Wed, Dec 31, 2014 page8

• Hopes of ‘green’ nation derailing

  • By Wang Min-ling 王敏玲
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  Late last month, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) announced that it would post an EPA-applied index for PM2.5, or fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers, online, giving air quality test assessments together with advisories against poor air quality.

  People living in central and southern Taiwan are frequently exposed to high levels of carcinogenic air pollution and the authorities have no idea what to do about it.

  While the public has little control over atmospheric conditions, can government officials not come up with some effective measures?

  Studies have shown that toxic dioxins, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can attach themselves to fine particulate matter and enter people’s lungs and blood vessels.

  Residents in central and southern Taiwan are exposed to these toxins, and all the government does is have the EPA issue advisories that people with respiratory problems should avoid engaging in vigorous physical activity outdoors.

  So, what should these people do come winter when the air quality drops? Hibernate? What exactly are the government agencies concerned with pollution — the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Bureau and Bureau of Energy — doing?

  Last month, when the air quality was particularly bad, Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan organized flag-raising ceremonies on school campuses, using flags that looked as if they had been ravaged by pollution, to draw attention to the issue.

  The message was that students should cut down on outdoor activities.

  Some schools felt that this would help protect students’ health and promote environmental consciousness, and reacted positively to the idea.

  However, others were concerned about whether they had enough space to accommodate indoor activities, and were worried that the flag-raising activity would cause alarm among students.

  While unsurprised by the latter reaction, I also feel that alarm is an appropriate response to the pollution problem in central and southern Taiwan, which is getting worse on a daily basis.

  Two years ago I wrote an article entitled “Asking Santa for a Sack of Clean Air.” I am still waiting for that particular present. Who knows when it will come.

  The only thing I saw were media reports of the iSee Taiwan Foundation president, during a Christmas lighting ceremony, lamenting that no sponsors had stepped forward to support the Taipei 101 fireworks display.

  Feeling the need to do something good for Taiwan, the foundation decided to sponsor the New Year fireworks display so that it would last 216 seconds.

  Is there not a better way to bring the world’s attention to Taiwan?

  Even though pollution levels in the north are not as bad as in southern or central areas, is making the air quality worse during the time of year when it is most concerning, and thereby contributing to people’s health problems, really in the public interest?

  One has to ask, behind this spurt of showy ostentation, and indeed behind the glorious prosperity created from decades of raping the land, just how many poor souls are there waiting in line at clinics around the nation, or seeking help at hospitals?

  Following the Nov. 29 nine-in-one elections, new officials have been sworn in and media reports have focused on the respective territorial gains made by the pan-blue and pan-green camps.

  Actually, the main party in the “green” camp — the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — is not green at all, and it would be more accurate to talk of the tug-of-war between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the DPP.

  Even if there was a green party in government, if the nation continues to build industrial parks and set off fireworks with no regard for the consequences, then the land and the people living on it will never achieve a goal of becoming a green nation.

  The gas pipeline explosions in Greater Kaohsiung on July 31 and Aug. 1 serve as a reminder of the dangers that industrial cities face. On Sept. 16 temperatures in Kaohsiung hit 37.6?C, the highest temperature recorded in decades. The government has also announced that the nation is now in the grip of the worst drought in 10 years.

  I fear that Taiwan faces more serious challenges ahead than those resulting from limited economic growth. The question is: How can the nation escape from the runaway train it is riding.

  Wang Min-ling is deputy secretary-general of Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan.

  Translated by Paul Cooper
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