China may have a poor environmental profile on the global level, but at the local level Chinese thrift and ingenuity prompt energy conservation and lots of reuse and recycling. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are the norm, and people turn out unused lights conscientiously. Scavenging of reusable materials is visible cottage industry. This outfit buys styrofoam from people who haul it from around the neighborhood.











With autumn comes promotions of new pressure cookers in the big supermarkets. Every display is flanked by stacks of old cookers. (I don’t know whether they buyer gets a rebate for the old pot.)











My favorite autumn ritual is the refurbishing of quilts. The man in the foreground is removing the old covers; the cotton batting is then fed through the contraption – a noisy one – the re-fluffs it. Finally, the batting is sewn into a new cover. (I was impressed that this crew chose to wear masks to protect their lungs from the lint.)