical necessity, yet remains fundamentally governed by natural laws.”
Traditional Chinese building strategies constitute a holistic, site-specific system of environmental design that spans macro siting, settlement planning, individual building form, micro-construction, and material selection. They integrate utility, science, and artistry, embodying a profound respect for—and understanding of—the natural world.
Traditional Chinese builders relied on two interlocking strategies to keep interiors cool in summer: shielding against heat gain and promoting air movement.
1. Deep-eave shading
The most distinctive feature is the far-projecting eave. Supported by bracket sets (dougong) or cantilevered beams, it overhangs walls and windows by several metres. At the high summer sun angle, this broad eave intercepts direct radiation, preventing overheating while protecting timber frames and earthen walls from rain. The exact projection was calibrated against local solstice altitudes, achieving an optimal seasonal balance.
2. Ventilated and double roofs
Beneath the interlocking tubular and flat tiles lies a secondary layer—plank boarding, thin brick, or reed matting—creating a ventilated assembly. Solar heat absorbed by the tiles is dissipated by convective airflow before it penetrates the interior. Monumental buildings, such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, employ double-eaved or double-skin roofs whose intervening air layer acts as a thermal buffer.
3. Lattice doors and windows for cross-ventilation
Panel doors, threshold windows, and lift-out windows are framed as open latticework, later infilled with paper or glass. The lattice filters sunlight yet remains permeable. Entire door leaves can be removed, upper sashes propped, and lower sashes dropped, maximizing cross-ventilation to expel heat and humidity rapidly.
4. Spatial planning and stack ventilation
The sky-well or courtyard functions as a solar chimney. Its shaded floor stays cool; heated air rises and exits at the top, drawing cooler replacement air through surrounding rooms. In dense villages or large compounds—Lingnan wok-ear houses or Shanxi courtyard mansions—narrow lanes accelerate airflow via the Venturi effect, creating cool wind corridors. Transverse halls and open verandas on the windward and leeward sides act as ducts that pull breezes through principal living spaces.
5. Water bodies and vegetation for micro-climate control
Courtyards incorporate ponds, ceramic water vats, or diverted streams (as in Suzhou gardens). Evaporation from these surfaces lowers ambient temperature and increases humidity, especially beneficial in arid regions. Deciduous trees—Chinese parasol and scholar-tree—are planted around courts and lanes; dense summer foliage provides shade, while winter leaf-fall admits warming sunlight.
The wisdom of the ancients cannot be transplanted wholesale; it must be understood as a holistic philosophy and systemic method. Contemporary practice confronts three intertwined challenges: reconciling population density with height limits inherent in timber construction, balancing traditional materials with modern seismic-safety requirements, and aligning rising comfort expectations with net-zero energy targets.
Modern reinterpretations are already under way. Shanghai Tower’s double-skin façade derives from the stratified-eave strategy of historic roofs. The one-metre cavity between the inner and outer glazing behaves as a thermal flue in summer, inducing stack-effect ventilation that lowers interior surface temperatures; in winter the cavity is sealed to create an insulating buffer, cutting HVAC loads. Spiralling grooves on the tower’s surface guide wind flow and reduce structural loads—an aerodynamic echo of the Venturi corridors once carved between vernacular dwellings.
Dongguan’s TBA Tower extends the analogy. Its double-glazed curtain wall incorporates motorised louvres reminiscent of traditional zhāi-zhāi windows. Coupled with low-e glass that rejects radiant heat, the system delivers a 79 % reduction in annual energy use compared with conventional façades.
The Jinan Research Centre employs a three-dimensional vegetated buffer that moderates the micro-climate, lowering summer surface temperatures by 4–7°C.
Dutch scholar Wang Zhengfeng warns: “Passive cooling strategies must be site-specific. If we ignore environmental costs and rely solely on technology, sustainable development will remain elusive.” True green architecture, as the Ming treatise Yuan Ye(《园冶》) by Ji Cheng(计成) insists, should be “man-made yet seemingly heaven-sent,” re-establishing a poetic bond between people and the land through the balanced use of science and culture.
Green buildings are not assemblies of high-tech devices; they are multi-dimensional integrations of spatial planning, material selection, construction detailing, energy strategy, water management, and biodiversity. Their realisation demands architects with interdisciplinary vision and the capacity for holistic thinking.
Translated by Kimi(AI)
Edited by Jas
Related:
Analysis of the Ecological Ideas in Chinese Traditional Dwelling Houses and Its Inspiration to Green Buildings
Fully Exploring Traditional Chinese Culture and Promoting Organic Development of Green City
Chinese Traditional Ecological Wisdom and Contemporary Sustainable Landscape Art
The Green Building Wisdom in Chinese Traditional Inhabitation and its Significance
Chinese Architecture: Everything You Need to Know About Its Past, Present, and Future
Chinese Architecture
The Enduring Grain of Salt: Art’s True Measure Lies Beyond Price Tags
By Moon, Jointing.Media, in Shanghai, 2025-06-13
Recently, a mint-colored plastic Labubu figurine was sold for 1.08 million renminbi (RMB). Last month, the most expensive Chinese edition of the photographic works by Sebastião Salgado, the late documentary photography master who passed away in Paris at the age of 81, was priced at 39,800 RMB.
This collection of photographs is a limited-edition volume from the “Genesis” series. It was completed over eight years and features images from 32 global expeditions, with the goal of documenting the pristine landscapes of the Earth that remain untouched by modernization. The hardcover edition of the photo album was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. It includes a Spanish handmade cherry wood bookshelf and features Italian printing and binding. The collection is available through a limited global release.
On one side lies the frothy, capital-driven frenzy of the trendy toy economy; on the other, the quietly contemplative gaze of documentary images. On one side, there is the fleeting noise; on the other, the grains of salt that penetrate through time.
PIC: Sebastião Salgado and “Genesis”
While Labubu was sparkling at the auction house, Salgado’s black-and-white images were on display at the Shanghai Natural History Museum. This photographer, born in 1944 on a small farm in Brazil, has lived an epic life. Holding Ph a.D. in economics, he resolutely gave up his high-paying position at the World Bank at the age of 29 to embark on a career in photography, armed with a camera gifted by his wife. “Every photograph is my confession to the world,” he wrote in his autobiography. To capture the reflection of scales on the claws of a marine iguana, he lay in wait for days; to document the migration of the Nenets people in Siberia, he trekked for 47 days in temperatures as low as -45 degrees Celsius; to photograph the famine victims in Ethiopia, he walked 850 kilometers into dangerous territory, revealing to the world how those “symbolized statistics” become real, human faces.
“A true photographer must become part of the event, not just an observer,” Salgado realized in 1986 while photographing the Sahel famine. While other journalists came and left after taking their shots, he stayed with the famine victims for two weeks, sharing their food and shelter. The resulting photograph of a mother nursing her skeletal child led to a threefold increase in UN relief supplies. This level of commitment nearly cost him his life—he contracted malaria in Congo and was hit by shrapnel in Chechnya—but he never shrank back: “If my photos do not make people sleepless at night, then they are worthless.”
