With water in short supply all over Taiwan, zone-by-zone water restrictions have been implemented in Miaoli County, Taichung and the northern part of Changhua County. The Fong-Yi Group has responded to the government’s call to save water by launching a water-saving campaign in 104 communities throughout Taiwan. Any household whose water bill for March and April this year shows that it has used less water compared to the same period last year, with a reduction of more than 5 percent, will have the chance to win a luxury cookware set worth nearly NT$10,000.
Taichung faces a serious water shortage, with everyone sharing in the hardship and cutting back on water use. The Fong-Yi Group says that in most cases the biggest household water users are mothers and grandmothers who use it for kitchen and housework purposes, and this is why it decided to offer luxury cookware sets as the prize.
Residents have responded enthusiastically to the water-saving publicity in communities under the Fong-Yi banner by exchanging ideas and sharing tips about how to save water. For example, you can use water collected from air conditioners to water plants or mop the floor, or water from washing clothes or baths and showers to flush the toilet. Rice-washing water can be used to do the washing-up, thus reducing pollution as well as saving water. You can also sweep the floor instead of mopping it or mop the floor less frequently.
Photo courtesy of the Fong-Yi Group 照片:豐邑機構提供
A female Fong-Yi community resident surnamed Tsai says that since the water restrictions started in Taichung on April 6, with the water supply restricted to only five days in the week, she has been telling her children not to spend more than five minutes in the shower and to collect the shower water to flush the toilet. She has also been placing a small washbowl in the hand basin to collect water, which can be used to water the plants. Manager Gan of the Silaideng Community has been reminding people not to use running water to defrost food, but to put it on a metal pot instead, because it conducts heat better, which speeds up the defrosting. Gan advises people not to wash clothes until there are enough to fill the washing machine up to about 80 percent full, which allows for the most efficient use of water and electricity.
The Fong-Yi Group says that by combining many people’s efforts to save water, if it can get 100 communities to save water, with each household saving 5 percent — or about 14 liters of water — it can achieve total savings of 670,000 liters of water per day, a significant amount. Households that have used at least 5 percent less water in March and April compared to the same period last year can take a photograph of their water bills and upload it to the Fong-Yi Group’s Facebook page before June 25, making them eligible to join a draw to win a luxury cookware set. The Fong-Yi Group hopes this water-saving competition will achieve big results for a small outlay by getting the public to understand water-saving techniques. In this way, they can put into practice the idea of saving water to love the Earth while also guarding their wallets, and to contribute to fighting the current drought.
(Translated by Julian Clegg, Taipei Times)
Photo courtesy of the Fong-Yi Group 照片:豐邑機構提供
全台水情吃緊,台中、苗栗及北彰已實施分區供水,豐邑機構響應政府節水,在全台一百零四個社區發起省水大作戰,只要家庭用水今年三至四月水單與去年同期用水量比較,節省超過百分之五者,即可有機會抽中價值近萬元的豪華鍋具組。
台灣水情嚴峻,全民共體時艱節水,豐邑機構表示,家庭用水的大宗多是婆婆媽媽的廚房與家事用水,所以特別祭出豪華鍋具當省水比賽獎勵。
豐邑旗下社區省水宣導,居民反應熱烈,互相意見交流,分享節水小撇步,如除濕機收集的水,可以用來澆花或擦地板;洗衣水、洗澡水可用來沖馬桶;洗米水可以拿來洗碗盤,不但省水還可以減少汙染;還有以掃地代替拖地,減少拖地次數……等等。
家住豐邑社區的蔡女士說,台中四月六日開始限水,供五停二,會要求家裡小孩限時五分鐘洗完澡,淋浴的水收集起來沖馬桶,洗手台放個小臉盆接水,可以用來澆花。喜來登社區甘經理也提醒,解凍食物別用水沖,放在金屬鍋具上,溫度傳導快,能加速解凍;衣服累積到洗衣機八分滿再洗,最省水省電。
豐邑機構強調,集合眾人的力量節水,如果可以推動一百個社區省水,如果每戶都可以省下百分之五、約十四公升水量的話,每日總計就可省下六十七萬公升的水,相當可觀,因此只要家庭用水今年水單與去年同期用水量比較,節省超過百分之五者,將水單收據於六月二十五日前拍照上傳豐邑豐生活臉書粉絲專頁,就有機會抽豪華鍋具組。豐邑機構期盼透過這次省水比賽,拋磚引玉來讓民眾了解省水小技巧,落實節水愛地球,並守住荷包,共同為台灣乾旱盡份心力。
(自由時報)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
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