Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
Update Date: 2008/08/15 14:22
NOWnews Travel Village / Taipei News
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, are you planning to barbecue and admire the moon this year? According to statistics, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival each year, due to barbecue activities, taking the greater Taipei area as an example, the emission of various pollutants from 6 PM to 12 AM in 2006 increased by half, equivalent to 1.5 times the total number of vehicles in Taipei hitting the streets, significantly impacting the environment. To preserve a clean environment, several groups, including the Taipei Birdwatching Society, have jointly initiated the "No Barbecue on Mid-Autumn Festival, Embrace a Low-Carbon Lifestyle" petition.
The Taipei Wild Bird Society stated that barbecuing during the Mid-Autumn Festival has turned the holiday into an environmental disaster. According to the Environmental Protection Administration, incomplete combustion of charcoal not only produces carbon monoxide but also polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been confirmed as carcinogens by the EU, the US, and Japan, and are classified as Class I toxic chemical substances by the EPA. Especially if the charcoal contains many impurities, barbecuing can produce smoke, particulate matter, polycyclic hydrocarbons, and even dioxins, with soot emissions 12 times higher than equivalent cigarettes, posing significant health risks, making barbecuing akin to chronic suicide.
Additionally, according to the Customs Administration, from January to December 2006, 34 million kilograms of charcoal were imported, with 95% coming from Indonesia, Malaysia, and China, which is cheap but often of poor quality. The EPA pointed out that charcoal is a high-energy-consuming, low-value-added product, with 6 to 10 kilograms of wood needed to produce 1 kilogram of charcoal. One hectare of artificial forest yields 150,000 kilograms of wood, which can produce about 15,000 kilograms of charcoal; thus, 34 million kilograms of charcoal require the deforestation of 2,260 hectares, equivalent to about 87 Da'an Forest Parks, conservatively estimated.
According to Taiwan Power Company statistics, turning off lights for 70 minutes in the north, central, and south last year saved 300,000 kWh of electricity, reducing 187 tons of carbon dioxide. However, this small environmental achievement is completely offset by the Mid-Autumn Festival, as burning 1 kilogram of charcoal emits 3.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide. For example, if a family of four barbecues for 2 hours, and 30% of Taiwan's 23 million people barbecue, approximately 6,382.5 tons of carbon dioxide are produced, making it more effective to reduce barbecuing than to save electricity.
The Taipei Birdwatching Society stated that the carbon dioxide emitted from burning charcoal is a greenhouse gas that traps solar heat in the atmosphere, causing the Earth's temperature to rise, known as "global warming." This has led to a series of global climate anomalies and poses a serious threat to the Earth's ecology. Recent events such as coral reef bleaching, the rapid disappearance of Arctic ice, polar bears unable to hunt seals, Antarctic penguins freezing to death, and numerous penguin corpses found on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, constantly remind us of the impact on nature.
The Taipei Birdwatching Society hopes that everyone can contribute to the Earth by supporting "No Barbecue on Mid-Autumn Festival," reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption, and replacing barbecuing with activities like warm conversations with family, relaxed chats with friends, birdwatching during the day, observing owls at night, stargazing, and admiring the moon. The society is currently initiating an online petition, hoping to gather support from 200 groups and 10,000 individuals within a month.The "No BBQ for Mid-Autumn Festival, Embrace a Low-Carbon Lifestyle" petition campaign was initiated by organizations including the Wild Bird Society of the Republic of China and its national group members, the Yilan County Wild Bird Society, the Keelung City Wild Bird Society, the Taoyuan County Wild Bird Society, the Hsinchu City Wild Bird Society, the Miaoli Natural Ecology Society, the Taiwan Provincial Wild Bird Association, the Changhua County Wild Bird Society, the Nantou County Wild Bird Society, the Yunlin County Wild Bird Society, the Chiayi County Wild Bird Society, the Chiayi City Wild Bird Society, the Tainan City Wild Bird Society, the Kaohsiung City Wild Bird Society, the Pingtung County Wild Bird Society, the Taitung County Wild Bird Society, the Hualien County Wild Bird Society, the Penghu County Wild Bird Society, the Kinmen County Wild Bird Society, the Matsu Wild Bird Society, as well as the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, the Ren He Environmental Ethics Development Foundation, the Homemakers United Foundation, the Chinese Nature Trail Association, the Taiwan Butterfly Conservation Society, the Chinese Nature Education Promotion Association, the Changhua County Environmental Protection Union, the Wild Fun Ecological Enterprise Co., the Society of Wilderness, and the Sustainable Ecotourism Association.