Meanwhile, in luxury boutiques, crocodile-skin bags are priced at three million RMB, rosewood furniture sells for over one million RMB, and Patek Philippe watches start at tens of millions of RMB at auction… Luxury in itself is not a sin, but when consumption becomes a worship of symbols, the soul is trapped in a golden cage.
In a lecture, Salgado once warned young photographers: “Do not pursue beautiful compositions; pursue the weight of truth.” When photographing famine victims, he did not use a telephoto lens to look down but instead met their gaze at eye level to convey dignity. He rejected a lucrative offer from National Geographic simply because the editors asked him to “increase color saturation to attract more readers.” “My reputation is built on the suffering of others; if ambition exceeds compassion, I lose my soul.” This soliloquy reveals the true value standard of art.
Translated by Kimi(AI)
Edited by Jas
Related:
Sebastião Salgado
Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado dies at 81, leaving behind a monumental legacy
Ever Brings me Seeds, the Wind
【专栏】| Conlumists>陈娅杂谈
By Chen Ya, Jointing.Media, in Wuhan, 22025-04-20
Ever brings me seeds, the wind
Like a lucky dip
Only sprouting to be seen, growing leaves to know what they’ll be
Whispers no word, but swift to bring
Ever brings seeds, the wind
Leaving not a word
On the balcony, young sprouts sway in the breeze
As if to say, “I thirst, I hunger”
Brings seeds, the wind
For soil awaits, roots to take hold
For this south-facing wall, sunlit and bold
And just so, someone cares for them all
Translated by DeepSeek
Edited by Jas
Related:
喜马拉雅山脚下的新年夜：蛙声、炉火，与人共暖
烟火流年
Canadian Tulip Festival
冰雪节（Winterlude），渥太华今年不太冷
JM Review | The ‘Modern Robin Hood’ Luigi Shooting Case Exposes the Structural Sores of the U.S. Healthcare System
【企业社会责任与可持续发展】| CSR & Sustainability
By Give, Jointing.Media, in Shanghai, 2025-06-01
The Healthcare Crisis: A Ticking Time Bomb Before the Gunshots
The pathologies within America’s healthcare system were already deeply entrenched. In 2023, per capita health spending hit $14,570—nearly 20% of GDP—yet the nation ranked just 49th globally in life expectancy. Approximately 24.7 million Americans under 65 remained uninsured, while over 20 million insured Americans carried medical debt. Of these, 3 million owed more than $10,000.
UnitedHealth Group faced exposure for deploying AI systems to accelerate claim denials. Its 32% rejection rate—double the industry average (16%)—blocked coverage for roughly 16 million policyholders. For ordinary Americans, daily life became a battle against insurers. As one ER nurse testified: “Watching dying patients get denied coverage made me physically ill.” Young leukemia patient Sucalas, confronting $13,000 monthly out-of-pocket drug costs, was forced to halt treatment for three months—”No one should wage war against cancer and insurance companies simultaneously.”
America’s healthcare reform history reads as a chronicle of defeat:
- 1920s: The American Medical Association (AMA) stigmatized universal healthcare as a “Bolshevik plot,” killing early reform efforts.
- 1965: President Johnson established Medicare (senior care) and Medicaid (low-income coverage), yet universal coverage remained elusive.
- 2010: Obama’s Affordable Care Act reduced the uninsured by 20 million, but persistent premium hikes and service disputes continue to draw criticism.
Structural Malignancy: Who Feeds at the Top of the Healthcare Food Chain?
The neoliberal policies of the Reagan administration in the 1980s—slashing public health funding and deregulating the industry—ignited the rise of for-profit “managed care,” transforming healthcare into a commodified system. Intensive lobbying by interest groups and partisan gridlock have made the U.S. the only OECD country without universal healthcare coverage.
Within this ecosystem, insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) formed a monopoly stranglehold:
Big Three PBMs (owned by UnitedHealth, CVS, and Cigna) control 80% of U.S. prescription flows, profiting through demanding massive drugmaker rebates that inflate medication prices.
Pharmacies saw profits plummet after Medicare negotiations, while hospital specialty pharmacies faced PBM revenue squeezes.
Doctors drown in insurance paperwork as patients fall into deductible traps—individual workers now face average deductibles of $1,787, a 47% surge over a decade.
When UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty admitted the system “doesn’t work well,” Luigi’s shell-casings engraved with “Delay, Deny, Defend” stood as the public’s collective indictment of the industry’s predatory nature.
Healthcare, meant to be society’s safety net, has become a feast for capital in America. Luigi’s bullets pierced not just a CEO’s heart, but the last veil of decency over America’s healthcare myth. So long as the profit-first logic persists, so long as 24.7 million remain uninsured, the “Modern Robin Hood’s” violent catharsis marks not an end—but a bloodstained dawn to a darker era.
Ethical Dilemma of Institutional Violence and Individual Resistance
The Luigi case resonated so deeply precisely because it exposed the structural festering wounds of America’s healthcare system. When institutions become legalized killing machines, the desperate resistance of citizens carries a tragic social origin. When hospital bills morph into death sentences, violence is a mirror to the system, not its cause.
In the aftermath of the gunfire, American society plunged into polarization and introspection. Polls reveal that 41% of Americans aged 18–29 consider the shooting “acceptable,” while 81% express anger over healthcare costs. A Florida woman threatened insurers with “you’re next,” and the CEO of an Oregon insurance company had his home shot at. Mark Zuckerberg spends over $24 million annually on personal security, as healthcare and energy giants scramble to conceal executives’ information.
The Department of Justice politicized the case, seeking the federal death penalty for Luigi—which, if approved, would be New York’s first execution in 70 years. Defense attorney Agnefello slammed the move as “state-sanctioned murder” designed to protect insurance conglomerates.
America’s healthcare system causes far more “legalized deaths” than individual violence. Johns Hopkins University research indicates approximately 25,000 Americans die annually from unaffordable care—equivalent to 68 people “executed by the system” daily. In 2023 alone, over 1 million filed for bankruptcy due to medical debt, while pharmaceutical giants hiked insulin prices by 1,200% (1996–2024). Rural Mississippians live 20 years shorter than Manhattan elites—a life-expectancy chasm stemming not from genetics but institutional design.
When insurers use AI algorithms to automatically deny critical claims, and drug companies monopolize life-saving patents for profit, blood stains the hands of suited decision-makers. This “lawful violence” escapes moral condemnation precisely because it disperses through systemic gears. Rebuilding medical ethics demands not mere policy tweaks, but a cultural reckoning that banishes profit motives from emergency rooms—for any civilization’s worth is ultimately measured by how it treats its most vulnerable lives.
The Third Way: How Can Nonviolent Resistance Move Mountains?
