Forty-five years after it was launched in the US, Earth Day, whose official day is Wednesday, has grown to become a global environmental movement, drawing more than one billion participants around the world each year.
Organized by the non-profit Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA, 台灣環境資訊協會), the theme for this year’s Earth Day Taiwan (台灣地球日) is “It’s Our Turn to Lead.” The five-day series of events will include lectures, exhibitions, outdoor fairs and beach cleanups.
Tomorrow and Sunday, around 50 companies, organic growers, artists and NGOs will participate in a green fair set to take place at the National Taiwan Museum (國立臺灣博物館), 2 Xiangyang Rd, Taipei City (台北市襄陽路2號), and Nanmen Park (南門園區), 1, Nanchang Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市南昌路一段1號).
Photo courtesy of TEIA
There will be a farmers’ market, and an arts and crafts section consisting of businesses working with green designs, innovative ideas and sustainable products. The organizers are encouraging people to bring used or unwanted goods from home to trade with others. Participating enterprises include donation platforms iGoods (愛物資) and Secharity Shop (社企市集).
Speakers will discuss various topics such as clean energy, sustainable fashion and urban greening, while the performance lineup includes the Village Armed Youth (農村武裝青年), Amis songstress Ilid Kaolo (以莉·高露) and Jimmy Wang (王俊傑), a visually impaired Hoklo musician.
In addition, there will be a screening of 14 documentary and animated films. Multi-award winning Gasland examines how natural gas drilling in the US has affected local communities, contaminating their water wells and air. The Last Ocean reveals how the Ross Sea in Antarctica, one of the last places on Earth largely untouched by humans, is now exploited by international fishing fleets. Children of the Earth (大地的孩子 — 小石虎返家之路) raises public awareness of the conservation of protected leopards through the life of two kittens.
Photo courtesy of TEIA
Both film screenings and music performances are set to take place tomorrow and on Sunday at Nanmen Park. Admission is free. There will be another round of similar events taking place from Monday to Wednesday. For more information, go to Earth Day Taiwan’s Web site at www.earthday.org.tw.
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