Taipei Times
Date: Mar 18, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Drawing a crowd of passers-by, a nearly naked animal activist took a bubble

bath in public yesterday in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area to highlight the meat industry’s drain on water resources to mark World Water Day on Tuesday next week.

Ashley Fruno, the bathing activist and a member of animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said that taking a bath in public was a fun and provocative way to raise awareness, adding that it takes the equivalent of 50 bathtubs of water to produce just one steak.

“It takes about 15,500 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of beef, compared with just 1,000 liters to produce 1 kilogram of wheat,” Fruno said, calling on the public to go vegan to conserve water.

“Not only is the meat industry cruel, it also wastes huge amounts of water and damages the planet. You can’t eat meat and be an environmentalist,” she said.     [FULL  STORY]

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT:Organizers urged legislators to respond to their seven demands, which include passing a ‘nuclear-free homeland act’ and finding a waste solution

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 13, 2016
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

An annual parade launched by a coalition of more than 60 groups opposed to

nuclear power was held in Taipei yesterday.

Noting the anniversary on Friday of Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster, the National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform said many people in Japan have been forced to move away from their homes due to radioactive contamination, and it does not want a similar situation in Taiwan.

The theme for the parade was “farewell nuclear power and facing nuclear waste,” with activists demanding a nuclear-free nation and a fair solution to nuclear waste disposal.

Other anti-nuclear protests were also held across the nation yesterday.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/21
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Christie Chen

Taipei, Feb. 21 (CNA) Southern Taiwan saw very poor air quality Sunday due

to pollution from China, with the key indicator of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5) hitting the hazardous level of 10 in Kaohsiung, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said Sunday.

As of 10 a.m., concentrations of PM2.5 reached level 8 in Tainan and Pingtung and 10 in Kaohsiung mainly because a cold air mass has brought a concentration of dust from China to Taiwan since Saturday, according to the EPA.

The dust wave came from northwestern China’s Gansu Province and began affecting Taiwan Saturday evening, the EPA said.

According to the EPA, level-10 PM2.5 concentrations exceed 71 micrograms per cubic meter and are considered extremely high, but measurements above level 7 are deemed severe enough to cause tangible discomfort and health problems.     [FULL  STORY]

SCRAP MOUNTAINS:Falling prices have made government tenders for scrap collection unprofitable, while the heaps left behind make ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes

Taipei Times
Date: February 22, 2016
By: Huang Shu-li, Tsung Peng-ju and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writers

Towering piles of recyclable materials awaiting processing are nearing crisis

levels in some parts of the nation, public health officials and industry sources said.

Contractors are shying away from buying recycled household scrap collected by the Yunlin County Government, and recycling centers in the county’s Gukeng (古坑), Huwei (虎尾), Dounan (斗南) and Tapei (大埤) townships, among others, are unable to find buyers for their huge piles of scrap, industry sources said.

The crisis is largely due to plunging scrap prices making government scrap tenders unprofitable, industry sources said.

Gukeng Township Mayor Huang Yi-ling (黃意玲) said that she was forced to move scrap that the recycling center could no longer accommodate to the local public basketball court, following the township’s second consecutive lapsed tender.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-12
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A draft regulation on standards for tree protection and a tree

census was opened to comments from members of the public on Monday, according to the Forestry Bureau under the Council of Agriculture.

The draft, with 11 articles, is on the bureau’s website and anyone can express his or her opinion on the draft and send an email to the account service@forest.gov.tw by Jan. 27.

The regulation, which was drafted after a revision of The Forestry Act on protecting trees other than woods on July 1, 2015, stipulates that local governments (special municipalities, cities and counties) should conduct a census of protected trees every five years.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/31
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Dec. 31 (CNA) Those who plan to celebrate New Year’s Eve countdown parties outdoors should wear masks due to expected extremely poor air quality, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) warned Thursday.

The index for fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) could hit a hazardous level 10 in northern Taiwan and outlying Kinmen and Matsu overnight, according to the EPA.

Level 10 on the 10-tier index represents PM2.5 concentrations of over 70 micrograms per cubic meter and is considered very high.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/26
By: Lung Pei-ning and Kay Liu

Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) Several groups held a demonstration in Taipei Saturday,

calling for government efforts to reduce carbon emissions and move away from fossil fuels, given the deteriorating air quality experienced recently.

Protesters gathered in front of the Environmental Protection Administration headquarters to take part in the demonstration calling for efforts to tackle air pollution and fight global warming for the sake of the people’s health.

The average annual carbon dioxide emissions of Taiwanese is 11 metric tons per person, which is much higher than some other countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Japan, said former Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), who took part in the protest.     [FULL  STORY]