On Valentine's Day yesterday, hundreds of foreign residents gathered at National Taiwan Normal University's Linkou (林口) campus in Taipei County to celebrate their love for the Earth by planting seedlings of trees and leaving their roots in Taiwan.
The event, titled "Leave Your Roots in Taiwan," was hosted by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to raise awareness of the strategy of combating global warming by offsetting one's carbon footprint, as well as to encourage foreign residents to see Taiwan as their "home away from home" and cherish its resources, EPA Minister Winston Dang (
The term "carbon footprint" refers to the amount of carbon emissions someone or something causes during a given time. For example, traveling 20km in Taipei in a mid-sized sedan emits 4.43kg of carbon dioxide.
PHOTO: CHENG SHU-TING, TAIPEI TIMES
"If you drive a Toyota Prius, you may need to plant 15 mahogany trees to offset the carbon you have emitted by driving 15,000km," Dang said.
Emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is considered to be one of the main culprits behind global warming, a climate phenomenon that is reportedly worsening every year -- the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that global warming will increase global temperatures by 1.1oC to 6.4oC this century and result in sea levels rising by 18cm to 59cm, Dang said.
"Planting trees on Valentine's Day, a day when love is celebrated, is a gesture to show the government's determination to fight global warming, and it urges all people to love planet Earth," Dang said.
"The Executive Yuan recently passed a NT$7.18 billion [US$225 million] budget to plant 20,000 hectares of trees nationwide within the next five years. That's the equivalent of 800 Da-an Forest Parks, and will bring the island's forest coverage to 59.09 percent," the minister said.
In addition to fighting deforestation, which is responsible for 2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions per year, the EPA aims to take even more aggressive steps to control greenhouse gas emissions. These include reducing emission allowances for power plants and factories, which contribute 61 percent and 21 percent of the nation's total emissions, Dang said.
Among the hundreds of foreign participants who signed up for yesterday's tree planting, many expressed concern about the environment and said they saw fighting climate change as a top international priority.
"I am an environmentalist myself; if something isn't `green,' I don't do it -- I always bring my own chopsticks to restaurants, and I sort the garbage to such an extent in my community that many of the garbage collectors recognize me," said Abdoulie Jallow, a student from Gambia who came to Taiwan to study Chinese.
"Sustainable development is the only way to go. The environment doesn't belong to us; we need to preserve it so that we can pass it down to future generations," Jallow said.
Edward Foord, a former environmental consultant who came to Taiwan to study Chinese, said: "Taiwan's emphasis for the environment is promising. People are starting to realize that they have to be more responsible."
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
RESTRICTIONS: All food items imported from the five prefectures must be accompanied by radiation and origin certificates, and undergo batch-by-batch inspection The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday announced that almost all produce from five Japanese prefectures affected by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster would now be allowed into Taiwan. The five are Fukushima, Gunma, Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The only items that would still be blocked from being imported into the nation are those that are still banned from being circulated in Japan, the FDA added. With the removal of the ban, items including mushrooms, the meat of wild birds and other wild animals, and koshiabura” (foraged vegetables) would now be permitted to enter Taiwan, along with the other
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
A new tropical storm is expected to form by early tomorrow morning, potentially developing into a medium-strength typhoon that is to affect Taiwan through Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration said today. There are currently two tropical systems circulating to the east of Taiwan, agency forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. The one currently north of Guam developed into Tropical Storm Gebi this afternoon and is expected to veer toward Japan without affecting Taiwan, Hsu said. Another tropical depression is 600km from the east coast and is likely to develp into the named storm Krathon either late tonight or early tomorrow, he said. This
RSS