Environment Protection Administration (EPA) chief Lin Yun-yi (
"We always criticize consumer economies such as that of the US, for wasting resources on raising a child that could support 30 children in India. However, Taiwan has been ranked by the Worldwide Foundation (WWF) of Nature as one of the world's biggest wasters," Lin said, speaking at the opening of a carnival in Taipei at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall dedicated to World Environment Day. Lin said that the squandering of natural resources by Taiwanese would eventually cause a backlash from the international community.
The WWF's 1998 Living Planet Report showed that Taiwan consumed such a large amount of its natural resources, that it was placed second only behind Norway among 151 countries surveyed. The statement, suggesting Taiwanese change their habits to help conserve the environment, was Lin's second on the subject since last Saturday, when he first cited the WWF report.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"In addition to government resolve, improving the environment depends on the will of both industry and the people," Lin said.
The EPA yesterday staged carnival-style activities in conjunction with other Cabinet-level agencies to mark World Environment Day. The idea was to publicize the concept of environmental sustainability in a way that the public could easily understand. However, of those governmental agencies involved, only the head of the EPA showed up for the event.
At a booth set up by the Council of Agriculture (COA), officials presented their model of a "three-step treatment system for hog waste," which is a widespread water pollutant.
"The system has been embraced by more than 90 percent of Taiwan's farmers to treat and reuse such waste water, instead of discharging it into rivers," said Ada Kuo (高惠馨), an official from the pollution control division of the COA's Animal Industry Department.
Agricultural officials also displayed environmentally friendly flowerpots, manufactured from compressed, dried sludge collected from animal waste treatment facilities.
"Such flowerpots, composed of pulp and sludge, decompose naturally," said Sheen Shao-yi (
A stall manned by the COA's Miaoli District Agricultural Improvement Station (
"We cooperate with the Ministry of Education to hold summer camps in the field for teachers from elementary schools, where they can study honeybees, silkworms and their natural enemies," said Lin Yang-shan (
Among the stalls was a model house to illustrate the concept that becoming eco-friendly can be compatible with modern-day working and family lives.
The house was equipped with highly efficient solar-powered electronic appliances and water-efficient fixtures -- including a toilet, showerhead and faucet.
In terms of education, Chou Ju (周儒), an environmental education expert from National Taiwan Normal University, told the Taipei Times that such a campaign only serves to attract people's attention to the issue for a short period of time.
"These kind of carnival events have an immediate effect. However, we need a long-term education initiative to instill in the public a comprehensive understanding of environmental issues," Chou said.
Taiwan was just one of many countries that marked World Environment Day with campaigns to highlight environmental issues such as global warming, deforestation, rising sea levels and water scarcity.
On the eve of World Environment Day, top officials from the UN's Environment Program (UNEP) warned that damage to the environment is accelerating as the earth's population hits 6 billion and the gap between rich and poor continues to widen.
In China, Premier Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基) on Sunday made remarks in a televised live address to the nation calling for global efforts to fight against serious pollution problems and ecological deterioration facing all of mankind.
Although President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) didn't make a formal announcement to mark the day, he did agree to abide by a call from environmental groups to preserve trees in his hometown of Kuantien (
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