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."
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: A US Air Force KC-135 tanker came less than 1,000 feet of an EVA plane and was warned off by a Taipei air traffic controller, a report said A US aerial refueling aircraft came very close to an EVA Airways jet in the airspace over southern Taiwan, a military aviation news Web site said. A report published by Alert 5 on Tuesday said that automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) data captured by planfinder.net on Wednesday last week showed a US Air Force KC-135 tanker “coming less than 1,000 feet [305m] vertically with EVA Air flight BR225 as both aircraft crossed path south of Taiwan” that morning. The report included an audio recording of a female controller from the Taipei air traffic control center telling the unidentified aircraft that it was
A series of discussions on the legacy of martial law and authoritarianism are to be held at the Taipei International Book Exhibition this month, featuring findings and analysis by the Transitional Justice Commission. The commission and publisher Book Republic organized the series, entitled “Escaping the Nation’s Labyrinth of Memory: What Authoritarian Symbols and Records Can Tell Us,” to help people navigate narratives through textual analysis and comparisons with other nations. The four-day series is to begin on Thursday next week with a discussion between commission Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠), Polish-language translator Lin Wei-yun (林蔚昀), and Polish author and artist Pawel Gorecki comparing
MOVING OUT: A former professor said that rent and early education costs in Taipei are the nation’s highest, which makes it difficult for young people to start families The population of Taipei last year fell to the lowest in 23 years due to high rent, more transportation options and the expansion of northern cities into a single metropolis, academics and city officials said on Monday. Data released this month by the Ministry of the Interior showed that the capital was home to 2,602,418 people last year, down 42,623 from 2019. The decline is second only to 1993, when the population fell by 42,828 people, while Taipei’s population was the lowest it has been since 1997. Taipei saw the biggest drop among the six special municipalities, while Taoyuan led the group in
A legislator yesterday called for authorities to investigate the sale of Chinese-made, Internet-connected karaoke machines containing “propaganda songs.” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said she was approached by a person who had discovered Chinese patriotic songs such as My Motherland (我的祖國) — which is commonly referred to as China’s “second national anthem” — in Chinese-made karaoke devices sold in Taiwan. The machines are popular, as they can connect to the Internet, providing access to thousands of songs, she said. One retailer, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the machines first entered the local market about three years ago, starting with