Chiayi County is establishing a production and marketing system to help local farmers to grow energy crops during the fallow season as part of government efforts to boost the nation's "green industry" output, the acting director of the county's Bureau of Agriculture said yesterday.
Chen Hung-chi (陳宏基) said the government attaches great importance to the development of biomass energy, while other countries have also been making efforts to seek new energy sources since oil prices began to surge a few years ago.
One of the reliable energy sources that has been found to substitute for fossil fuel is biomass energy, also called bioenergy -- which is energy sourced from plants and plant-derived materials, the official said.
Chen said the Council of Agriculture (COA) began planting sunflowers, soybeans and canola on 2,000 hectares in the southern counties of Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan during the fallow seasons last year on a trial basis.
The planting was part of the COA's plan to develop and produce "environmentally friendly" biodiesel, he added.
Last year, four Chiayi townships joined the bioenergy development program, with the number increasing to five this year, Chen said.
The county government said that there are over 10,000 hectares of farmland left uncultivated in Chiayi every year.
Owners of the land are encouraged to grow energy crops as a strategy that will help not only generate income but also boost the added value of their farms.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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