KHH Enviros Newsletter –March 2, 2010
Hello everyone,
Summer, it seems has exploded into being as our nasty Chinese New Year weather has left us.
The year of the Tiger has come and it’s time for environmentalism to really take hold in Taiwan.
There’s been some good movement in the government to encourage foreign companies to put up more renewable energy, and we’re adding more and more people to our list of members.
If you’re not yet a member of our Facebook group we’ve jumped over the 200 mark.
Let’s double that number before next month, shall we?
Apologies also that we’re a day late this month, I’ve been a bit sick and wanted to put some last minute additions in.
KHH Enviros team
1. Green News from Around the Island
2. Green Tip – Gardening in the City
3. Event – Hunting GREEN People
4. Enviro Cartoons ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Green News from Around the Island
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Officials at the Water Resource Agency (WRA) clarified that all the water fee surcharge collected from consumers has been used for water source protection projects. |
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Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) is set to collect the renewable energy surcharge starting in April or May. Most households in Taiwan are expected to face a minor rise in electricity bills to help Taipower in establishing a renewable energy fund to raise money for the development of sustainable energy sources. As the sole power distributor in Taiwan, Taipower is said to collect the renewable energy surcharge on behalf of the government. |
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The highest watchdog body interviewed economics and environmental officials in a probe into over-charged gasoline prices. The Control Yuan's investigation was prompted by information that the state-run CPC Corporation and the private Formosa Petrochemicals had over-charged motorists for the pollution fees bundled with the gasoline prices. In response, gasoline prices were cut three times in the week prior to the Chinese New Year holidays earlier this month, as a gesture of compensation to the motorists. As a result of the investigation, the EPA is helping the CPC create a new version of the fuel price formula to replace the existing one. |
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Dragon Steel, a subsidiary of CSC Group, inaugurated its first blast furnace, adding to five the total number of such facilities owned by the country's leading steel refinery. |
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German wind power firm InfraVest has started laying off staff in Taiwan and will also halt new investment projects here as the company sees a lack of strong commitment from the government to the development of renewable energy industry, according to a report in the United Evening Daily (UED). |
More than one-tenth of the land in Taiwan could be under water if global warming increased the Earth's temperature by two degrees, according to Taiwan's first documentary, “±2°C,” on the impact of climate change.The film made its debut February 23 in Taipei while hundreds of audience members shouted, “Save the Earth!”
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The rainfall during the Chinese New Year holiday provided sufficient water supply for the central and northern Taiwan while the south may face a potential lack of water supply after April. |
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CPC Corp., Taiwan's state-owned oil company, said it plans to restart a gasoline producing unit at its Kaohsiung refinery after a five-month stoppage as demand for the fuel improves. |
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Large amounts of oil were leaked from a Pingtung County recycling business, contaminating an irrigation ditch and polluting a nearby stream, February 23. |
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The Taoyuai Oceanarium closes at the end of February but many of its large marine residents are still looking for placement.
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Taiwan's total energy consumption last year fell 2.3 percent from 2008, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. |
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Over one million dry cell batteries are predicted to be sold this year in Taiwan during the upcoming lantern festival. |
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To Peter Morehead, cooking a meal does not require the use of natural gas. Sunlight is good enough. |
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Most commercial-use LED lights in Taiwan's metropolises have exceeded the international standard for luminous intensity and may cause damage to the eye, found a survey conducted by the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) recently. |
To speed up the restoration of steady water supplies to the southern districts, Executive Yuan has passed the draft of a special act to govern the management of the reservoirs in the south.
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The government should step up its inspection of tea imported from China through Vietnam as it contains excessive levels of pesticides and poses a serious health threat, according to local tea farmers and an opposition lawmaker.
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China found another 170 tons of tainted milk powder in an emergency crackdown that has made it increasingly clear many products discovered in the country's 2008 milk scandal were repackaged for sale instead of destroyed.
