The practice of ecological principles not only helps to improve living standards, but also to support sustainable development. The quick and extensive communication of ecological knowledge has made concurrent development and fast distribution of new ecological concepts and technologies possible. For similar ecological problems occurring in different regions or countries, however, a simple ecological practice might have totally different consequences. Therefore, it is prudent to compare the US and China in exploring issues relating to the ecological practices. Any ecological issue can not be simply resolved by the application of a developed concept or technology, since it is inevitably interwoven with other issues. Chain reactions might be induced by a single application and cause unforeseen consequences to other related systems, although the intention for the application is to improve the targeted system. Given the social, cultural, and economic differences between the US and China, the induced chain reactions might be substantially different. Thus, not only may the modification of the concept, technology, and their application procedure be needed, but increasing public awareness of ecological practices and their potential impacts becomes necessary, too. The purpose of this symposium is: (1) to share current knowledge about the chain-reaction effects following the ecological practices in different ecological domains for both the US and China and discuss innovative approaches for preventing potential negative effects; and (2) to demonstrate how public awareness plays a different role in the US and China and discuss possible solutions for increasing public awareness for better ecological practices and acceptance.