拥抱“地球奖”的周兆木

今年4月22日世界地球日，国家环保总局在北京人民大会堂隆重举行“地球奖”颁奖仪式，这是国内第一个环境大奖，专门奖励在环境保护领域做出突出贡献的人。心情激动的周兆木从国家环保总局副局长潘岳手中接过一个沉甸甸的奖杯。

周兆木所以能获“地球奖”，这得从头谈起：

江水怎样变清

浙江省富阳市环保局实施和推行的排污收费“三串连收费法”和“公众有奖举报活动”，这在全国环保界是上了榜的。前者在全国会议上作过介绍，后者由中央电视台与许多媒体专门上富阳拍片采访过。而这两项工作的挑大梁者就是周兆木。

周兆木出身农村，中学毕业后参军，在部队一干18年。他曾转战三个军区，执行过援外任务，先后到过老挝等东南亚国家。其间他5次荣立三等功，被部队评为先进积极分子。1986年转业以后被调入刚刚成立的环保局，不久又被分配筹建“排污收费管理站”。

收费站筹建完成，挂起了排污收费管理站的牌子，但排污费却收不上来，周兆木几经思考，认为收不上费只是个现象，从根本上说这还是对环境保护的认识问题，对排污收费只有从认识上提高了，从制度上有了保证，这项工作才能顺利开展。于是周兆木一再向上级建议，应将排污费的收交与企业的污染治理、项目审批、政策倾斜这三者结合起来。上级采用了这个合理建议，新的收费方法一经颁布，不但排污费收交节节攀升，企业的环保面貌也大为改观。仅1999年至2001年这三年，富阳的排污收费就达4060万元，后来又将其中80%的3200万元返还企业，使富阳全市完成了100多个治污项目的建设。

2001年，富阳市大胆出台了“依靠群众抓举报”的举措，规定谁发现了偷排、漏排、直接污染环境的行为向政府举报就有奖，奖金不菲，当即兑现。这个举报办法公布后，周兆木便组织了24小时轮流值班制度，一旦接到举报，无论是刮风下雨或者道路遥远，全都放下电话就出发、调查、采样、取证、笔录，一丝也不疏忽。富阳的公众有奖举报活动开了全国的先河，6年来光是受理群众举报就达3782起，举报企业4050家（次），查实违法企业1299家（次），兑现举报奖金250万元，这些数字里无不留下了周兆木和同事们勤勉认真的印记。这样一来，企业治污设施运转率达到95%，老百姓夸奖富阳的排污工作，他们说：“一搞有奖举报，富阳的江水都变清了。”

厂长终于露面

1996年开始，周兆木担任富阳市环保局副局长，分管环境管理和环境监理。

富阳市提出“既要金山银山，更要绿水青山”的口号，这让周兆木更受鼓舞。他不管严寒酷暑，不到一年跑遍了全市的角角落落，有的企业甚至一年当中就去了五六次，并对那种排污严重的企业采取强制手段，限期关停。

龙羊山区是富阳有名的偏远山区，但有一家生产卫生纸的造纸厂在这深山中。由于这个厂的污水排放，污染当地的水源，群众意见很大。周兆木对此很焦急，一连在山上颠簸了六趟，还是找不到厂长。有人笑着对周兆木说，民间的规矩是“事不过三”，你们已经来了六趟，心也算尽到了，过段时间再说吧。周兆木笑了，说：“如果有这规矩，那它也得依着环保改。”老周的执著，终于感动了这位造纸厂的厂长，厂长终于露面了。周兆木与厂长长谈，讲道理，提措施，终于说服了他，污水得到了治理。

受降镇一带曾是石棉瓦生产的集中地。废料在公路两侧堆积，不但影响环境，还影响了交通。一次集中行动中，周兆木要求户主将废料搬走，有的户主不但不搬，还动手打了周兆木。直到户主最后自己认错，把废料搬走，周兆木这才放了心。事后，周兆木才得知原来这户主是他的远房亲戚，这时有人说了：“周局长，老规矩是亲帮亲友帮友，我想问你，如果事先晓得他是你的亲戚，你会不会这样坚持？”周兆木说：“晓得是亲戚，我态度还要坚决干脆，亲戚不支持我的工作，让谁来支持呢？”

