Pointless Road Widening

Near where I live there are a lot of narrow roads, used only by farmers going to their fields and cyclists out exercising. Recently, some of them have been widened for no apparent reason. The one pictured here is typical: The bed of wildflowers, grasses and weeds that used to be alongside the road, between its and the irrigation ditch on the right, has been sealed under asphalt. It wasn't a biodiversity hotspot by any stretch, but it was better than adding non-reflective, heat-absorbing blacktop...

Why has this been done? Not so the road can handle more vehicles. Traffic of the four-wheeled kind is very light indeed. To ease access to houses? Well, the widened section doesn't even reach the one and only house here.

The fact they've done some but not all of the road, and haven't even gone as far as the house, suggests there were budget issues. Government units can award contracts without a competitive tender if the contract is below a certain amount. Did someone in the township government decide this needed to be done, to help a friend out? Couldn't they have thought of something more useful? Pork barrelling is covering this island with concrete.

Beer Miles

More than once, I've heard foreigners in Taiwan decry the environmental carelessness of Taiwanese, and then head to a hypermarket or convenience store to buy beer that's been shipped in from North America, Ireland or Germany...

I minimize my beer miles by drinking the local stuff. Bottles are better than cans (for the planet, and in terms of taste) if you take them back to the store for reuse.

Look at a can or bottle of Taiwan Beer, and you'll notice a letter beside the production date: A, B, or C. The letter tells you where it was brewed. A is Miaoli County (just south of Hsinchu); B is Taichung County; C is Tainan County. My beer is always from C. I know the brewery, it's about 15 kilometers from my house. In terms of food miles, that isn't bad.

Ma Wants Fewer Fireworks

I've been neglecting the news for a few days while trying to get other things done. I picked up Thursday's China Post and immediately saw three environment stories. One is about the weakness of the Environmental Impact Assessment system for industrial and infrastructure projects; another reports on criticism of a TV ad that urges people to replace inefficient air-conditioning units. The third story does not contain any words like "environment" or "eco-friendly," which perhaps shows how unimaginative some reporters are, or how Ma's press people missed a chance to make the new president appear green.

Here's the article in its entirety:

President-elect Ma Ying-jeou has reportedly sharply cut the budget for setting off fireworks in celebration of his inauguration as new president of the Republic of China to NT$5 million from NT$20 million to promote the spirit of prudence. The NT$5 million budget is just one third of the NT$16 million spending on celebration fireworks in 2004, when President Chen Shui-bian assumed his second-term presidency.

Under the limited budget, the ad hoc panel responsible for inauguration affairs has decided to create grand audio and video effects by having an orchestra play the Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture.

The Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture is among the most energizing of compositions, with its cannons and bells commemorating the Russian defeat in 1812 of Napoleon interwoven with Russian folk tunes and, of course, the Marseillaise.

In fact, the panel said that when serving as Taipei mayor, Ma also instructed relevant units under the city government to reduce the budget for fireworks set off during celebration festivals.

I'm delighted to read of Ma's decision, not for the money that'll be saved, but rather for the sake of the air we breathe. Fireworks are fun but filthy. Even Taiwan's media has grasped this; reporting last year's record-breaking firecracker in Yanshuei, the TV news mentioned the results of air-quality tests, which were scary.

Earth Day, The Premier & Me

As I type this, government buildings and schools which turned off their lights for an hour to mark Earth Day should be turning them back on. I'll be watching the TV news tonight to see who among Taiwan's great-and-good rode a bicycle to work, or took public transportation.

According to the China Post:

"Only one car will escort the premier to his office, rather than the usual three..."

Also, some members of the Cabinet are going vegetarian for the day. No indication that any of them turned off the air-conditioning in their offices, walked to work, or even worked from home. If Taiwan really wants to cut CO2 emissions and reduce traffic congestion, attitudes to telecommuting are going to have to change.

What have I done? Well, I used my bicycle this morning rather than the motorcycle or car. I remembered to bring my own chopsticks for lunch. I picked up nine small glass bottles that someone dumped beside the road (they'll go in the recycling truck this evening). And I turned the computer off between 8 am and 2 pm (usually it stays on, though typically I don't get much work done in that period).

Are Taxis An Endangered Species?

The opening of Kaohsiung's MRT is reportedly cutting into taxi drivers' earnings. And in Taipei, a city councilor wants the number of taxis reduced because they're so often cruising the streets empty. Some say more taxis should convert from gasoline to LPG or a dual gasoline-LPG system.

Personally, I hope taxis remain plentiful and inexpensive. I think it's better for people to take trains and buses from one city to another, and then a taxi from the station to their final destination, rather than drive their own vehicle the whole way.

Organic Batteries And Eco-Movies

Yilan County is holding its fifth annual Green International Film Festival. The festival's website names some of the movies and documentaries being shown this year, such as Half Life: A Journey to Chenobyl and Texas Gold. In previous years the festival has included the works of Japanese director Tsuchimoto Noriaki.

According to this report, alongside the festival there is an exhibition of organic agricultural produce and eco-friendly products such as organic radical batteries (ORBs) and energy-saving electrical appliances. ORBs could be a very good thing for Taiwan; the battery-recycling rate here has improved but remains dismal, despite incentive programs.

Leave Guandu To The Birds

The TV news talked about this yesterday, and it's in all the newspapers: President-elect Ma Ying-jeou has apparently welcomed suggestions that the Presidential Office be relocated, and that the building currently used for the purpose - the old Japanese governor's residence - be turned into a museum about the Japanese colonization era.

I'm not going to discuss the merits of the museum proposal. I'm more concerned about the environmental impact of moving the Presidential Office.

According to the China Post's report, the Guandu Plain in Taipei County was mentioned as an ideal site for a brand new Presidential Office. However:

"Some said it could cause communication problems and inconveniences for other government agencies and the people if the president's office is moved away from the downtown area of the capital city. The Presidential Office, a six-story red-brick building with a central tower, is within walking distance of the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the Judicial Yuan, the Finance Ministry, and the Central Bank."

Of course, civil servants and their bosses don't actually walk anywhere when they can drive or be driven. Still, if the distances are shorter, that's better for everyone.

"Real estate developers said the move will shift the commercial and realty development in the greater Taipei area. The plan will help bring faster development and prosperity to the Guandu area."

What about the birds? Guandu Nature Park is one of Taiwan's most-popular and best-known birding areas.

"The vast plain, lying to the west of Taipei City... has been left idle and undeveloped for many years."

That's typical Taiwanese thinking, I'm sad to say. A piece of land is "idle" - going to waste - if it's not being farmed or hasn't been built on. The idea that it might be visually appealing and be beneficial for those living nearby, never occurs to some people.