Many people in Taiwan are probably used to seeing wasteland covered by wild Miscanthus, a long perennial grass often considered a weed, but it may actually be a sustainable eco-friendly energy source, researchers at the National Science Council said yesterday.
Chiang Tzen-yuh (蔣鎮宇), a professor and chairman of evolutionary biology at National Cheng Kung University, said that with world fuel fossil depletion expected, many nations are gradually shifting to biomass as an energy source.
Among the crops used to generate heat and power, researchers have found Miscanthus an ideal bioenergy plant, better than food crops such as corn, owing to its rapid growth and low nutrient requirements, he said.
Citing an Irish study, Chiang said that if 10 percent of growing land in Europe is planted with Miscanthus, it can generate about 9 to 10 percent of total electricity needs in the EU and also reduce carbon dioxide levels through photosynthesis.
Many species that were once considered worthless are being re-evaluated because of advanced genetic research, such as the -cassava used in making the popular Taiwanese drink bubble tea.
Chiang used the domestication of rice and tea to say that “genetic diversity and the genetic database are becoming invaluable resources,” adding that Taiwan is just the place, with its high genetic diversity, to invest in such research.
Chiang said that according to Peter Raven, biologist and president emeritus of Missouri Botanical Garden, there are about 200,000 to 250,000 species in Taiwan, with one-fourth to one-third of them being endemic, or unique to a defined geographic location.
He added that England has even approached Taiwan for the seeds of Miscanthus condensatus, owing to its salt-proof characteristic.
In response to Chiang’s suggestion that the council establish a platform with strong servers and information security for researchers in Taiwan to examine genetic data, National Science Council Deputy Minister Chang Ching-fong (張清風) said the council was already working on it, adding that institutes from other countries have approached Taiwanese researchers for access to the genetic databases.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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