Anti-global warming actions may trigger the butterfly effect: By switching off lights that are not in use, one may help decrease the speed with which polar bears disappear from the earth, Erica Chang (張心威), a finalist in the government-sponsored Carbon Reduction Promotion Poster Design Contest, said yesterday.
Chang's poster was one of 32 that made the final round in the competition hosted by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) aimed at raising public awareness of anti-global warming efforts.
Chang, a graphic designer, said she had entered the competition because she had always been concerned about the topic of global warming and wished to make it known to more people.
"People tend to focus on the short-term and link carbon reduction with products that are more expensive, or to the economic downsizing of markets," Chang said.
"However, humans need to keep in mind that there are more lasting issues than the economy -- the sustainable living of mankind, for one, and the survival of other living creatures on this planet, for another," she said.
In keeping with the name, theme and objective of the poster competition, from its planning to execution, the competition was entirely paperless, said Wu Yi-lin (吳奕霖) the bureau's senior environmental specialist.
"The competition was promoted solely online, contestants sent in their projects via email, and the judges reviewed all of the poster submissions electronically," he said.
The finalists were selected from more than 300 entries, and the age of the contestants ranged from children to adults, he said.
The winner will be selected by a panel of six judges, including 2004 Grammy award winner for Best Record Packaging [album cover], Xiao Qingyang (
"We have not decided whether the winning poster will be printed," Wu said. "However, the copyright will be free to all who wish to use it online."
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
EVA Airways president Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) and other senior executives yesterday bowed in apology over the death of a flight attendant, saying the company has begun improving its health-reporting, review and work coordination mechanisms. “We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees,” Sun said. The flight attendant, a woman surnamed Sun (孫), died on Friday last week of undisclosed causes shortly after returning from a work assignment in Milan, Italy, the airline said. Chinese-language media reported that the woman fell ill working on a Taipei-to-Milan flight on Sept. 22
1.4nm WAFERS: While TSMC is gearing up to expand its overseas production, it would also continue to invest in Taiwan, company chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has applied for permission to construct a new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), which it would use for the production of new high-speed wafers, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council, which supervises three major science parks in Taiwan, confirmed that the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau had received an application on Friday from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to commence work on the new A14 fab. A14 technology, a 1.4 nanometer (nm) process, is designed to drive artificial intelligence transformation by enabling faster computing and greater power
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