闻臭直奔现场

周兆木的心总与老百姓的心连在一起，只要一听到环保影响到群众的事，他不管在哪里、在做什么，都会像箭一样冲出去。1999年夏天的一个傍晚，他正准备休息，忽听路人反映桂花西路空气难闻。他心里咯噔一下，立即意识到可能那里的化工厂出了问题，于是马上叫上局里的技术人员赶过去，周兆木也大汗淋漓地一路寻找到黄凉亭附近，才发现这里有家化工厂正在开机生产一种叫“溴化钠”的产品。周兆木一检查，是阀门的垫片坏了，造成泄漏，他马上命令停电关闸。因为处理及时，避免了一次安全重大事故。2001年初正是一年中最冷的季节，深夜12点，公安指挥中心通知春秋北路有一堆乳白色的物体正在散发一股异味，扰得附近的居民无法入睡。周兆木听到这个消息，马上起身同局举报中心的人员一道赶赴现场。原来这是一堆半液体状的化工残渣，足有几百公斤重，气味直刺鼻子！怎么处理？挪远一些在附近草地掩埋，这不是彻底的办法，周兆木说我们辛苦一点，把它直接弄到郊外的垃圾掩埋场去吧。于是敲门借来铁锹箩筐，三个人经过努力，终于埋好了这堆化工残渣。凌晨2点钟回到家，周兆木身上的臭气把睡着的妻子熏醒了，妻子问：“什么东西那么臭啊？”周兆木说：“是我身上的……”后来这臭味足足在家里停留了一个星期。他对家人说：“真是对不起，不过要是我们不臭，春秋北路整条街都要臭了！”一句话，说得全家笑了起来。关于除臭事他确实经历得多了，还是那一年，因为湘溪污染，河水散发着臭气，老百姓连淘米洗菜都发生了问题。连续一个月周兆木带领队伍四处寻找排污口，不想一脚滑倒从坎上滚到了污水中，洗了一个污水澡。不过这一滑污水口却找到了，周兆木非常开心。不久之后他看到夕阳西下的溪水边，那孩子嬉水、妈妈洗菜的情景，周兆木不禁喜上眉梢。

周兆木进入富阳环保系统19年来，无论是当站长、副局长，还是现在退下来当调研员，为了环保宣传他从未放下过手里的笔。这些年他先后在有关人员配合下，制作环保宣传图板200余块，环保宣传小册子1000余册，摘录编辑宣传资料5000余份，并利用业余时间积极为报刊撰写调研报告和新闻报道1000多篇。在富阳，如果要找环保方面的资料马上会有人告诉你说：“找周兆木呀，环保局的周兆木，他是环保方面的百科全书！”

Veteran Environmentalist Wins 2006 Earth Award

By Yang Chengyao

The World Environmental Day on June 5th, 2006 witnessed the State Environmental Protection Administration issue the Earth Award at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Zhou Zhaomu from Fuyang in eastern China's coastal Zhejiang Province accepted the trophy from Pan Yue, deputy director of the SEPA.

Zhou Zhaomu now is a researcher of the Fuyang Environmental Protection Administration after 19-year active participation in local environmental protection projects.He began to work for the administration in 1986 shortly after his 18 years service in the army had come to an end.

Fuyang is well known in the nation's environmental protection circle for adopting two pioneering effective measures. One is an effective solution to the problem of collecting sewage charge and the other is a public report and reward system.

Shortly after his discharge from the army, Zhou worked at the sewage charge collection office under the Fuyang Environmental Protection Administration. He found it hard to collect the fee from factories that emitted effluents. To solve the dilemma, Zhou suggested that the collection be linked with enterprises?anti-pollution measurements, government approval and preferential policy. The suggestion was adopted. The businesses began to pay the fee and adopt measures to cut down pollution. From 1999 to 2001, 40.6 million yuan was collected and environment was greatly improved. Later, 32 million was refunded to enterprises for implementing more than 100 anti-pollution projects.

In 2001, the city adopted another bold policy: the public report and reward system. Zhou organized a 24/7 system to answer tip-off calls. Since the adoption of the policy, the administration has received 3,782 telephone reports, investigated the 4,050 enterprises involved, punished enterprises for 1,299 illegal effluent discharges, and issued rewards to responsible residents in the amount of 2.5 million yuan. These measures have effectively minimized the pollution discharge.

Zhou Zhaomu is more than good at formulating and implementing anti-pollution measures. He is a practical go-go doer. In 1996, he was promoted to be deputy director of the Fuyang Environmental Protection Administration and was put in charge of environment supervision and management. He visited every corner of the city and shut down some enterprises that were not up to the anti-pollution standards.

A toilet tissue plant located in deep mountains discharged a large quantity of effluents into the local water sources. Zhou visited the facility six times before the director agreed to see him. After a persuasive face-to-face talk, the director consented to adopt measures to minimize pollutant discharges.

A great number of asbestos shingle manufacturers have their production facilities around Shouxiang Town. In the earlier days, the manufacturers directly dumped waste materials onto roadsides, which not only polluted the environment but also blocked traffic to varying degrees. The administration finally clamped down on the dumping and violating manufacturers were asked to remove the dumped wastes. One manufacturer refused to comply, and the angry director even attacked Zhou physically. Zhou did not budge an inch. The director finally apologized and had the wastes removed.

One summer night in 1999, Zhou received an emergency call that a pungent odor was emitting somewhere on Osmanthus West Street in the city. Zhou immediately realized that something was wrong with a chemical plant nearby. He called up an environmental protection technician and they rushed to the scene. It was found that the factory was producing sodium bromide and a faulty gasket in a valve gave rise to the leak. He instantly ordered the factory to shut down the production and a dangerous accident was killed off in time.

One winter night in 2001, he received an emergency call from police that a heap of whitish substance emitting a terrible smell was found in a city street and residents nearby were complaining. He rushed to the spot with two staff members on duty at the emergency center. It turned out that the dumped substance was chemical waste and it weighed several hundred kilograms. The first idea was to bury the waste material on the spot, but it could lead to trouble later. So Zhou and his colleagues decided to move the chemical waste directly to the landfill site in the suburb. The three labored two hours and cleaned the pollution. When Zhou finally came back home, his wife was awakened by the stench reeking from Zhou. The disgusting odor clung to the house for a week before vanishing totally.

(Translated by David)