TWO MEN have been arrested after they were found pouring 25 bottles of pesticide into a river in Bijie, Southwest China's Guizhou province, in a bid to catch fish "more easily". China Youth Daily commented on Wednesday:

Using pesticide to harvest fish from a protected river does not make sense, not least when the river is subject to a seasonal fishing ban. Such folly has not just killed scores of fish and other aquatic life, but also posed a grave threat to residents and livestock in downstream towns and villages.

A lack of respect for nature, or "ecological intelligence" as Harvard psychologist Daniel Goleman has named it, is responsible for the thoughtless fish hunt. China boasts time-honored traditions of upholding sustainable ecological philosophies. Great minds of the past did think alike when it came to advocating exploiting natural resources sustainably and avoiding overfishing or overkilling.

It is a shame that the two men in Bijie resorted to such a barbaric way of fishing at the cost of the local environment and their fellow residents. They, in all likelihood, are devoid of ecological intelligence, which Goleman described as full awareness of the damage inflicted on the environment, excessive consumption, the undesirable ecological effects of some products, and the industrial discharge of hazardous substances.

One is supposed to pay attention to whether one's actions might undermine the environment and violate the principles of sustainable development. Throwing pesticide into a river no doubt kills plenty of fish, big and small, but also other aquatic creatures, dealing a major blow to the local ecological system.

It would be unfair to call all local residents "uncivilized", because the river is under their protection, as shown in the implementation of the seasonal fishing bans. Regretfully two of them did not realize the importance or missed the point of protecting the environment.