Luigi’s supporters hailed the shooting as “slaying a greedy beast,” yet history reveals the limits of violent retribution: its inability to replace systemic solutions and the risk of societal moral erosion. In the 1960s, the Black Panthers’ armed resistance failed to end racial discrimination but intensified state crackdowns. Killing a CEO cannot dismantle the profit-driven logic of the insurance industry—UnitedHealth’s stock dipped merely 2.3% post-shooting before hitting record highs three months later. In the Oregon copycat attack, bullets struck a nursery wall in the CEO’s home—a stark reminder that uncontrolled violence first devours the innocent.
Luigi himself embodies systemic contradictions: elite education taught him to critique the system yet offered no tools for change, ultimately twisting his intellect into a weapon of vengeance. True transformation in American history often springs from synergy within and beyond institutions. Consider:
- 1964’s Mississippi Freedom Summer: Medical teams provided unlicensed care to Black communities, compelling federal passage of the Civil Rights Act to ban racial segregation in healthcare;
- 2023’s UnitedHealth lawsuit: Patient groups sued over AI claim denials, winning $870 million in damages and forcing algorithmic transparency;
- 1,200+ free clinics nationwide: Volunteer-run facilities serving 1.8 million uninsured annually, forging a parallel care ecosystem.
These efforts may seem gradual, yet they erode institutional foundations like vines cracking stone. Today, 29 states advance universal healthcare ballot initiatives—California’s pending bill could cover 98% of residents. The ember of reform still glows.
The Luigi case transcends individual crime, exposing how profit-first logic erodes public health. His violence channels collective despair over institutionalized exploitation. The DOJ’s push for the death penalty—criticized as “suppressing dissent”—evades healthcare’s core crises. Without systemic reform, tragedies like Luigi’s will recur.
Urgent actions needed:
- Legislation: Ban AI claim denials; cap drug price hikes (e.g., Germany’s 5% annual limit); abolish medical debt credit reporting.
- Mid-term reforms: Establish public drug procurement pools (modeled after Canada); break up insurer-PBM monopolies.
- Constitutional amendment: Enshrine healthcare as the 28th Amendment, affirming that the right to life supersedes profit rights.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on April 1, 2025, that she had directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione.
Born into wealth, Luigi never personally faced healthcare hardships. Yet while working at his family’s nursing home, he witnessed countless elders perish in despair after insurance denials. These seniors lacked the means to challenge corporate giants, left only to await death. Luigi saw systemic injustice; his conscience seared by innocent suffering. He knew conventional paths couldn’t reform this profit-rigged system controlled by entrenched interest groups. Thus he chose an extreme path—attempting to deliver justice through his own hands.
Robin Hood robbed the rich to aid the poor—his defiance of feudal exploitation fought for the survival rights of the oppressed. Was Luigi not the same? His target wasn’t personal gain, but liberation for millions crushed by the healthcare machine.
The U.S. Constitution was crafted to protect citizens’ rights. Yet today’s healthcare system strips fundamental medical rights from countless people. In this light, Luigi’s act embodies a defense of constitutional ideals—an attempt to awaken the nation to its founding promise of safeguarding human dignity.
We must judge Luigi not merely by legal statutes, but through the lens of social justice. He is a tragic figure—both victim of America’s healthcare failures and resistor against them. To condemn him as a mere criminal while ignoring systemic rot ensures more “Luigis” will emerge. May this case ignite healthcare reform to prevent such tragedies. And may this modern-day Robin Hood receive leniency—that he might someday reform society through nonviolent means.
Edited by Wind, Youdao and DeepSeek
Photo by Fengsheng
Ralated:
Historical Retrospective: From Leaded Gasoline to Teflon
JM Review | When the spitter was flogged: PDL’s “Self-Verification Trap” and “Magic Counterattack”
【企业社会责任与可持续发展】| CSR & Sustainability
By Mr. Wang, Jointing.Media, in Hangzhou, 2025-05-09
In Singapore, public spitters get caned—lashes that crack loud, crack hard, crack so resoundingly that even the melon-seed-munching crowd（a Chinese meme for nosy bystanders）falls silent. It’s not that Singaporeans are born with a broomstick up their spines, but they know: for certain ”social incontinence syndromes” (a sarcastic term for chronic bad behavior), sermons are less effective than bamboo whips. Now, Yu Donglai, founder of Pang Donglai（PDL）, swings the legal whip at internet trolls who stage ”weekly fake outrage dramas” , proving Confucius wrong: “If you repay virtue with virtue, what’s left for vice? Repay it with a whip!”
Enter “Mr. Keyboard Crusader” (柴怼怼), who stormed Pang Donglai’s jade counter with his phone, declaring: “Your ¥30,000 jade is worse than a ¥3,000 roadside rock!” His antics mirrored those unemployed uncles in wet markets who scream, “Your cabbage is steroid-pumped!” —except his megaphone was Douyin (TikTok).
PDL threw out a stack of financial statements：20% gross margin on Hotan jade, ¥268 million in taxes paid. Meanwhile, the ”anti-fraud hero” sells ¥19,800 jade bracelets in his livestreams. Numbers don’t lie: the “profiteering” scam melted faster than a snowman in a sauna, exposing the abacus beads (metaphor for sneaky calculations) of ”traffic trolling” .
Forcing companies to “prove their purity” is like demanding a man in a white suit jump into a mud pit to prove he’s never stolen sweet potatoes. To clear its name, PDL published a 328-page Employee Handbook, a 53-page Underwear Quality Report and Profit distribution tables sunbathing in public —a “gut-spilling spectacle” mocking the legal principle “innocent until proven guilty.”
When rumors cost a dime and refutations demand a fortune, business ethics become the clown car of economics.
In Haining(海宁), a knockoff store named “Pang Dou Lai” (胖都来) cloned everything: chubby mascots, free herbal brews, even the “customer service smile”—achieving the artistic finesse of a toddler tracing the Mona Lisa and ending up with “Mona Lisa after dental surgery.” Shoppers flooded in not to buy, but to film “Li Kui vs. Li Gui” (李逵vs李鬼, a classic tale of imposters from Water Margin) skits. PDL’s response? A legal triple combo : evidence collection, police report, lawsuit—all in 72 hours. Cue the Chinese rap battle taunt: “Copy my swag? Catch these lawsuit hands!”
Critics claim Pang Donglai’s model could not be duplicated.—half true. Yonghui Supermarkets spent ¥6 million copying PDL, only to end up with “employee smiles stiffer than mannequins” and The loss rate of fresh produce rebounded from 3% to 5%. Why? Follow the money:
PDL gives 60% profits to employees.
Yonghui stuffs 60% into shareholders’ Gucci pockets.
Forcing underpaid workers to deliver luxury service is like asking starving actors to perform a royal feast—all posture, no nourishment.
PDL’s Cleaners earn ¥9,886/month—double Zhengzhou office Of white-collar workers’ salaries. PDL’s store managers drive cars fancier than Xuchang section chiefs’. This isn’t charity; it’s “Communist Capitalism 2.0″: every ¥1 wage hike generates ¥3.2 in sales. Yet other companies ironically chant ‘Learn from PDL’ while reducing their employee handbooks to 21st-century indenture agreements. Little wonder their mimicry stops at token gestures like complimentary tea, utterly missing the essence of human capital leverage.
