For Peter Morehead, cooking a meal does not require the use of natural gas. Sunlight is good enough.
Morehead, who first came to Taiwan in 1990 from Wisconsin as an exchange student, has been teaching Taiwanese how to cook with what he calls a “solar cooker.”
The solar cooker can be as simple as a small paper box covered in aluminum foil. One can put a black pot in the middle of the box and the sunlight’s reflection off the aluminum foil will create enough heat to cook the food in the pot.
“People should make good use of energy,” he told the Central News Agency during a recent interview. “Never waste energy.”
On cloudy days, Morehead uses what he calls his “rocket broiler” instead. Made of iron cans, the broiler relies on the burning of small branches and twigs that can generate high heat in a short time, and the contraption does not release smoke if handled properly.
In addition to providing tips on how to use energy efficiently, Morehead has also been promoting the concept of urban farming.
On Earth Day in 2008, he taught people how to grow corn or pumpkins in the square outside the National Taiwan Museum in Taipei.
Growing edible plants can both beautify the environment and reduce pollution caused by the transportation of food, the environmentalist said.
Morehead, a space-planning expert, believes that vegetable gardens can be set up between city buildings or on rooftops in Taiwan’s densely populated urban areas.
“There must be space that can be used,” he said in Mandarin.
Morehead began raising public awareness on conserving energy in 2000. Five years ago, he and his wife established a studio to educate the public about leading an environmentally friendly life.
They named the studio “Earth Passengers” to convey the idea that Earth is like a spacecraft circling the sun, with humans along for the ride.
“Humans are not the controllers of the Earth. Instead, they should live in harmony with other living creatures,” Morehead said.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS