Green(ish) Buildings In My Neighborhood

The building on the right is the Yang Kuei Memorial Literature Museum, a newish cultural facility about three kilometers from my home. It has a handful of green features: The site has about 30 young trees; rather than slather blacktop all over the site, they've use small square stones for the parking area (this allows rainwater to permeate into the ground naturally, reducing the risk of flooding); and parts of the exterior are covered with wooden slats, which should reduce heat gain on sunny days. I've no idea if the stones used around the building were retrieved from a derelict site or quarried. Like most Taiwanese buildings, the structure is basically concrete, and there's no rainwater harvesting or solar-energy system.

The other building is a police station. It too has a water-permeable parking area; the grass growing between the slabs is certainly more attractive than standard asphalt. Also, there are solar thermal panels on the roof (just about visible in the photo) for hot water - a good idea, as policemen often shower at the end of a shift.

According to this article in the government's Taiwan Journal, the majority of green buildings in Taiwan were built by the public sector. It's Part 2 of a two-part report; Part 1 is here.

Scuba Diving's Bleak Future

Recently I talked to Andy Gray, a Briton who works as a diving instructor in Kenting. He's been diving around Taiwan since 1984. He also provided the photos with this entry.

He thinks Taiwan is a good place to learn diving, but believes divers and dive operators here face a bleak future.

"Taiwan desperately needs to create proper marine parks before it is too late. The one they just opened 450 kilometres southwest of Taiwan [the Dongsha Atoll National Park ] is a joke. They should start with Kenting and then go on to Orchid Island and Green Island , then Penghu and Siaoliouciou. All of these places are being steadily fished out by local fishermen using gill nets, scuba divers who spear fish and aquarists collecting fish and corals for marine aquariums. That, combined with pollution and the dying-off of corals due to a high nitrate count, due to untreated sewage being dumped into the ocean, is causing massive choking weed growth and algae which is damaging the corals."

"If the powers that be do not take action to curtail the above bad practices, the diving industry will die off in Taiwan over the next ten to fifteen years as there will be nothing to see."

Gray is trying to do something about the situation. He and other foreign and Taiwanese dive instructors organize clean up days in Kenting twice a year, in May and September.

"We go down and clean up the reef, collecting non bio-degradable objects such as plastic, glass, metal, old fishing nets and lines. Non-divers help by cleaning up the beaches and assisting the divers out of the water."

Septic Tank To Scenic Spot

A teacher in Taichung County has organized efforts to convert his school's septic pit into a garden. The article doesn't say if the septic system was redundant. It may well be, as in many parts of Taiwan, proper sewers are being built - finally.

Water Profligacy On The KMRT

Just over a week ago, I took my first trip on Kaohsiung's new MRT system. It seems to work well, but I did notice that the urinals in the men's toilets bear stickers reading "3 liters per flush."

This struck me as a lot more water than strictly needed; surely a liter would be enough. But I'm not surprised. Cheap water in Taiwan means water-efficient toilets are not a priority.

Waterless urinals are described in this article.

Can Three Experts Be Wrong?

Stephen Hesse, a columnist for The Japan Times, doesn't think so.

The experts in question, James Lovelock, Lester Brown and Jeffrey Sachs, are heavyweights - and they're all calling for immediate action on global climate issues.


"All three strongly agree that prompt and concerted action is needed to ensure supplies of food, energy and fresh water, and to deal with climate change, poverty and population, as well as the feedback loops that inextricably link all of these together. If it sounds to you as though these guys are concerned about, well, most everything, you're right. However, their approaches and conclusions can differ dramatically."

Lovelock is fatalistic. Brown and Sachs think the day can be saved, if we roll our sleeves up immediately. I'm too young (and, more importantly, so is my son) to give up.

Why Birds Are Important

In a recent email exchange, Robert W. Butler, a Canadian research scientist and professor of biological sciences, told me:

"Ecosystems require all of their components to function, and native birds are part of natural ecosystems. When the birds are healthy and abundant, it means the ecosystems that provide us with natural products - air, water and food - are also functioning."

