The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday announced a campaign to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint — offering prizes including new cars in return for signing a pledge that includes taking public transportation.
Until the end of the year, anyone can participate online by signing the EPA’s “10 no-regret promises to reduce carbon emissions,” filling out a carbon footprint self-evaluation form, or sharing tips on cutting one’s carbon footprint.
Participants will be eligible to win prizes including a Toyota Yaris or Toyota Prius in drawings.
In addition to the drawings, a panel of judges will select the best carbon reduction tips submitted by the public and give the winners 27-speed bicycles.
“The EPA will host prize drawings all year, picking winners in June, August, October and December ... Prizes include 35 folding bicycles, DVD players, three Toyota Yarises and a Toyota Prius, as well as 5,400 gift certificates,” EPA Minister Steven Shen (沈世宏) said.
But driving contradicts the EPA’s “10 promises,” one of which is to take public transportation.
Asked whether it was contradictory to offer cars as a reward for participating in the campaign, Shen said: “We should consider that [the prize winner] will own the car, but will not necessarily use it every day. If a person owns a car, it can boost the economy ... While they can take public transportation as much as possible, they can also drive the car whenever necessary.”
The 10 promises were unveiled by the EPA last June and include keeping air conditioning at a reasonable temperature, unplugging electronics when not using them, purchasing household goods that are certified as energy-efficient, not driving at least one day a week and riding a bike instead.
Shen said that while the EPA had the goal of getting people to stop driving, “people still yearn to own cars, so we are offering a hybrid car and another fuel-efficient model as grand prizes to encourage people to cut emissions.”
Although 420,000 people have signed the EPA’s pledge since June, when asked how big of a cut in emissions the EPA hoped to achieve through the campaign Shen said: “The result of this will need to be evaluated over time. We will not know the actual emission reductions until the event is over.”
To learn more about the campaign, visit ecolife.epa.gov.tw/default.aspx.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS