I went jogging along the river and noticed a group of middle-aged men changing the oil in their scooters and then dumping the old stuff in the water. My initial reaction was to stare in awe at the pyschadelic rainbow patterns that the oil was creating on the water. My second reaction was am almost overwhelming desire to pick up the rusty jagged top from a discarded tuna can lying nearby and use it to slice these guys’ balls off. Fortunately, I caught myself, thinking that perhaps I was being culturally insensitive, and that dumping old oil in the river is a perfectly acceptable practice in Taiwan. Before I decide whether or not to discard the tuna can lid or keep it for future use, I’d like to hear what other people have to say?
I should add that Taiwanese are not the only people who dump oil in the river. I just want to know the societal rules in this case…
Call them on it. Which river were you jogging along? Here in the Mucha there are now signs claiming that the river is under the protection of the Water something Ministry (sorry, I’ll check the real name later). Threaten to call the ministry and report these wankers. Or just yell and say, “Don’t be so stupid. That’s a river. Don’t pollute it.”
On the other hand, you could try to educate them a little. Explain that the water is being used to irrigate the flowers and plants that grow along side the river. Explain that people often grow vegetables along the river banks. Do they want to end of eating their own motor fluid one night in a food stall?
yes, call them on it, politely. it our Earth we’re talking about. smile, be nice. i will bet dollars to donuts they will say sorry, debuchee, etc etc and really think about it. really. and they won’t do it again. BUT that’s just three old farts by the river. there are 23 million other people out there you gotta reach. better idea:
make like those girls in Miaoli yesterday and strip naked on TV for CNA cameras and hire some strippers to show some tit and say that this naked protest is to protect our beloved little island. or write a book.
or give up. it’s hopeless. taiwan is hopeless.
but then again, as Walter Benjamin said: Hope is for the hopeless.!
Claim you’re an international inspector enforcing an international environmental treaty and that there’s a heavy fine, which you’ll be willing to overlook if they pay all cash. hehe
No it’s OK. It’s just down to “cultural differences”. Hey remember “this is Taiwan” ! (and a million other platitudes - I’m sure the apologists will fill in the gaps).
Why does everyone say “be nice?”
I don’t want to be nice to fuckwits who don’t care a damn about anyone or anything but themselves and their convenience.
Give them a bollocking.
Make 'em drink it. Why be nice?
How 'bout shoving them in the water they just polluted, and then laughing it up as a little prank
I have a thing with people who don’t turn their motor off when they do not actually use their car. Where I’m coming from, we always turn our motor off, even in front of a red light and if it’s only for a few seconds…
it really drives me crazy to see all those people poluting the air and not thinking a second about it. I’m sure Taipeis air would improve a lot, if people would just turn their fucking motors off… :x
Most of the time I tell people in a very friendly way, but i’m not even sure, if my boyfriend gets the point and i suspect, that when I’m not arround, he cares a shit… 
Yes, I think so. But I can think of some more suitable ways of dealing with the problem. Make them drink, wash or swim in the water. I have always liked the idea that factories releasing effluent into rivers should be made to put their intake pipe downstream of their outlet pipe. Perhaps Taiwan could enact a similar law: You can dump shit in the river as long as you then drink from it.
In these situations don’t hesitate to tell these people that what they are doing is wrong. I think most people know it is wrong and if more people made the effort to say something rather than just ignoring it the problem might be reduced somewhat.
I think it’s the Keelung River - it’s the one that runs alongside that huge park just west of the domestic airport, the park where the Dragon Boat races were held last year.
That’s right, I’ve seen a lot of people, mostly elderly ones, keeping little gardens by the river. OK, I’ll pound my tuna can lid into a ploughshare, and next time tell the oil dumpers that the only people they are hurting is themselves. And if that doesn’t work, then, and only then, I’ll hunt up another lid, a nice rusty one, and cut their balls off. Hao bu hao?
(Then again, Formosa’s advice about getting press coverage by posing naked by the river also holds some appeal. Anyone want to participate?)