The impending Private Economy Promotion Law will finally tighten the noose on those keyboard warriors whose taps inflict corporate harm—a development that evokes Wang Xiaobo’s ‘silent majority’. For years, some businesses clung to the naive creed of ‘purity will prevail’, only to find their pristine reputations splattered like a Pollock painting by digital mudslingers. PDL’s ¥5 million lawsuit and Douyin’s removal of 29 defamatory videos aren’t corporate muscle-flexing, but a codification of jungle rules for the commercial wilderness: Question my jade, but don’t falsify my ledgers; scrutinise my service, but don’t forge my tax filings.
Some Internet celebrities always use “freedom of speech” as a shield, but forget that the true meaning of freedom is “not harming others”. Just like caning in Singapore is not for demonstrating violence but for demarcating the boundaries of civilization. When PDL lashed out at the rumor-blenders with the legal whip, what he shattered was not just a few traffic bubbles, but also a warning sign in the muddy online ecosystem: Spitting is prohibited here. Violators will suffer for half a year.
The secret to PDL’s success ultimately hinges on two principles: prioritising product quality and equitably distributing profits among employees. This logic, as straightforward as primary school arithmetic, baffles those who obsess over calculus-level complexities while neglecting basic addition. Imitators, ever keen on shortcuts, reduce service excellence to staged photo-ops and profit-sharing to hollow pledges—only to retreat in disgrace when consumers, voting decisively with their feet, greet their efforts with scornful derision.
Ultimately, business is inherently a “stupid” profession. You give your employees real money, and the employees show eight teeth to the customers. You spread the profits in the sunlight, and consumers deposit their trust into your account. And those “smart people” who rely on staged accidents to gain traffic will eventually understand a truth: the whip may be late, but it won’t be absent forever – after all, the punishment in a society ruled by law is much more painful than the cane in Singapore.
PDL’s lawsuit against the rumor-mongers is not only for himself but also for the entire business environment. If there is no cost to spreading rumors, all enterprises will fall into the “self-proof trap” – the more honest you are, the more likely you are to be attacked. If staged fraud can be profitable, then business competition will degenerate into a vicious circle of “who has the lower limit”. PDL’s approach is equivalent to setting up a warning sign in the commercial jungle: “Here is the rule of law. Anyone who fraudals will be punished.”
Edited by Wind, Youdao and DeepSeek
Photo by Sacima | Old railway station in India （2024）
Ralated:
On ‘315’: The Ethical Dilemmas of China’s Internet Enterprises
AI ask, I answer | Social Media and Public Oversight
AI ask, I answer | Social Media and Public Oversight
By Jas, Jointing.Media, 2025-03-30
Here’s a conversation with Doubao (an AI chatbot developed by ByteDance) and DeepSeek
Doubao: How do you think social media platforms can be used to promote positive social change and address important issues in society? Do you think social media has made people more informed about global events or has it led to more misinformation being spread?
Jas: Like a coin, social media has two sides. On the one hand, it helps bridge the information gap between authorities and the public, enabling people to more effectively highlight and challenge official missteps. On the other hand, the public often struggles to discern fact from fiction—particularly when it comes to sensitive international events. Additionally, governments sometimes control media narratives, presenting a sanitised or one-sided version of the truth.
Doubao: Now, based on what you’ve said, I have a follow-up question. Do you think there are any solutions to help the public improve their ability to distinguish between real and false information on social media, like education initiatives or technological solutions?
Jas: Yes, there are several effective ways to identify misinformation on social media. Firstly, always verify information by checking its source – it’s crucial to establish where the content originated. Secondly, technological solutions can help; various AI-powered tools and fact-checking applications are now available to help detect false information.
DeepSeek: You mentioned technological solutions like AI tools for detecting misinformation. How might we ensure these tools don’t inadvertently suppress legitimate dissent or minority viewpoints under the guise of ‘fact-checking?
Jas: This is a common phenomenon observed globally, transcending both Western and Eastern contexts. Governments, for various reasons, often prioritise limiting public access to sensitive information. However, the public’s right to transparency in governance remains a fundamental civic entitlement. This necessitates robust oversight mechanisms — including independent third-party monitoring — and ensuring citizens have unfettered access to diverse information sources, particularly those offering multifaceted perspectives on critical issues.
DeepSeek: You emphasised independent oversight mechanisms. How might we balance third-party monitoring with protecting against these very mechanisms being co-opted by political or corporate interests?
Jas: While safeguarding such mechanisms from political or corporate co-option remains challenging, social media offers a valuable complement through crowdsourced scrutiny. Its decentralised nature enables real-time exposure of discrepancies between official narratives and grassroots observations – particularly when alternative viewpoints bypass traditional gatekeepers.
DeepSeek: You mentioned crowdsourced scrutiny. Could this approach inadvertently amplify conspiracy theories when legitimate dissent overlaps with unverified claims?
Jas: The phenomenon you describe is indeed prevalent, particularly given humanity’s inherent tendency to propagate conspiracy theories and emotionally charged misinformation – a key reason why ‘fake news’ ranks among the top ten global development threats. However, this should not negate the value of public oversight mechanisms, especially in China’s current context where there’s a virtual absence of investigative journalism. When individuals perceive their capacity to influence social affairs, it fosters heightened civic responsibility and active participation in public matters. This dynamic creates an evolving equilibrium between positive and negative societal impacts.
Concurrently, the active participation of the masses in social affairs will will promote the transparency of administrative processes and progress, compliance with the legal framework, and efficiency to adapt to the speed of the digital age. Illustrative cases include:
The reinstatement of Chinese citizen “Sha Bai（沙白）”’s social media account following public pressure after its initial suspension over controversial euthanasia-related content in Switzerland;
The swift intervention by Fujian（福州市闽侯县） authorities in addressing a sewage pipeline breach after independent blogger “Yu Lie Qi Ge（鱼猎齐哥）” exposed the issue through short-video platforms, with official media subsequently amplifying the reports – contrasting with previous delayed responses to local residents’ complaints.
Nevertheless, undeniable challenges persist: critics routinely face permanent account suspensions, while bad-faith actors deliberately fabricate false narratives. These realities, rooted in human nature and institutional frameworks, will likely maintain this complex equilibrium for the foreseeable future.
Edited by Wind and DeepSeek
Photo by Sacima | Vietnam’s Night Markets（2025）
Ralated:
AI ask, I answer | AI’s Role in Relationships and Marriage
Discuss the Risk of AI with AI
纪录片《江油事件》 （Documentary: The Jiangyou Incident）
JM Review | Geological Crisis Triggered by Groundwater Over-Extraction
【能源与环境】 | Energy & Environment
By Yibai, Jointing.Media, in Shanghai, 2025-02-15
According to 2023 satellite monitoring data jointly released by NASA and NOAA, parts of California’s Central Valley have experienced land subsidence at a rate of 30 centimeters per year due to prolonged groundwater over-extraction, with some areas sinking over 3 meters cumulatively in the past decade. This phenomenon directly correlates with California’s cyclical droughts and surging agricultural water demand, having already caused infrastructure damage and increased flood risks.