Unfortunately, many of Taiwan's birds are threatened by habitat loss. The Hushan Dam Project, if it goes ahead, would be a very serious blow for the Fairy Pitta, a globally endangered migrant. The photo above was taken by Richard Yu.

I met Dr. Butler when he was co-chairing the Waterbirds 2005 Conference in Tainan City. He's also involved with the Taiwan International Birding Association.

Gargling With Detergent

Taiwan's Cheng Hsiu University has come up with an environmentally-friendly detergent.

According to the report, a translation from a local Chinese-language newspaper, it's safe to gargle. The research was done at the behest of a reform institution run by the Ministry of Justice. It doesn't say why such a place would make such a request: To stop prisoners using it to kill themselves, maybe?

Water-saving Super Toilets

A Taiwanese professor has invented a water-saving toilet that uses just four liters of water per flush, two-thirds of the amount used by other water-efficient toilets. Regular toilets, apparently, use about nine liters per flush.

According to the report, the toilet will be manufactured in China and go on sale in the US next year. But don't expect them to appear anytime soon in Taiwan's green buildings. The report says the toilet is unlikely be introduced to Taiwan's market in the near future, "because the price... would be significantly higher than that of a standard unit and the size of the domestic market is limited."

And, as has been pointed out again and again, Taiwan's ridiculously low water prices mean there's no incentive to invest in water-saving technology.

Recycling Clothes

Dozens of these boxes have appeared throughout the township in which I live. People are being encouraged to put unwanted clothes inside. I don't know if the clothes are then sorted and given to the needy, or if the fabric is recycled.

I'm passionate about recycling, but I don't plan on getting rid of any of my old garments this way. In our house, anything that's no longer fit to wear becomes a floor rag. This cuts down on "trash miles" (the distance garbage is trucked before being burned or dumped in a landfill), and reduces the number of tissue papers we get through.

EPA Chief Wants Higher Utility Prices

The Taipei Times today published an interview with the chief of the Environmental Protection Administration, Winston Dang. It seems he has read and agrees with the recent TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS article on water and electricity pricing:

"Many of the nation's politicians lack vision in terms of environmental policies -- a fearless politician should go ahead and say, `I'm going to charge more for water and electricity from now on,'" he said. "When water and electricity are too cheap, no businesses would be willing to invest in water treatment, seawater desalinization facilities or renewable energy technologies. Users of water and electricity would also not realize the extent of the world's shortage."

Dang also mentions nuclear power (he doubts it can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions), renewable energy, river cleanups, and the Suhua Freeway project (for arguments in favor of the road, click here; for arguments against, click here).

The list of things he doesn't mention is very long: Public transportation vs. car usage; green buildings; household recycling and garbage incineration...

He may, of course, be out of a job very soon, depending who wins the imminent presidential election.

A Victim Of Its Own Success

A few days ago, the China Post published an article on Shue Jian Forest Recreation Area by Richard Saunders. The final two paragraphs highlight a problem faced by many eco-tourism attractions around the world:

"And then the cars started coming. First a couple, then whole convoys of them clutching those pesky mountain permits, all belching out choking exhaust fumes and shattering the peace of this rare place... it was hard not to consider the fate of this pristine slice of wilderness, now that it's been opened up to the car-driving masses."

"That ranger's verbal attack on us and poor Gem [the dog Saunders and his friend had tried to take into the reserve] back at the visitor center had seemed strangely overzealous at the time, but now I think I understand better. The rules were written to allow him to keep pet dogs from destroying the pristine beauty of Shue Jian; sadly, however, he has no control over the crowds of noisy day trippers that seem destined to ruin this special place, now that it's reopened once more."

There are some possible solutions.

One is a simple quota, limiting the number of visitors to X per day or per week. But, as far as I understand it, the Forestry Bureau depends on visitors to the recreation areas it runs to subsidize its other operations, which include reforestation.

Another approach would be to ban cars from entering the reserve, instead providing a free shuttle bus. This kind of thing has been done in some other places in Taiwan, but only during exceptionally busy periods, such as the Yangmingshan Flower Festival. Rather than build parking lots halfway up the mountain, the shuttle bus should run from the nearest train station, to encourage people to take public transportation the whole way.

