Proponents of economic development often say that pollution is a necessary evil. But how much evil is actually necessary and is it worth bearing this evil in exchange for the wealth gained?
Before Britain instituted its Alkali Act in 1863, soap manufacturers discharged hydrochloric acid waste gases directly into the air. This had the side effect of acidifying the surrounding lands, making agriculture impossible. This certainly cannot be a necessary evil.
In December 1952, London experienced a serious air pollution incident that came to be known as the "Great Smog." Afterwards it was calculated that about 12,000 people died as a result of the pollution. In the hardest hit areas, visibility was reduced to zero. Similar incidents also occurred in the 1940s and 1950s in New York and Pittsburgh in the US and in Belgium.
If these were all necessary evils, then European countries and the US would be prepared to tolerate these kinds of situations being repeated. Clearly, the high levels of pollution in the past were not necessary evils. Development causes far greater damage to society than the good that results from increased tax revenues. Countries that experienced ecological disasters in the past generally have stricter environmental standards than Taiwan. Yet they are still searching for ways to reduce pollution because their current levels of contamination are deemeed unacceptable.
Most people understand that reducing pollution will increase costs for manufacturers, but they rarely consider why unused raw materials and unusable byproducts of the manufacturing process become waste. Quite simply, in the absence of legal prohibition, the cheapest and easiest method of dealing with waste materials is to discard them.
It does not concern manufacturers that these waste materials will pollute the environment and affect plants, animals and humans because they are intent on saving money.
However, at some point this waste material has to be cleaned up, even if those who are responsible for its creation are unwilling to do so. Who should be responsible for this? If the quantity of waste is small, nature may be able to eliminate it by itself. But if the quantity of waste is large, this may take a very long time. In the meantime, those living in the polluted area will have to bear the burden.
The sad fact is that it easy to create waste, but far more difficult to clean it up. And very often, it is impossible to restore an area to its original condition. Isn't it possible for this situation to be avoided? If manufacturers could, by spending the cost of one extra unit, save society thousands of times that cost in future cleanup charges, wouldn't this be worthwhile?
In recent years, Taiwan's economic growth has slowed significantly compared to two or three decades ago. The gap between rich and poor is widening and unemployment is on the rise. The government lacks confidence and, in its fear, it has started to embrace the financial and economic strategies of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in the hope of recreating the past economic "miracle." It also does all it can to remove any obstacles to major development projects with the potential to show quick economic results without trying to gain an understanding of whether such projects will be detrimental or beneficial to the nation.
Will the increase in tax income balance out the social cost of attracting investment? The Statute for Upgrading Industries (
Major development projects have an impact on agricultural, fishery and livestock industries. The losses sustained by these industries and the impact on public health have to be borne by society. If major development projects only benefit enterprises and a small minority of people, should the government continue to promote these projects against all odds?
New York Yankees pitcher Wang Chien-ming (
Taiwan is a small, densely populated country with limited natural resources. We should take a good look at our strengths and weaknesses and put natural resources to their most effective use, rather than trying to use mass production to compete with countries whose land and labor forces are larger than our own. The misuse of resources now will have a lasting effect on future generations. This can only lead to a situation where the nation suffers in the long run.
Gloria Hsu is a member of the Environmental Impact Review Committee of the Environmental Protection Administration and chairwoman of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union.
Translated by Marc Langer and Lin Ya-ti
Taiwan’s fall would be “a disaster for American interests,” US President Donald Trump’s nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy Elbridge Colby said at his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday last week, as he warned of the “dramatic deterioration of military balance” in the western Pacific. The Republic of China (Taiwan) is indeed facing a unique and acute threat from the Chinese Communist Party’s rising military adventurism, which is why Taiwan has been bolstering its defenses. As US Senator Tom Cotton rightly pointed out in the same hearing, “[although] Taiwan’s defense spending is still inadequate ... [it] has been trending upwards
Small and medium enterprises make up the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, yet large corporations such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) play a crucial role in shaping its industrial structure, economic development and global standing. The company reported a record net profit of NT$374.68 billion (US$11.41 billion) for the fourth quarter last year, a 57 percent year-on-year increase, with revenue reaching NT$868.46 billion, a 39 percent increase. Taiwan’s GDP last year was about NT$24.62 trillion, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, meaning TSMC’s quarterly revenue alone accounted for about 3.5 percent of Taiwan’s GDP last year, with the company’s
There is nothing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) could do to stop the tsunami-like mass recall campaign. KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) reportedly said the party does not exclude the option of conditionally proposing a no-confidence vote against the premier, which the party later denied. Did an “actuary” like Chu finally come around to thinking it should get tough with the ruling party? The KMT says the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is leading a minority government with only a 40 percent share of the vote. It has said that the DPP is out of touch with the electorate, has proposed a bloated
In an eloquently written piece published on Sunday, French-Taiwanese education and policy consultant Ninon Godefroy presents an interesting take on the Taiwanese character, as viewed from the eyes of an — at least partial — outsider. She muses that the non-assuming and quiet efficiency of a particularly Taiwanese approach to life and work is behind the global success stories of two very different Taiwanese institutions: Din Tai Fung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). Godefroy said that it is this “humble” approach that endears the nation to visitors, over and above any big ticket attractions that other countries may have
RSS