California’s subsidence is not an isolated case, but rather a microcosm of global geological system imbalances. When humans alter nature at industrial speeds, land subsidence has transformed from a “natural evolution” into a “man-made disaster.” Behind this phenomenon lies the compounded effects of resource exploitation, short-sighted planning, and climate change.
Invisible “Black Holes” Devouring Our Cities
Home to over 10 million people, Indonesia’s megacity is subsiding at 25 cm annually—with its northern districts projected to vanish beneath the sea by 2050. Rampant groundwater extraction and the crushing weight of skyscrapers are overwhelming its alluvial foundations.
The ancient decision to build on a drained lake now haunts modern Mexico. The city center has dropped 12 meters in a century, crippling drainage systems and turning rainy seasons into urban floods.
The Adriatic’s romantic jewel has sunk 23 cm in the 20th century from rising seas and subsidence. Its €5.5 billion “MOSE Project” floodgates offer only temporary respite.
Across the Yangtze River Delta and North China Plain, 50+ cities report land subsidence. In Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district, skyscrapers compress the earth, while Tianjin’s petrochemical zone pumps away its underground support.
UNESCO confirms human-induced subsidence now affects 150 nations—a silent crisis rewriting the world’s coastlines.
Satellites Can Monitor Subsidence, But Not Mend Systemic Fractures. NASA’s InSAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology can detect ground movements as subtle as millimeters, while the Netherlands has pioneered the world’s first real-time subsidence early-warning system using satellite data. Yet these technological feats reveal a deeper paradox: the more humanity relies on cutting-edge tools to “monitor” nature, the more it exposes its departure from sustainable development principles.
In California, farmers relentlessly drain aquifers to sustain almond crops (each nut requiring 4 liters of water). Jakarta’s affluent districts flout municipal bans, drilling illegal deep wells for clean water. Oil-rich Middle Eastern nations pump groundwater to maintain emerald golf courses… When “development rights” and “survival rights” are reduced to resource warfare, technological monitoring ironically becomes a “certificate of impunity” for exploitation.
Land subsidence and climate change form a vicious cycle—droughts force increased groundwater extraction, while subsidence damages water infrastructure, exacerbating waste. Rising seas invade sinking coastlines, demanding energy-intensive levees. This “combat-against-nature” mindset peaks in projects like Venice’s canal diversions and Tokyo’s Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, yet traps societies in a paradox: the grander the engineering, the more fragile the system.
At its core, the subsidence crisis reflects civilizational unsustainability. Contrast this with the Netherlands’ “Room for the River” program post-1953 floods, where dikes were dismantled to restore floodplains, replacing rigid resistance with adaptive resilience. Or Bangkok’s 300% groundwater tax hike, spurring corporate rainwater harvesting. These prove subsidence isn’t a technical glitch, but a value-system failure.
The IPCC’s 2023 report notes nature-based solutions could address 35-40% of global subsidence—if paired with pumping regulations and land-use controls. Humanity must learn to design progress within planetary thresholds.
Four Natural Pathways to Reverse Land Subsidence
At its core, land subsidence signals a destabilized geological system—yet humans are now recruiting nature’s allies to restore balance. From wetland regeneration to microbial soil stabilization, from aquifer recharge to saltmarsh barriers, a quiet revolution is leveraging ecological wisdom to counter ground collapse. These pilot projects not only prove nature’s capacity for repair but also challenge the engineering-first governance dogma.
1. Aquifer Recharge
Diverting stormwater and recycled water to replenish overexploited aquifers restores pore pressure and slows strata compression. Examples:
- California’s Central Valley: Launched in 2014, its groundwater recharge program floods fallow farmland during winter, replenishing 320 million m³ annually. Some areas saw 40% slower subsidence.
- Jakarta, Indonesia: Built 200 infiltration ponds in its sinking north (25→18 cm/year after 2021-2023), paired with pumping restrictions.
2. Wetland & Vegetation Anchoring
Root systems weave subsurface rebar nets—stabilizing soils while transpiration reduces water extraction needs. Case studies:
- Tianjin, China: Planting tamarisk-reed wetlands around petrochemical zones boosted soil bearing capacity by 15%, cutting subsidence 22% over 5 years.
- Mexico City: Restored Chinampas floating farms in Xochimilco, using aquatic plant roots to bind lakebed sediments. Subsidence plummeted from 40 cm/year (1990s) to 5 cm/year (2020).
3. Microbial Mineral
Injecting urea-degrading bacteria triggers calcite precipitation, cementing loose sediments. Delft University’s MICP trial at Rotterdam Port increased sand layer strength by 300% in 6 months—at 1/3 the cost of grouting.
4. Coastal Saltmarshes
Tidal plants like Spartina build land while buffering sea rise-subsidence synergy. San Francisco Bay’s 1,600-hectare saltmarsh restoration (paired with oyster reefs) reduced nearby land subsidence by 1.5 cm/year (NOAA 2022).
Nature-based solutions have revolutionized the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of traditional engineering approaches. Take California’s San Joaquin Valley as an example:
However, nature-based restoration approaches also face limitations and challenges. In densely urbanized areas, land scarcity makes wetland construction difficult—Jakarta has experimented with “vertical infiltration wells” to compensate for space constraints. Arid regions lack sufficient water for aquifer recharge, prompting Saudi Arabia to trial “atmospheric water harvesting + nanomembrane filtration” to produce infiltration water. Policy inertia remains another hurdle, as seen in Mexico City’s continued reliance on a $1.3 billion concrete drainage tunnel rather than fully transitioning to ecological restoration.
The governance of land subsidence is undergoing a paradigm shift—from “combating nature” to “negotiating with nature.” The Netherlands’ “Sand Engine” project exemplifies this: by depositing 21 million cubic meters of sand offshore and letting ocean currents naturally distribute it into protective barriers, the country saved 70% of traditional coastal reinforcement costs. Similarly, China’s Xiongan New Area employs “underground reservoirs,” using natural depressions to store stormwater while replenishing aquifers and creating urban sponge spaces, achieving a projected 90% subsidence control rate.
The geological clock cannot be rewound. Land subsidence serves as a mirror, reflecting industrial civilization’s “bulldozer-style exploitation” of Earth. As cities sink into the red zones of predictive models, the true solution lies not in more advanced monitoring or sturdier levees, but in rediscovering reverence for geological time—humanity must learn to plan development within ecosystems’ carrying capacity, or risk civilization sinking into the abyss of its own making.
When subsidence is reframed from a “technical problem” to a “civilizational model problem,” nature-based restoration’s value transcends ground elevation—it forces humanity to renegotiate its contract with Earth. Only by relinquishing the arrogance of “dominion over nature” can we discover the wisdom to coexist with geological time.
