With the recent spell of hot weather, there has been growing debate over whether to install shade umbrellas along streets or to plant trees. The former can provide immediate shade and reduce the risk of sun exposure, but they are fragile and offer limited protection from the heat. The latter provide natural, sustainable shade while cooling the surrounding environment, improving air quality, helping to prevent floods and supporting urban ecosystems.
However, as the proverb goes: “It takes 10 years to grow a tree,” and street trees often struggle to survive because sidewalks lack sufficient planting space, or become constrained by underground pipelines and concrete.
Former US secretary of energy Steven Chu (朱棣文), a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, has advocated for painting rooftops white or other light colors to reflect sunlight, lower indoor temperatures and mitigate global warming. The US National Center for Atmospheric Research has echoed this view, saying that climate change impacts cities more than rural areas, because dark asphalt roads and rooftops absorb solar heat, creating what is called the urban heat island effect. Thus, the cooling benefits of reflective surfaces are particularly significant during the summer. The Ministry of the Interior and architectural associations could work together to develop policies to promote such measures.
Furthermore, Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies conducted an outdoor experiment in which nine different colors of clothing were exposed to direct sunlight for five minutes. The results indicated that color greatly influences the reflection and absorption of sunlight. White clothing absorbed less heat, with its surface temperature remaining close to the ambient air temperature, while black clothing absorbed heat rapidly, with temperatures rising by more than 10°C. Ranking the colors from most to least effective at keeping cool, the order was white, yellow, gray, red, purple, blue, green, dark green and black. Therefore, Taiwanese should choose their clothing colors carefully in the summer to reduce the need for air conditioning and consider using lighter exterior colors for buildings.
As the effects of global climate change intensify, wildfires have ravaged many countries, resulting in numerous casualties and mass evacuations. Japan, however, experiences scorching summers, but relatively few large-scale forest fires. Surrounded by the sea, the country has comparatively humid air and moist soil, making trees less flammable amid high temperatures. Equally important is that the Japanese prioritize environmental protection. Rather than recklessly exploiting natural resources, they place great emphasis on protecting forests and waterways — all efforts that are worth learning from.
Taiwan experiences an average of about 70 forest fires each year, statistics from the National Fire Agency show. For example, a forest fire in the Shibi (石壁) area of Yunlin County’s Gukeng Township (古坑) in January burned for more than 30 hours and spread across 8 hectares, while a fire in Taichung’s Lishan (梨山) area in 2002 destroyed 127 hectares of state-owned forest. Most forest fires are caused by human activities, such as burning joss paper or agricultural waste. Taiwan must strengthen environmental education, including efforts to reduce waste accumulation and the risk of spontaneous fires at garbage dumps.
As warming trends continue — with forecasts indicating that next year could be even hotter — the entire nation must mobilize to protect the environment. If we cannot protect our homeland, even national assets such as the semiconductor industry would be nothing more than a distant rainbow.
Lin Ji-shing is a university professor.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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