Mid-Autumn BBQ Tradition Burns Equivalent of 87 Daan Forest Parks Annually
NOWnews Travel Village / Taipei News
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, are you planning to barbecue and admire the moon this year? According to statistics, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival each year, due to barbecue activities, taking the greater Taipei area as an example, the emission of various pollutants from 6 PM to 12 AM in 2006 increased by half, equivalent to 1.5 times the total number of vehicles in Taipei hitting the streets, significantly impacting the environment. To preserve a clean environment, several groups, including the Taipei Birdwatching Society, have jointly initiated the "No Barbecue on Mid-Autumn Festival, Embrace a Low-Carbon Lifestyle" petition.
The Taipei Wild Bird Society stated that barbecuing during the Mid-Autumn Festival has turned the holiday into an environmental disaster. According to the Environmental Protection Administration, incomplete combustion of charcoal not only produces carbon monoxide but also polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been confirmed as carcinogens by the EU, the US, and Japan, and are classified as Class I toxic chemical substances by the EPA. Especially if the charcoal contains many impurities, barbecuing can produce smoke, particulate matter, polycyclic hydrocarbons, and even dioxins, with soot emissions 12 times higher than equivalent cigarettes, posing significant health risks, making barbecuing akin to chronic suicide.
Additionally, according to the Customs Administration, from January to December 2006, 34 million kilograms of charcoal were imported, with 95% coming from Indonesia, Malaysia, and China, which is cheap but often of poor quality. The EPA pointed out that charcoal is a high-energy-consuming, low-value-added product, with 6 to 10 kilograms of wood needed to produce 1 kilogram of charcoal. One hectare of artificial forest yields 150,000 kilograms of wood, which can produce about 15,000 kilograms of charcoal; thus, 34 million kilograms of charcoal require the deforestation of 2,260 hectares, equivalent to about 87 Da'an Forest Parks, conservatively estimated.
According to Taiwan Power Company statistics, turning off lights for 70 minutes in the north, central, and south last year saved 300,000 kWh of electricity, reducing 187 tons of carbon dioxide. However, this small environmental achievement is completely offset by the Mid-Autumn Festival, as burning 1 kilogram of charcoal emits 3.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide. For example, if a family of four barbecues for 2 hours, and 30% of Taiwan's 23 million people barbecue, approximately 6,382.5 tons of carbon dioxide are produced, making it more effective to reduce barbecuing than to save electricity.
The Taipei Birdwatching Society stated that the carbon dioxide emitted from burning charcoal is a greenhouse gas that traps solar heat in the atmosphere, causing the Earth's temperature to rise, known as "global warming." This has led to a series of global climate anomalies and poses a serious threat to the Earth's ecology. Recent events such as coral reef bleaching, the rapid disappearance of Arctic ice, polar bears unable to hunt seals, Antarctic penguins freezing to death, and numerous penguin corpses found on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, constantly remind us of the impact on nature.
The Taipei Birdwatching Society hopes that everyone can contribute to the Earth by supporting "No Barbecue on Mid-Autumn Festival," reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption, and replacing barbecuing with activities like warm conversations with family, relaxed chats with friends, birdwatching during the day, observing owls at night, stargazing, and admiring the moon. The society is currently initiating an online petition, hoping to gather support from 200 groups and 10,000 individuals within a month.The "No BBQ for Mid-Autumn Festival, Embrace a Low-Carbon Lifestyle" petition campaign was initiated by organizations including the Wild Bird Society of the Republic of China and its national group members, the Yilan County Wild Bird Society, the Keelung City Wild Bird Society, the Taoyuan County Wild Bird Society, the Hsinchu City Wild Bird Society, the Miaoli Natural Ecology Society, the Taiwan Provincial Wild Bird Association, the Changhua County Wild Bird Society, the Nantou County Wild Bird Society, the Yunlin County Wild Bird Society, the Chiayi County Wild Bird Society, the Chiayi City Wild Bird Society, the Tainan City Wild Bird Society, the Kaohsiung City Wild Bird Society, the Pingtung County Wild Bird Society, the Taitung County Wild Bird Society, the Hualien County Wild Bird Society, the Penghu County Wild Bird Society, the Kinmen County Wild Bird Society, the Matsu Wild Bird Society, as well as the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, the Ren He Environmental Ethics Development Foundation, the Homemakers United Foundation, the Chinese Nature Trail Association, the Taiwan Butterfly Conservation Society, the Chinese Nature Education Promotion Association, the Changhua County Environmental Protection Union, the Wild Fun Ecological Enterprise Co., the Society of Wilderness, and the Sustainable Ecotourism Association.