Green activism in the 'Age of Stupid'

MacFarquhar goes on to say, even without climate change, Taiwan's approach towards resource management and development is quite poor, with no consideration for sustainability.

With climate change leading to water shortages and inundation, the situation will only worsen with the following loss of land, food resources, and biodiversity. MacFarquhar notes that Taiwan has been identified as a place of seemingly extremely high endemism and thus faces an exceptional level of threat, especially given the relatively poor documentation undertaken in this area.

In terms of timeline, MacFarquhar believes it's absolutely critical that all CO2-belching countries do something about this. Locally, she says these challenges are compounded by factors such as: An overdependence on engineers and (conventional) economists rather than ecologists for decision-making; the perception that GDP is a sensible tool with which to measure how well we're doing; and Taiwan's isolation from international communities such as the United Nations, which is used as a reason to not abide by the Convention on Biodiversity and the Kyoto Protocol.

Despite Taiwan's isolation from international groups and treaties, a handful of expats, such as MacFarquhar and Robin Winkler of Wild at Heart are working closely with the local environmental movement, helping them connect with foreign experts and the environmental movements around the globe.

MacFarquhar says this is an important role that she can serve; for instance, she provides a voice for poorly-represented creatures such as Taiwan's humpback dolphins at government meetings where discussions generally revolve around the dumping of more chemicals and coal ashes into their natural habitat.

On Tuesday, the screening of the film “Age of Stupid” will be yet another milestone achieved by Wild at Heart and other local environmental groups.

A panel discussion and Q&A session will follow the screening, as local environmental groups hope that this large-scale screening will lead to real action instead of just talk. ■

Age of Stupid (愚蠢年代) / 2 p.m. September 22 (Tue.) / Armed Forces Cultural Center (台北市國軍文藝活動中心) / No. 69 Chunghua Rd. Sec. 1, Taipei City (台北市中華路一段69號) / (02) 2382-5789 / Free Admission / http://www.wildatheart.org.tw / http://www.ageofstupid.net/

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