Climate change and the urban heat island effect are on the rise. While the intense heat of summer is unbearable for many, New Taipei City Government has been taking advantage of the phenomenon to promote “edible landscapes.” Already, in 87 separate locations, public buildings and rooftops in community areas have been turned into farming spaces. Not only do they help to beautify the local surroundings but once high rise buildings are covered with plants, it has the added benefit of reducing temperatures by an average of 2-3 degrees celsius, cutting electricity consumption and creating oases in the middle of the urban heat island.
New Taipei City Agriculture Department Commissioner Lee Wen says his department has been promoting the concept of edible landscapes since 2014 and the current 87 public buildings and rooftops in community areas together exceed 10,000 square meters, save approximately 2.63 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 1400 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The edible landscapes also help to reduce the hot and humid feeling during the summer months.
Guantian Borough in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District has been promoting edible landscapes which have won praise from local residents. Borough Warden Wu Sheng-wen says an edible landscape is installed on the roof of the borough’s community center and includes an aquaponics system for raising fish and plants together in addition to traditional cultivated land. Wu says the wide variety of planted fruits and vegetables include wax apples, tomatoes and Japanese daikon radish. The edible landscape encompasses an area of over 100 ping and is open to volunteers and senior citizens to adopt and look after a plot of land on the rooftop farm. Local community workers use the harvested food to provide communal meals for the elderly.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者賴筱桐
(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)
氣候變遷,都市熱島效應發威,夏季酷熱難耐,新北市政府推動「可食地景」,已在八十七處公有建築物及社區屋頂打造都市農場,不但美化環境,植栽覆蓋後的大樓平均降溫攝氏二至三度,節省用電,打造「熱島中的綠洲」,一舉數得。
市府農業局長李玟表示,一○三年起推廣「可食地景」,目前已在公有建築物與社區屋頂建置八十七處,總面積超過一萬平方公尺,每年大約節省兩百六十三萬度的用電量,減碳量約一千四百噸,而且有效舒緩夏季悶熱感。
三重區光田里推廣「可食地景」獲得里民好評,里長吳勝文表示,「可食地景」設在社區活動中心頂樓,有魚菜共生系統及傳統土耕,種植蓮霧、番茄、白蘿蔔及各式蔬菜,面積一百多坪,開放志工及長者認養並配合社區關懷據點,收成食材提供老人共餐使用。
(自由時報記者賴筱桐)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
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