Last Thursday, the Executive Yuan gave a green light to expanding the ban on free plastic bags, as of next year. To further reduce the use of plastic bags, starting Jan. 1, the ban will prevent another 80,000 more stores from offering free plastic shopping bags to customers. This increases the categories of stores involved from seven to 14, the new categories being pharmacies, medical appliances stores, 3C retailers, book/stationery stores, laundries, beverage stores, and bakeries. The aim is to further reduce plastic bag use by 1.5 billion per year.
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) implemented the policy of reducing plastic bag use in 2002 and, since then, certain establishments such as government agencies, private schools, department stores, shopping malls, hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and fast-food restaurant chains have been prohibited from providing customers with free plastic shopping bags.
Also, with effect from Jan. 1, the EPA will ban the manufacture and importation of personal hygiene products containing microbeads, such as cleansing lotions and shower gels, to reduce the amount of harm to the oceans caused by these plastic particles. Their sale will be prohibited in Taiwan from July 1 that year.
Photo: Lu Chun-wei, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者鹿俊為
(Liberty Times, translated by Lin Lee-kai)
行政院上週四拍板,擴大管制購物用塑膠袋之使用,明年元旦起擴大管制範圍,管制對象由現行七大類增加為十四類,新增七大類、八萬家商店,包括藥粧/美粧/藥局、醫療器材行、3C零售、書籍/文具零售、洗衣店、飲料店、西點麵包店。目標是每年再減少十五億個購物用塑膠袋。
環保署九十一年起推動購物用塑膠袋減量工作,已規定公部門、私立學校、百貨公司、量販店、超級市場、便利商店 、連鎖速食店不得免費提供購物用塑膠袋。
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者張嘉明
環保署也將管制洗面乳、沐浴乳等個人清潔用品中添加塑膠微粒,以減少塑膠微粒對於海洋的危害,明年一月一日起不得製造、輸入,七月一日起不得販賣。
(自由時報記者李欣芳、劉力仁)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from