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With the government' s efforts to develop green forms of energy, Taiwan's production value in the sector is forecast to have hit NT$1.15 trillion (around US$35.9 billion) by 2015, an official in charge of energy affairs said. |
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Green Tip - Gardening in the City
Courtesy of Tim Higgs
You're at home, the city is quiet in the morning and you're looking out over your beautiful view of the cityscape. Is it green? Do you want it to be?
Recently I was asked to clarify a few rumors about balcony gardens and it turned into our next green tip: Gardening in the City.
First off, gardening, no matter how you do it, is always a good idea (unless you're gardening people in some sort of futuristic slavery-agro-compound, that's no good). But, there are certain methods you can use in order to garden a little more energy and water efficiently.
Plant choice
Try to choose plants that use less water and require little maintenance (usually one comes with the other). How do you know which ones to choose? Generally water efficient plants have one or more of the following:
l little fuzzy hairs on their leaves
l succulent leaves (makes it look like it's made from plastic, great for keeping water inside)
l white, or lighter colouring in the leaves and stem
l are perennial (come back every year) NOT annual (annuals die off every year)
l have deep root systems made for looking for water in the ground
Watering Schedule
You can usually tell with most plants, when they need water. The leaves start to droop. This does not mean it's already too late; it's just your plant's way of conserving energy. It's a good thing! But, you shouldn't let them droop too long or your plants won't be healthy.
Remember, you can also teach your plants to need less water. When you first plant them, give them lots of water to make sure they set healthy roots, then start to water less frequently. At first, maybe 3-5 times a week, then back it off to 2-3 times a week and finally down to 1 time a week. Most plants should be able to live comfortably on 1 (deep) watering each week. If it can't, then it's made for a very water loving environment.
Soil
The question that gave rise to this Green Tip was “is it true putting coffee grinds in your pots helps?” The answer is, it only helps if you're gardening in a real garden, not potted plants. In its normal environment (ahem, nature) plants have little creatures in the soil that eat fallen leaves and help make new soil to give plants more energy. Potted plants don't have these creatures, but they still need more energy than just water can provide.
The first solution people think of is fertilizer...STOP THERE. Fertilizer is NOT NECESSARY. Fertilizer as you probably know comes from fossil fuels and requires a lot more energy to produce.
Instead, just change the soil in your pots now and again. A bag of soil half the size of you only costs $100NT and it's much healthier for your plants, too. Watch the soil to see when it looks like it's turning to dust on top. Rich, dark black soil is what you want.
The closer it gets to sandy texture and colour, the sooner you should change the soil. You'll know when it's really needed if you plants start to look unhealthy, no matter how much water you give them.
Blankets of Love and Mulch
Soil, in the really real world, is almost never exposed directly to the sun, there's always something on top of it. Think about it, you walk in a forest; there are leaves everywhere and a canopy to cover it. Open fields have thick grasses, which shade the soil. There's good reason for this: evaporation. If you want to keep water in the soil and not flying off into the sunset, cover your soil with something. Some suggestions are:
l Pretty white or coloured rocks
l Dead leaves
l Wood Chips
l Old clothes or dish towels
Anything that lets air in and out is good as long as you can pour water through it into the soil. Experiment a little and watch your plants to make sure they're comfortable.
Gardening is one of the best ways to connect yourself to nature, which we find way outside our huge, Taiwanese city. If
Event - Hunting GREEN People
We’ll meet this Sunday at Kaohsiung Arena MRT station exit 5 at 2pm.
Please wear something GREEN!
And BRING YOUR CAMERAS
We’ll give you some clipboards and signs.
We’re collecting two things:
1. Video clips of people saying enviro stuff and
2. Email addresses
Enviro Cartoons
A new section we’re gonna try out is enviro cartoons.
A lot of the time environmentalism can be depressing and make you sad because it’s all bad news.
With a cartoon each month we’ll try to keep things a little happier and lighter. J
--Tim
Managing Director
