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.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS