The Ministry of Education (MOE) yesterday said it expects universities to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 7 percent by 2015.
Vice Minister of Education Lin Tsung-ming (林聰明) told the Green University Conference in Taipei that the ministry had encouraged universities in Taiwan to incorporate environmental sustainability into their curriculum.
“[The ministry] also hopes to activate [a green university campaign], raise public awareness [of environmental protection] and influence the nation’s schools on all levels by selecting 13 local green universities,” Lin said.
Lin was referring to 13 local universities endorsing the Talloires Declaration to mark World Environment Day on June 4.
The declaration, which was launched by a group of 31 university leaders and international environmental experts from 15 countries in October 1990, is a document showing the commitment of higher education institutions to creating a sustainable environment and raising awareness about environmental protection.
The presidents of Chaoyang University of Technology, Ching Yun University, I-Shou University, National Chi Nan University, National Chung Cheng University, National Taiwan Normal University and seven other schools promised to become model green universities.
The latest statistics provided by the ministry showed that 21 national universities had cut their electricity consumption by between 1.09 percent and 13.75 percent between the 2007 academic and the last academic year.
TC Chang (張子超), executive secretary of the ministry’s Environmental Protection Division, said it was necessary for universities to fulfill their social responsibility by leading the nation to pursue environmental sustainability.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
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