It’s not every day that trash talking is encouraged, but the National Geographic Channel and local firm Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development should be applauded for their efforts to make trash speak out about environmental protection.
Both companies have made it their mission to promote conservation, recycling and sustainable life technology to protect Earth and all the species that call this planet home, and have developed a reputation for exhibits and events that are eye-catching, fun and thought-provoking, without being too preachy.
The Miniwiz-designed boat ForEver set sail on Wednesday for a voyage around Taiwan to mark the UN-designated World Oceans Day. For an island nation, Taiwan far too often appears insular, ignoring the impact it is having on the seas that surround it — and the oceans in general — in favor of everything from development projects that pollute to a fisheries industry that is among those decimating the world’s bluefin tuna population. So anything that can draw attention to the need to preserve the oceans should be encouraged.
The theme for this year’s World Oceans Day was “greening the future” and the wind and solar-powered trimaran designed by Miniwiz certainly got that message across. Miniwiz won a competition sponsored by the National Geographic Channel in Taiwan for the most innovative boat built from recycled materials. ForEver is made out of 804 plastic bricks created from recycled plastic bottles and sails made from recycled advertising banners.
Miniwiz had already made a name for itself, both at home and abroad, by building the EcoARK Pavilion for the Taipei International Flora Expo, created from 1.5 million plastic bottles turned into “polli-bricks” and lit by solar-powered LED lighting systems.
Modern societies produce vast quantities of trash every day and much of today’s technology is designed with built-in obsolescence. However, a disposable lifestyle is not sustainable, not to mention unhealthy to humans, flora, fauna and the Earth itself — as evidenced by everything from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to animals poisoned by chemical residues or choked to death on plastic rings and bags and the mounting health problems in developing countries where so many chemical-laden consumer electronics and appliances are sent for recycling.
Those who saw the National Geographic--sponsored show of Chris Jordan’s Running the Numbers photographs at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial plaza in April 2008 could not help but be moved by the terrible beauty of his work and the terrible truth it conveyed about modern life. The abstract photographs were wonderful to look at, until the viewer goes close enough to read the details about their source — cellphones, paper bags, plastic bottles, cigarette packs, plastic cups, Barbie dolls and more — and how many are consumed or thrown away every day or, in some cases, hour or minute in the US and Taiwan.
All too often it seems that Taiwanese have embraced the “shop till you drop” lifestyle, while Taiwanese companies are at the forefront of manufacturing much of today’s disposal consumer technology. However, Taiwan has also been among the leading nations in efforts to reduce the daily accumulation of garbage through its recycling programs, bag-fee based garbage collection system, plastic shopping bag ban and the Environmental Protection Administration’s latest effort — the “own cup” policy for beverage shops and convenience stores.
That’s why it is so satisfying to see people like Arthur Huang (黃謙智) and his team of creative thinkers and engineers at Miniwiz succeed in their efforts to try and create a new world out of the detritus of the present one. And kudos to National Geographic for continuing to bring the world around us into our homes — and reminding us that we really all share just one home — Earth.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath