“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart” – Elizabeth Andrew
Come join us for this year’s 2018 National Cleanup Day in Taiwan – Sunday 20th May more “The Taiwan National Cleanup Day – 20th May 2018”
Recently, I was invited to attend the Ocean Summit in Hong Kong, part of the Volvo Ocean Race. One of the tools they shared with us was this practical guide to ‘Turning the Tide on Plastics”. I thought it nice to share with you guys! more “Turning the Tide on Plastics #Cleanseas”
Here is an incredible effort of some young people in the US. They shared their story with me in the hope of reaching more people to join their global effort to reduce the usage of plastic straws. Have a quick read and learn all about it. Then join them 😊 more “One Less Plastic Straw Campaign”
It seemed to start very slowly at first. Hardly anyone seemed to notice. But then, something changed.
Has the fight against plastic pollution now begun in earnest? more “Beginning Of The Revolution? – Fight Against Plastic Pollution”
Taiwan’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced a new round of policies, including a plastic bag ban, aimed at restricting free shopping bags which took effect starting January 1, 2018.
If only there was a way to keep fruits and vegetables fresh…… more “Plastic Wrapped – The Fight Against Ourselves”
It was Sunday, the 22nd October 2017 and beach cleaning day! A chance to give back to our environment and also to catch up with some good friends. No-one could have imagined what was about to happen next. And it was only after we arrived at Jinshan beach did we learn the truth about plastic. more “After the Storm – The Inconvenient Truth About Plastic Pollution”
A friend of mine recently made an interesting point, “Why do you still bother beach cleaning? More trash will just get washed up the next day and your efforts don’t make any difference in the big scheme of things!”
Fair enough! But then it got me thinking about why I still bother after 3 years of cleaning? more “Beach Cleaning – What’s the Point Actually?”
By Patrick Rogers, Aged 13
Second in our series of school children guest bloggers is Patrick Rogers from All Hallows High School, close to Preston in the United Kingdom. After reading Patrick’s blog you get the impression that he is pretty upset with the disregard humans are showing the Earth. All this littering and polluting is taking its toil! It is great to hear such passion from someone so young and I hope he continues his fight for a better planet in the future!
Please feel free to leave comments below, about Patrick’s blog or some of the solutions you think will help prevent litter from polluting our planet.
By Shannon Murphy (Aged 14)
How many half empty water bottles do you have in your car? Or half full? Are you part of the plastic pollution problem?
On the 27th May 2017 the Australian documentary, A Plastic Ocean, was premiered in Taipei. Translated into traditional Chinese especially for our event, more than 250 people arrived to watch one of the most powerful stories concerning the global issue of plastic pollution in our oceans. more “A Plastic Ocean – Taiwanese Premiere”
It was cold and raining which can only mean one thing, beach cleaning day!!
Another great event organised by 陳信助 and joined by over 60 volunteers. We were all greeted by a mountain of trash!
more “Beach Cleaning – Wanlei District, Taiwan”
In Taiwan, the 28th February 2017 was designated as Peace Memorial Day (二二八事件). On the 28th February 1947, an anti-government uprising in Taiwan was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang-led Republic of China government, which killed thousands of civilians. What better day then to go clean some beaches and help give something back to the Taiwanese people. more “Beach Cleaning – Keelong, Taiwan”
Single-use coffee pods have become a status symbol around the world. The reality is, that coffee has now become part of the global environmental disaster that is our disposable economy. There are now billions of the sleek aluminium and plastic capsules ending up in landfill every year. There has to be a better way!
Maybe even something that George Clooney would approve of?
One Brown Planet is proud to have been accepted into the plastic pollution coalition.
The Plastic Pollution Coalition is a growing global alliance of organizations, businesses, and thought leaders working toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impact on humans, animals, and the environment.
more “We Joined the Plastic Pollution Coalition”
Did you ever wonder where your garbage really ends up, or what happens to it?
Unless you are a devotee of Zero Waste lifestyle, then, like me you will find that there is always some trash that needs disposing of.
I live in Taiwan, whose inhabitants are considered to be excellent at recycling. In fact, Taiwan has one of the highest recycling rates in the world. Does this mean they have one of the lowest waste problems in the world? And what happens to all their waste? With my curiosity piqued we decided to make an appointment at the waste incinerator facility in Mu-Zha, Taipei and find out.
There were a lot of questions to ask and we ended up receiving some very surprising answers!
Maybe 2016 will be remembered as the year of ‘The Trump’ and the global rise of the “Alt Right” political movement. Perhaps this is a predictable response by people ignored for generations by the political and wealthy elites and threatened by global expansion and global catastrophes. Or maybe people will remember the seemingly high numbers of famous people who passed. Luminaries such as Prince and Bowie, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Leonard Cohen and Harper Lee, Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, George Micheal, Mohammed Ali and most recently Carrie Fisher. Perhaps though, their spirits were buoyed by the ratification of the Paris Agreement. This landmark agreement is designed to hold the world to task. From it, we hope to create a strategy to mitigate the worst effects of global warming with a challenge to limit the rise to under 2 degs C.
For me though, it was something else that resonated. Something so profound, I know it will stick with me for the rest of my life.
We always seem to be looking for the next great solution for all of our global problems. With bewilderment, we stare at the monumental challenges ahead, trying to comprehend how it is even possible to find a solution for global warming, plastic pollution, mass extinction and all the other great issues of our time. The weight of our responsibility bears down heavily on some of us.
But maybe we have forgotten something important, something so simple yet which could help serve us the most. After all, most of the issues we are dealing with today are relatively new, it hasn’t always been this way. So, what lessons are there to learn from our past?
One Brown Planet recently interviewed several families of varying sizes from around the world about their food shopping habits. We also asked if they would collect all the disposable plastic that they use in a single week and send in a photo.
The results were quite suprising!
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