In the early 1990s, Liao Xiaoyi saw the important role played by NGOs in environmental protection in the United States, but she also found problems with the American lifestyle. “During the winter months, the AC temperature in malls and department stores was so high that people had to wear summer clothes, while during the summer months, it was so cold indoors that people had to take thick clothes with them. The weather in the state of California is sunny, but there was a law against airing clothes within your own courtyard, so that people have to use a drying machine; otherwise they would be fined USD 50. I believe our earth cannot sustain this kind of wasteful lifestyle.”