References：
- https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/central-california-sinking-at-alarming-rates-nasa-uci-study-finds)
- https://ca.water.usgs.gov/projects/central-valley/land-subsidence-monitoring.html
- https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise/sealevelrise-tech-report.html
- https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2023/June/DWR-Releases-Updated-Land-Subsidence-Data
- https://water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management/SGMA-Groundwater-Recharge
- https://www.ecologica.cn/jzy/index.aspx
- https://idp.nature.com/transit?redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41587-023-01769-w&code=df2f2add-0165-4847-8a30-f09102fa2fc8
- https://coast.noaa.gov/data/digitalcoast/pdf/sfbay-restoration.pdf
- https://www.zandmotor.nl/en/
- https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/
- https://water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management/SGMA-Groundwater-Recharge
- https://pupr.jakarta.go.id
- https://www.ecologica.cn/jzy/index.aspx
- https://idp.nature.com/transit?redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41587-023-01769-w&code=df2f2add-0165-4847-8a30-f09102fa2fc8
- https://coast.noaa.gov/data/digitalcoast/pdf/sfbay-restoration.pdf
- https://www.zandmotor.nl/en/
Text Editor: Jas
Image Editor: SQM
Ralated:
Billionaires Focusing on Greenland Island
China Finally Enacts National Legislation to Protect Ancient Trees
Why North China has experienced frequent rainstorms in recent years
China Finally Enacts National Legislation to Protect Ancient Trees
【能源与环境】 | Energy & Environment
By Windswept Wheatfields, Jointing.Media, in Shanghai, 2025-03-08
Crochet Art by Julia
At age 23, Julia Hill lived atop a 1,500-year-old redwood tree named “Luna” for 738 days to save it from logging, ultimately forcing a timber company to back down.
In 1997, Pacific Lumber Company planned to clear-cut an ancient redwood forest in California’s Headwaters Forest. Julia, reevaluating her life’s purpose after surviving a car accident, climbed Luna and built a makeshift tree platform. She relied on volunteers to deliver food and collect rainwater, powered her communications with solar panels, and endured extreme weather—from winter storms to scorching summers. Loggers harassed her with helicopter noise, nighttime climbing threats, and even forced her to defend herself with a knife.
By December 1999, Julia struck a deal: Pacific Lumber agreed to permanently protect Luna and a 60-meter buffer zone in exchange for $50,000 from her supporters. After 738 days, she descended. Her protest became a global environmental symbol, inspiring books, documentaries, and even the film Flipped.
Yet tragedy struck when vandals nearly felled Luna in 2000 with a 1.8-meter-deep chainsaw gash. Environmentalists stabilized the tree with steel cables and bark grafts, sparking public outrage that fueled legislative debates.
Reading Julia’s story 25 years later, I’m reminded of Hayao Miyazaki’s heroines—resilient, fearless, and radiant as rainbows. They are “gentle revolutionaries,” confronting the world’s harshness with quiet strength.
Ancient trees often fall victim to human shortsightedness. By the late 1800s, California’s redwood forests had been reduced to 10% of their original expanse, spurring the 1918 founding of Save the Redwoods League and later protections under the Endangered Species Act (1973) and National Forest Management Act (1976).
In China, 5.08 million ancient trees remain—over 40% of the world’s temperate ancients—but only 10,745 are millennia-old. A 2,600-year-old nanmu tree illegally cut in Guizhou (2022) epitomizes ecological and cultural loss.
Hayao Miyazaki’s animated works consistently critique industrial civilization’s destruction of ecology. Heroines like Nausicaä from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and San from Princess Mononoke reject violent confrontation, instead forging connections through empathy. Julia Hill, writing diaries and giving media interviews from her treetop perch, transformed protest into public narrative; Nausicaä, standing bodily against the rage of the Ohm swarm—both used “vulnerability” to dismantle the rigidity of power structures.
Geologists mark humanity’s dominance over Earth with the term “Anthropocene,” while the growth rings of ancient trees record climate shifts, the rise and fall of civilizations, and human awakening. The “Guardians of Ancient Trees” now write the possibilities of a “Symbiocene” through concrete action, demonstrating the symbiotic wisdom between humans and nature.
Zhao Sikong, a forest ranger in Guangyuan City, has devoted 28 years to safeguarding the millennium-old “Wu Family Cypress” in Tianzhao Mountain. He pioneered a unique tree-care method inspired by traditional Chinese medicine’s “observation, listening, inquiry, and palpation” diagnostic approach, assessing tree health through leaf patterns and bark aroma.
His innovative conservation techniques include reinforcing trunks with carbon fiber “vests,” performing “minimally invasive surgery” to remove decay, and reviving 2,478 endangered ancient cypresses. Applying TCM’s holistic philosophy, he treats trees as living organisms with vital energy flow—a perspective echoing Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of the body, where perception precedes analysis, and empathy guides action.
As a civilian forest chief in Xiangtan County, Zhao Zijun has dedicated himself to protecting a 305-year-old camphor tree without compensation. Even during National Day holidays, he forgoes rest to conduct daily patrols, clean the surrounding environment, and prevent human damage. His actions have inspired villagers to join conservation efforts, fostering a community spirit of “collective stewardship and shared benefits.”
After retirement, Cao Yunquan surveyed over 350 ancient trees in Nantong, compiling the Nantong Ancient and Notable Trees compendium to promote the restoration of endangered specimens. Traveling on foot and by bicycle to remote locations, he applied agricultural techniques to improve tree habitats—remediating soil, controlling pests, and even developing a new cotton cultivar “Tongjian No.1″ to bridge ecological preservation and farming. His vigorous advocacy saved a 1,500-year-old “Nantong Tree King” ginkgo from fatal trunk fissures, earning him the title of the city’s “foremost civilian tree guardian.”
Guangzhou’s “Plant Doctor” Bi Keke successfully revived over 20 ancient trees toppled by Typhoon Meranti in Xiamen, including a 4,000-year-old giant cypress. She developed customized “one-tree-one-solution” conservation plans and established a digital management platform. Pioneering biological pest control with the “using insects to combat insects” technique, she reduced pesticide use while developing 12 species of natural predator insects now deployed across Guangzhou’s parks. Her expertise contributed to the Tibet Giant Cypress Conservation Project, helping establish the World Cypress King Garden scenic area to promote ecotourism of endangered species.
Wang Kang, Director of the National Botanical Garden’s Science Education Center, has dedicated 27 years to ancient tree conservation. He created China’s first archival system for ancient trees in botanical gardens and spearheaded the national census of notable trees that informed the Regulations on Ancient and Notable Tree Protection. Advocating “long-term monitoring and perpetual care,” he warns against the risks of transplanting ancient trees during urbanization. His research on extracting ecological value from ancient tree genetics—such as cold-resistant genes from northern elms—could revolutionize frost-resistant urban greening projects.
In Zhejiang’s Shaoxing, 78,000 ancient Torreya trees have become “prosperity trees,” generating ¥2.66 billion in 2024. This proves conservation and development can coexist—ancient trees aren’t obstacles to progress, but rather the root system of a sustainable economy. Their knotted trunks now bear witness to an economic model where cultural heritage and green GDP intertwine like symbiotic mycorrhizal networks.
