Members of more than 10 environmental groups nationwide began a month-long call to action yesterday to mark this year’s Earth Day, which is April 22.
The non-profit Taiwan Environmental Information Association announced the launch of the nation’s Earth Day campaign, dubbed “Let’s Green Up,” at a press conference held in Taipei.
This year’s efforts aim to attract 5 million individuals and groups throughout the nation to register for an international online “green up” campaign, association chairman Chen Chien-chih (陳建志) said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
By signing up on the Web site — Earthday.org.tw — supporters can choose a set of environmentally-friendly actions to follow for the campaign.
For example, registrants can decide whether to consume energy more wisely and use energy-efficient transportation, engage in more recycling or support politicians who advocate environmental protection, association deputy secretary-general Hsia Tao-yuan (夏道緣) said.
Last year, a similar campaign attracted 261 individuals and groups nationwide to join, Hsia said. He expressed hope the number would increase significantly and break the 5 million mark this year.
In addition to the online campaign, the association and other local environmental organizations will organize an anti-nuclear demonstration parade in Taipei on April 30, Hsia said.
They hope the planned march, nicknamed the “Sunflower Movement,” will attract 100,000 people to take to the streets to demonstrate their concern about nuclear safety and global warming, he added.
“Nuclear energy can not resolve the problem of global warming: On the contrary, it poses a greater threat,” Hsia said.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm earlier today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, in this year's Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am, the CWA said. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) with a 100km radius, it said. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA meteorologist Huang En-hung (黃恩宏) said. However, a more accurate forecast would be made on Wednesday, when Yinxing is
NEW DESTINATIONS: Marketing campaigns to attract foreign travelers have to change from the usual promotions about Alishan and Taroko Gorge, the transport minister said The number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is estimated to top 8 million by the end of this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday, adding that the ministry has not changed its goal of attracting 10 million foreign travelers this year. Chen made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to brief lawmakers about the ministry’s plan to boost foreign visitor arrivals. Last month, Chen told the committee that the nation might attract only 7.5 million tourists from overseas this year and that when the ministry sets next year’s goal, it would not include
RSS