I agree with Wix, many people don’t know it’s wrong to dump crap in the river, or at least they’re not aware of any better alternative. Where would you suggest they dump old oil in Taiwan? Where I lived in California, it was illegal to put paint, oil, nail polish, paint and polish removers, old tires, and lots of other crap in ones garbage can because it would then end up in the landfill and potentially seep into the groundwater. Modern landfills (unlike what they probably have in Taiwan) are very well engineered and built with an impermeable membrane and clay on the bottom, a downhill slope so all the fluids that seep through are regularly pumped out and treated, etc.
So instead of dumping such toxins in the garbage, you were supposed to take them to the recycling center, or on certain days they’d come and pick them up. But, I’m certain that many violate those laws. For example if one rinse paint brushes in the sink, it goes to the sewage system where it is not properly treated, or in the driveway it runs through the storm drains to the rivers and bays.
Yes, it’s bad to see what those guys did, but lots of people even in “civilized” countries do hte same exact thing just more discreetly or indirectly. The answer is to give them facilities to properly dispose of waste and educate them. But I can understand your reaction.
MT,
Good post.
I think you’re right. It’s a matter of education and of providing a place for disposal and of penalizing those people who don’t follow the rules. I’m sure a lot of people rolled their eyes when Taiwan announced that scooter drivers had to wear a helmet. But that policy has worked. The same goes for recycling - at least in my neighborhood.
[quote=“mesheel”]I have a thing with people who don’t turn their motor off when they do not actually use their car. Where I’m coming from, we always turn our motor off, even in front of a red light and if it’s only for a few seconds…
it really drives me crazy to see all those people poluting the air and not thinking a second about it. I’m sure Taipeis air would improve a lot, if people would just turn their fucking motors off… :x
[/quote]
Ninety percent of engine wear is caused by friction created when starting your engine. Also, many modern cars automatically choke the mixture from start up, lasting up to 15 minutes. Some will turn of the automatic choke after about 5 minutes if the engine is already warm. Turning your engine off at red lights is a bizarre thing to do. However I don’t like the way people leave their cars running here for ages when they’re not in them. Often it’s to keep the AC going.
The real way to improve the air is to ban 2-stroke and diesel engines. Obviously that will never happen !
Another bizarre thing people do here is put the transmission in neutral every time they stop, even if just for a few seconds. An automatic transmission is fine in drive at stop - the shock caused to the differential when moving from N into D is small, but eventually will wear down the differential gears and the CV joints on the driving wheels. Range Rover, Ford, and Rover, in their manuals specifically warn against constantly moving from N to D when it is unnecessary. But then you get letters to the Guardian complaining about why people at traffic lights don’t use their handbrakes (“I was dazzled by the brakelights!”). It’s because I’m driving an automatic ! You buy a second hand automatic that’s been crashed in and out of Neutral 50 times a day for five years and then come back to me, I want to tell them !
I’m not asking them to turn their engine at red lights, but at least when they leave the car and go shopping or when they’re waiting for somebody or…or…there are sooo many situations i could just become a mass murderer…
an other thing is with littering…i was discussing the rareness of waste bins in taipei with my boyfriend and he explained me, that the city goverment is persuaded, that if there were more waste bins, there would be more littering…
does anybody get this logic?
And people leave their kids in the car with the engine running, and with so many cars being automatics, the kid just plays around and accidentally knocks it into gear, and the car drives backwards into a lake, and the child dies.
Yep, I almost saw it happen at the lake near Warner Village.
[quote=“Cute little Japanese cartoon girl that my wife used to make me watch”]Another thing is with littering…I was discussing the rareness of waste bins in Taipei with my boyfriend and he explained me, that the city goverment is persuaded, that if there were more waste bins, there would be more littering…
does anybody get this logic?
[/quote]
He’s right, unfortunately. The city government did a trial once by placing lots of litter bins on the sidewalk, but they stopped it when they realized that instead of people using them to discard their soda cans and small trash, they were sneaking out in their cars at night and dumping their entire household waste. Of course, those little sidewalk litter bins are not designed for that, but no matter – if someonce got there first, your nice civic-minded Taiwanese redneck (who says they’re more sophisticated in Taipei?) simply dumped the trash on the sidewalk BESIDE the bin. Lovely.
Hence, no litter bins. Once again, the public shot itself in the foot.