Legally, China’s journey mirrors this shift. The Regulations on the Protection of Ancient and Famous Trees, effective March 15, 2025, mandates decadal surveys, upgrading localized rules into national law. Meanwhile, Shaoxing’s 78,000 ancient torreya trees now yield $2.66 billion annually, proving conservation and prosperity can coexist.
A 2,300-year-old cypress in Sichuan’s Jiange has witnessed empires rise and fall. Humanity’s 300-year industrial spree now threatens civilizations built over millennia. As philosopher Alfred North Whitehead observed: “The advancement of civilization lies in the continual expansion of the range of thingswe ought not to destroy.” Protecting ancients isn’t just ecology—it’s safeguarding the roots of our shared future.
In 2001, the National Greening Commission conducted China’s first comprehensive census of ancient and notable trees, systematically documenting these living relics for the first time. The 2019 Forestry Law broke new ground by incorporating specific provisions for ancient tree protection. On January 27 this year, a watershed moment arrived as the State Council promulgated the Regulations on the Protection of Ancient and Notable Trees, set to take effect on March 15, 2025. The legislation mandates decennial national surveys, marking the evolution from regional ordinances (already adopted by 17 provinces) to unified national statutes—China’s first legal framework specifically designed to safeguard its arboreal heritage.
This legislative milestone embodies both sober reckoning with past ecological damage and aspirational vision for harmonious coexistence. Consider the 2,300-year-old cypress in Sichuan’s Jiange County: this silent witness to the rise and fall of Qin and Han dynasties has endured millennia, while humanity’s industrial revolution spans a mere three centuries. Our civilization, having exploited nature in the name of “progress,” now faces the paradoxical truth that destroying our natural foundations ultimately undermines our own survival. Protecting ancient trees transcends environmental duty—it represents nothing less than safeguarding the very roots of human continuity.
（DeepSeek also contributed to this article)
Edited by Jas
Ralated:
The Legacy of Luna
Is Climate Change Really Caused by Human Activity？
Why North China has experienced frequent rainstorms in recent years
JM Review | On ‘315’: The Ethical Dilemmas of China’s Internet Enterprises
【企业社会责任与可持续发展】| CSR & Sustainability
By Jointing.Media, in Hangzhou, 2025-03-15
Many internet companies claim to uphold “user-first” as a core value, yet in practice, they frequently sacrifice user rights for short-term gains. For instance, certain social platforms tolerate the spread of misinformation and vulgar content to attract users and boost traffic, even deploying algorithms to keep users addicted, squandering their time and energy. E-commerce platforms turn a blind eye to merchants’ false advertising and counterfeit products—or even collude with them—to deceive consumers and drive sales. Financial technology firms, under the banner of innovation, peddle high-risk, high-return investment products to lure users, only to evade responsibility when risks materialize, leaving investors in financial ruin. Such practices, though framed as profit-maximization strategies, ultimately expose a void in corporate values. These companies chant “user-first” as a slogan but operate by a “profit-first” playbook. This misalignment of values leads enterprises astray, harming not only users but also their own reputation and long-term interests.
As pillars of commercial civilization, corporate value systems are rooted in cultural DNA and the founder’s ethical blueprint. Corporate culture—an organization’s “spiritual code”—not only dictates strategic choices and behavioral norms but also bears the social responsibility of guiding technological ethics in the digital age. A founder’s values, serving as the moral compass for growth, shape strategic decisions, institutional frameworks, and cultural evolution, ultimately forging a value system reflective of its era.
AI technology is reshaping the foundational logic of information production and dissemination. Some companies exploit algorithmic black boxes to cultivate ecosystems of misinformation, flooding platforms with AI-generated fake reviews and recommendations to construct profit-driven virtual realities. This technological alienation distorts market mechanisms and erodes the bedrock of trust in the digital era.
Confronting these ethical challenges, China is accelerating its AI governance framework. The Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services, enacted on August 15, 2023, established initial guidelines for AI-generated content. Further, the Labeling Measures for AI-Generated and Synthetic Content, set to take effect on September 1, 2025, mandates explicit labeling of AI-produced materials to curb misinformation.
Corporate malpractice stems from the tension between human nature, profit motives, and accountability. At the intersection of technology and commerce, “ethical tech” has become the litmus test for corporate values. As digital productivity breaches traditional ethical boundaries, corporate decision-making transcends mere commercial rivalry, evolving into a social contract for the digital age. Only by embedding user rights into the DNA of innovation and prioritizing social responsibility in algorithmic design can businesses achieve symbiotic growth of commercial and societal value. This is the historic imperative facing enterprises in the technological revolution—and an indispensable crucible for the maturation of digital civilization.
（DeepSeek also contributed to this article)
Edited by Jas
Ralated:
Planned Obsolescence Isn’t the Only Path to Sustainable Business Growth
Is Climate Change Really Caused by Human Activity？
Carbon Emissions Inequality: The Luxury Consumption of the Rich and Global Climate Change
E-waste Problem Could be Exacerbated by Development of Generative AI
SpaceX Now Valued at $350 Billion Facing Space Debris Problem
JM Review | Planned Obsolescence Isn’t the Only Path to Sustainable Business Growth
【企业社会责任与可持续发展】| CSR & Sustainability
By Tea，Jointing.Media, in Zhuhai, 2024-12-31
Modern products are increasingly short-lived, often failing within just a few years of use. When minor issues arise, consumers are frequently advised to replace rather than repair devices—a trend driven by scarce replacement parts and repair costs that often exceed the price of new purchases. This intentional shortening of product lifespans, coupled with manufacturers discontinuing support for older models, constitutes a deliberate corporate strategy termed planned obsolescence (or “planned汰旧”). By designing products to become technologically outdated, functionally limited, or physically irreparable, companies artificially stimulate demand, boost sales, and fuel short-term economic growth.
Key Characteristics of Planned Obsolescence
Planned obsolescence is an industrial strategy rooted in consumerism, defined by four core practices:
1. Engineered Product Shortevity
Products are deliberately designed with limited lifespans through:
Substandard materials: Use of wear-prone components or fragile parts.
Non-repairable designs: Sealed units (e.g., glued batteries) or components that degrade irreversibly.
2. Forced Technological Redundancy
Older products are rendered obsolete via:
Hardware incompatibility**: New technical specifications (e.g., charging ports, processing standards) that break backward compatibility.
Software manipulation**: Updates that throttle performance (e.g., slowed smartphones) or disable functionality (e.g., non-supported apps).
3. Systematic Repair Barriers
Manufacturers actively hinder maintenance through:
Proprietary restrictions: Specialized tools (e.g., pentalobe screws), unavailable spare parts, or encrypted repair software.
Cost inflation**: Repair pricing strategies that make fixes economically irrational (e.g., replacing a $300 smartphone screen vs. buying a new $400 device).
Physical sabotage: Fragile connectors, adhesives replacing screws, or components prone to planned failure (e.g., printer ink chips).