Increasing ticket prices so visitor numbers fall might also work. However, I believe that the more people experience nature, the more they will care about it. This isn't always the case, of course: Many Taiwanese farmers, who've been immersed in nature since they were born, have a shocking attitude to the environment.

Recycling Bricks

Here's something I saw the other day in Tainan City: A wall being built using recycled old bricks to provide bulk, and cut down on the amount of concrete needed. It's nothing new, but it's better than the empty oil cans which have been used in some buildings in Taiwan (including some which fell down in the 9-21 Earthquake).

I wonder if the bricks came from the original wall on this site, or were trucked in a significant distance?

Just as some people are trying to cut down their food miles, others now care about construction-material miles. However, the building that has been acclaimed as Taiwan's greenest, Beitou Library in Taipei City, is made largely of wood imported from North America. Also, it lacks racks where cyclists can lock up their bikes.

Earth Hour 2008

Earth Hour 2008 will be in a little over two weeks, on Saturday, March 29th. Of course, you needn't wait until then to turn off unnecessary lights and appliances.

Homemade Pesticide

Cigarettes are good at killing people, so it's no surprise they're also good at killing pests. My wife has begun collecting cigarette butts to make pesticide for her garden. She soaks them in water for several days (see photo), then adds more water to the solution before spraying.

It's a technique one of her cousins, who smokes, told her about.

The pesticide itself may be no better for the environment than commercially-produced stuff, but at least it doesn't come in a plastic container, no energy was consumed in its making, and it hasn't been trucked hundreds of kilometers from factory to customer.

CO2 Estimates on Gasoline Receipts

Right after I discovered CO2 estimates on my utility bills... I bought NT$100 worth of 92-octane (3.33 liters, to be precise). The standard receipt mentions, at the very bottom, that the gas I bought will produce 7kg of carbon dioxide.

Unfortunately, the print is so small and so faint that I might never have noticed this if my wife hadn't pointed it out to me.

ADDED MARCH 15: Looking at receipts from various gas stations, it seems only those run by CPC Taiwan (the state-run oil refiner/distributor) do this.

The Consequences of Cheap Power, Water

According to this article in TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS, the monthly English-language magazine published by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, electricity is cheaper here in Taiwan than in several comparable economies:

"Households pay an average of NT$2.57 per kilowatt-hour versus NT$3.33 in Singapore, NT$3.8 in Hong Kong, and NT$5.94 in Japan, according to data provided by Taipower..."

"[D]emand is still rising... Taiwan's purchases of fossil fuels rose by 4 percent last year... power demand [is] growing by 2 percent to 4 percent each year."

It also deflates the idea that increasing electricity prices would force manufacturing offshore:

"Most experts interviewed for this report thought that low tariffs will not affect decisions made by Taiwan's companies on whether to stay on the island or move production offshore. They point out that companies wishing to move operations to China or Southeast Asia to save costs have already done so, while those remaining in Taiwan see obvious benefits from being here..."

While discussing electricity, the article seems concerned solely with Taipower's financial woes, and how those might impact power capacity and supplies in the future. When it turns to water, however, environmental issues do get a mention:

"From badly polluted rivers to a shortage of sand on Taiwan's beaches, a range of severe environmental, economic, and infrastructure difficulties can be traced back to the low water prices."

An expert is quoted as saying:

"'The more you use, the cheaper it gets. This gives the public no incentive to save water.' In fact, economists say, it results in those who conserve water actually subsidizing water wasters."

"...20 percent of Singapore's water supply comes from recycling sewage. The water is used for cooling towers, gardening, street washing, and other functions aside from human consumption, but the downside is that building sewage-treatment plants is expensive. 'In comparison, Taiwan is not even close to having an integrated water-management philosophy'."

C02 Estimates On Power, Water Bills

Both Taipower, the government-owned electricity generation and distribution company, and the Taiwan Water Corp. now add short statements to their bills to households, notifying consumers how much CO2 they're responsible for. I'm not sure exactly when they started doing this; looking through my old bills, all I can say is that Taipower have been doing it since at least July 2007.

