Wednesday, 21 June

Today was my first day back in San Francisco after camping in the Redwood Forest and visiting the wine country of Napa Valley. I have to admit that it definitely feels good to be back in the city again. And what a city—a city that was able to rebuild itself after the earthquake that occurred in 1906. There are so many beautiful old buildings—many siting on top of big hills, offering great views of the city, the ocean, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

My hotel is near downtown, in the Mission District, one of the oldest parts of the city. Many of the people living here are from Mexico or Central America. This district used to be a poor area of town, but is now a centre for art, music, and food. In fact, an art movement called the “Mission School” started here. It’s influenced by graffiti art and comic art. I walked around looking at the street art for a few hours. It was quite modern and lively. Afterwards, I ate some delicious Mexican-Chinese noodles from a food truck. A real mix of cultures here!

In the afternoon, I headed to a local museum that showed the historical changes in California. I learnt that America got California from Mexico in 1848. In the same year, gold was discovered near San Francisco, which started a gold rush. Over 300,000 people came from all over the world to seek their fortune, and San Francisco quickly became a big city. Many Chinese arrived during this period. To earn a living, some opened up shops and restaurants in Chinatown. Many others found jobs on farms, joined the gold rush, or went to build the railway that joined California to the eastern region of the country. The museum did a really good job of showing how America was built by immigrants from different countries and cultures. When these immigrants left their countries, they carried a bit of home in their hearts, and built a new home here.

This evening, I went to Chinatown. There were so many cafés and restaurants to choose from. I selected a Cantonese restaurant that served its food on beautiful china plates. What great food! That’s enough for today. Tomorrow evening, I’m going to a jazz bar in the Richmond Distinct. Can’t wait!

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4 . Borders, departments, or issue areas all represent what systems analysts call system boundaries. System boundaries divide the big, messy, interconnected world into smaller subsystems. This is useful, even necessary. Our minds and our collective governance systems would be stuck if we had to always consider all the connections of everything to everything else. But dividing systems into subsystems can sometimes break a natural cooperativity. For instance, a decarbonizing country will spend money in its energy and transportation sectors and save money in its health system.

Decarbonization could be a win for the whole, but it might be experienced as a bother for particular subsystems.

Donella Meadows, the early systems modeler, wrote that system boundaries are “lines in the mind, not in the world.” And that is actually good news. If departments, and disciplines are just ideas, then there is nothing immovable about them. We can make these borders less obvious and conduct partnerships across them. We can even redraw them to include more of what matters in a single project or investment. That’s the premise of multisolving — using one investment of time or effort to achieve several goals at once.

For instance, Warm Up New Zealand (WUNZ) upgraded the energy efficiency of residential buildings and provided jobs in the building sector after a financial downturn. The project resulted in better health for residents, as well. That translated into health systems savings. Taken together, a 2011 study estimated that across all these benefits, the project saved $3.90 for every $1 invested.

Multisolving seems possible everywhere and like an obvious choice. Yet, it is very much the exception, not the rule. Why is multisolving still so rare when it has the power to boost progress on some of the most urgent issues we face?

Unfamiliarity stands in the way, as does an often-unexamined assumption that making issues smaller makes them easier to address. We often hear the viewpoint, “I already work on poverty (or climate, etc.) and that’s hard enough. Why should I add biodiversity or pollution to the mix?” Fundraising for crossing borders can be a struggle too. Funders want the “visible results” shown, but they don’t always see crossing borders as an essential part of achieving those results.

It is easy to devalue and underemphasize connection-building. After all, it can be delicate and not always visible. But to realize goals in today’s world, from equitable policies and low-carbon facilities to values like cooperation and fairness, we do need deep shifts, and we need them soon. And facilitating the flow of ideas back and forth across borders is one way to speed change.

Old Lily and her husband Jim would go to a local park with their lively and cheerful dog, Bruno. The dog loved going there to play Frisbee(飞盘).

One summer month, the couple noticed a sad little boy appeared seemingly out of nowhere each dusk to sit at the same spot in the park. The boy wore an oversized hat that always covered his face. He always seemed quiet and sad. And he would appear just before dusk, sitting for some time. As it got totally dark, an old lady would come for him, after which they’d leave the park together.

After noticing the boy the seventh time, Lily's heart went out to him. “I wonder what his story is,” Lily said that dusk, when watching that old lady lead the boy away again. The next day, she secretly approached the boy and recognized him. She turned back and told Jim, “It’s the boy always playing Frisbee with his father every day months ago. He got scared when Bruno tried to catch his Frisbee.” “Oh, that kid. He was so scared that Bruno was running towards him,” Jim laughed. “I wonder why he no longer plays with his father,” Lily added.

The following day in the park, she walked to the boy and the old lady who often led him away. The boy recognized Lily and looked around for her dog. “It's okay. Bruno isn't with me today,” she said. Then she asked the old lady why the boy was always sitting sad and lonely.

“I’m his grandma,” the lady replied. “His parents died in an accident. His name is Roy.” “He used to be so happy, playing Frisbee with his father on that spot every dusk,” Lily said, feeling sorry for him. The next day before dusk, Lily headed to the park with some pies and her dog, wishing to entertain and comfort Roy by the food and especially her cheerful dog.

Before long, she reached the park.

9 . China’s first deep-sea floating wind power platform, which is expected to be put into operation by the end of May, marks significant progress in China’s key technological advancement in deep-sea floating wind power, industry experts said.

Offshore construction of China’s first deep-sea floating wind power platform has been completed and ready _____________________, after the 5-kilometer underwater cable was successfully laid on Saturday, said its operator China National Offshore Oil Corp.

Finding happiness in life

When John walked into the dining room in the morning, his wife Jenny and his two children, Kevin and Sophie, were sitting at the table. The atmosphere was frosty as John sat down. Sophie, who was only five years old, gave her father a weak smile. Kevin, his teenage son, didn’t look up from his food. Jenny looked at him silently with her arms folded across her chest.

“OK,” John began, “I’m sorry. I know I let everyone down yesterday.”

Kevin looked accusingly at his father. “You missed my music performance at school again! You’ve never come to see me do anything,” he said angrily.

Jenny placed a hand on John’s shoulder. “That’s true! John, you always miss family activities. The last time we had a family outing was five months ago! And I’m exhausted from all the housework.”

As he drank his coffee, John reflected on his life. He had so much to be thankful for: a successful business, a harmonious family and a lovely home. In fact, he had everything he had ever wanted, but he knew something was wrong. He had always believed that with hard work, he could make his family happy. But he realized he was failing. He was spending more time at work and less time at home. He was working in the office until late in the evening and even during weekends. When at home, he was talking on the phone with his clients or sitting in front of the computer reading or writing emails. He was neglecting his family. He hadn’t taken his wife to a nice restaurant for months. Kevin was passionate about music, but John couldn’t remember the last time he saw Kevin perform at a school concert. Sophie was growing up so fast and John had even missed her last birthday party. John realized he had become an absent husband and an absent father.