4. Artificial Demand Generation
Sales cycles are accelerated by:
Functional expiration**: Products programmed to self-disable (e.g., ink cartridges blocking use after preset page counts).
Perceived obsolescence**: Marketing campaigns framing older models as inadequate (e.g., “5G-ready” labels stigmatizing 4G devices).
Planned Obsolescence vs. Sustainable Innovation
The earliest documented case of planned obsolescence traces back to lightbulbs. In 1924, a secret pact known as the Phoebus Cartel was signed in Geneva by global monopolies—including Germany’s Osram, the Netherlands’ Philips, France’s Compagnie des Lampes, and the U.S.’s General Electric. This collusion aimed to artificially shorten bulb lifespansto maximize profits. Pre-cartel bulbs lasted 2,500 hours; post-agreement, they were engineered to fail at 1,000 hours. Violators faced penalties—calculated in Swiss francs—for exceeding lifespan limits.
Modern-Day Planned Obsolescence: Industry Case Studies
This strategy remains pervasive, particularly in tech and consumer electronics:
- Apple (2010s): Phased out iPhone 6s support (e.g., halted sales and reduced repairs), pushing users toward newer models.
- Microsoft (2014): Terminated Windows XP security updates, forcing upgrades to Windows 7/8.
- Canon (ongoing): Discontinued technical support and parts for older camera models to drive new purchases.
- Nokia (early 2010s): Abandoned feature phone lines to accelerate smartphone adoption.
- Dell (ongoing): Obsoleted legacy hardware support to compel enterprise and consumer upgrades.
- Sony (2016): Ceased PlayStation 3 production and support to transition users to PS4.
- Ford (ongoing): Retired older vehicle models while limiting spare parts availability.
- Samsung (ongoing): Reduced repair services for older TVs to promote new technologies.
Beyond Obsolescence: Profitable Alternatives
Many companies thrive without planned obsolescence by prioritizing long-term value:
1. Durability-Driven Design
Tesla: Extends vehicle lifespan via over-the-air software upgrades (e.g., battery optimization, autonomous driving enhancements).
Mercedes-Benz & BMW: Build premium, repairable vehicles with decade-long parts availability, fostering brand loyalty.
2. Service-Centric Innovation
Amazon: Retains customers through expanding services (e.g., Prime, AWS) rather than disposable hardware.
IBM & Cisco: Monetize enterprise solutions via continuous tech support and modular upgrades.
3. Sustainability as Strategy
Patagonia: Designs ultra-durable apparel, offers free repairs, and resells used gear through its Worn Wear program.
Columbia: Focuses on weather-resistant, long-lasting outdoor gear to minimize replacement cycles.
4. Industrial Longevity Models
Caterpillar: Generates recurring revenue through maintenance contracts and legacy equipment support for decades-old machinery.
The Environmental Cost of Planned Obsolescence
Planned obsolescence has drawn widespread criticism for its ethical, economic, and environmental impacts. While it may occasionally spur technological innovation, its negative consequences are profound—generating massive waste, perpetuating unsustainable consumption cycles, and causing irreversible harm to natural resources. Some scholars even argue that planned obsolescence constitutes corporate environmental crime, as it prioritizes short-term profits at the expense of consumer trust and environmental sustainability.
The Case of Smartphones
A study by geologists at the University of Plymouth’s School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences highlights the environmental toll of smartphone production:
Resource extraction: Manufacturing a single iPhone requires mining 10-15 kilograms of ore, including 7 kg of high-grade gold ore, 1 kg of typical copper ore, 750 g of tungsten ore, and 200 g of nickel ore.
Carbon emissions: Producing one phone emits an average of 49.18 kg of CO2 equivalent. Given that a tree absorbs 11.32 kg of CO2 annually, it takes 4.34 trees to offset the carbon emissions of one phone.
Global impact: In 2022, 5.3 billion phones were discarded worldwide, equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of 23 billion trees—enough to circle the Earth 560 times.
The Global E-Waste Crisis
According to the United Nations’ Global E-Waste Monitor 2020:
E-waste generation: In 2019, the world generated **53.6 million metric tons of e-waste, averaging 7.3 kg per person. Since 2014, global e-waste has grown by 9.2 million tons and is projected to reach 74.7 million tons by 2030—nearly doubling in just 16 years.
Recycling rates: Less than 20% of e-waste is properly recycled. The remainder is either landfilled or illegally exported to developing countries, where it is processed under unsafe and unregulated conditions, posing severe risks to public health and the environment.
Discarded electronics contain hazardous substances like mercury, lead, and cadmium. When improperly disposed of, these toxins can leach into soil and groundwater, causing widespread contamination and long-term ecological damage.
What Can Be Done?
To abandon the strategy of planned obsolescence, innovative business models are essential. Many startups are exploring the circular economy. For example:
Grover, a German company, offers subscription services for laptops, smartphones, and other tech devices, pricing based on depreciation rates.
Huidu, a green packaging materials company, adopts a rental model, charging monthly fees. Within the normal wear period, customers only pay rent without additional wear costs.
ROEHL, a Chinese subscription-based lifestyle service company, provides subscription-based home appliances, replacing the linear economic model of “resource-manufacture-disposal” with a low-carbon alternative.
The rise of the “sharing economy” in recent years has also spurred business model innovations across various sectors, enabling traditional companies to achieve new growth.
What can consumers do? Fix products when they break to extend their lifespan; purchase well-maintained used items or donate those no longer needed but still functional;Opt for products with long lifespans, robust repair policies, and strong recycling programs; choose products that are guaranteed to last a long time or have a good repair and recycling policy; and look for brands that prioritize durability and offer multi-year warranties on spare parts；Look for companies that prioritize durability and offer multi-year spare parts guarantees.
Remove the firewood from under the stove to stop the water from boiling. Legislation at the national level to stop this practice, which generates a lot of pollution, is also important. In Europe, legislative measures have been taken towards the right to compensation.
For example, all products sold in Spain from 2022 must have a three-year warranty and manufacturers are obliged to guarantee spare parts for 10 years. Apple was fined 25 million euros by the French Consumer Protection Agency for reducing the execution speed of some iPhones through a system update without informing users in advance.
Experts have called for the promotion of “durability labels” to ensure that consumers are fully aware of the lifespan of the products they buy, while urging producers to take responsibility for waste management. Once companies are forced to pay a price for waste, they will work to make their products more reusable.
（DeepSeek also contributed to this article)
References:
- https://zh-cn.renovablesverdes.com/%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%E6%98%AF%E8%AE%A1%E5%88%92%E6%8A%A5%E5%BA%9F/
- https://www.x-mol.com/paper/1509602760881922048/t
- https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/usstock/c/2019-09-28/doc-iicezzrq8906203.shtml
- https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1726999857675593478
Edited by DeepSeek, DeepL
Ralated:
![[Recruiting 2011] Jointing.Media](http://jointings.org/eng/wp-content/themes/news-magazine-theme-640/cropper.php?src=/cn/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/123.png&h=50&w=50&zc=1&q=95)