For some months before that, every bill featured a standard note linking electricity consumption with CO2 emissions.

Both utilities now use exactly the same wording, stating (in Chinese only): "The amount of electicity/water you have used has caused CO2 emissions of X kilograms."

The estimates appear in the top right corner of the bills. They're rather small (68mm x 14mm) and the font is probably too small for many people to read comfortably. I'll be asking local friends if they've noticed it or not...

In this July 2006 document, Taipower says it is responsible for more than 30 percent of Taiwan's total CO2 emissions.

One of Taipower's coal-fired power stations emits more CO2 than any other electricity generation facility in the world, according to this report.

Bikes In The News

In a March 5 editorial, titled Coaxing Cyclists Out Of The Parks, the Taipei Times says:

"For cyclists in Taipei, two things changed this weekend. On Saturday, the Taipei MRT system opened 12 more stations to cyclists and their bikes, bringing the number of stations with bicycle access up to 27 of the 69 stops. Then, on Sunday, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) announced new traffic rules for cyclists on city streets that will take effect at the end of this month. The city's growing population of cyclists will no doubt welcome the chance to board the MRT with their bikes at more stations."

This is the critical (in every sense of the word) sentence:

"Unfortunately, Taipei's bicycle infrastructure seems to revolve around one word: recreation."

The editorial argues that government officials should be looking at cycling as a way of getting to work, not just exercising. I doubt that many young Taiwanese office workers could be persuaded to cycle to work. The hot, wet climate isn't conducive to cycling and then turning up at the office in the pristine condition expected. As far as I know, few companies have facilities where workers can shower and change on arrival...

Meanwhile, the Taiwan News reports that Tainan City is planning a bike rental system for residents and visitors. According to the report, the city government said the service could "reduce vehicle use by about 5 to 10 percent."

Anyone wanting to rent a bike would have to get a special IC card that would enable him or her to remove a bike from one of the 90-odd unmanned rental stations the city is planning.

I have one concern: Will the IC cards be retrieved and recharged for reuse? Or, once exhausted, will they simply become landfill, like IC cards for public telephones?

Guanshan in Taidong County has perhaps the most successful tourist-oriented cycling scheme in Taiwan. Several other townships have tried to emulate it; Meinong in Kaohsiung County seems to have done a decent job.

For other news of bike-related events this month, see this post on the David On Formosa blog.

Are People Driving Less?

On March 1, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported that, "oil sales have declined in Taiwan over the past year as more people are using public transportation instead of private vehicles."

Anecdotal evidence suggests this might be true. When I took my car to be serviced a few months back, I was told by a worker at the garage that business there wasn't good, because people are using their cars less, and so the vehicles need servicing less frequently.

People in Taipei and Kaohsiung (which has a new metro system) may well be using public transportation more often than before. Elsewhere, I suspect they're riding scooters rather than driving cars. I doubt any significant number of people have given up gasoline in favor of bicycles...

Anyway, the nitty gritty of the CNA report: According to the central government's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), gasoline and diesel sales totaled 13.85 million kiloliters in 2007, down 2.2 percent from the previous year. For January 2008, gasoline and diesel sales decreased 7 percent year-on-year to 1.16 million kiloliters, with gasoline sales dropping 7.9 percent to 819,000 kiloliters and diesel sales losing 4.6 percent to stand at 344,000 kiloliters. As of the end of January 2008, there were 2,606 filling stations around Taiwan, 27 more than 12 months earlier.

DGBAS officials said passenger traffic on Taipei's metro system increased 7.4 percent year-on-year to 36 million people for January 2008, while that of the high-speed railway system rose 68.6 percent year-on-year to two million. During the same month, the number of "small" cars traveling on freeways dropped 1.3 percent year-on-year to 38 million.

By "small" cars I'm assuming they mean private passenger cars. I haven't been able to find the original Chinese article to check this.

There's a related article in the China Post (a Taiwan-based English-language newspaper) here.

In Taiwan, car sales have been falling for two straight years, a fact which many people attribute to a bad economy. In Japan, however, domestic auto sales fell to a 35-year-low in 2007.