tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42404127752660810222012-02-12T03:05:16.352+08:00A blog that sets out to challenge conventional thinking and stimulate your ability to relate to your world in Hong Kong (or wherever you are)...a blog you should be reading.31773noreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-27116317704265254672007-11-16T05:20:00.000+08:002007-11-16T06:24:18.812+08:00

Not all publicity is good publicity.The story goes like this--the next Batman film, "The Dark Knight", was going to be made in Hong Kong. Christian Bale, who plays Batman in the movie, was supposed to dive into the Victoria Harbour with the glittering HK skyline as backdrop. But, this scene was somehow lifted from the original script. Some articles reported the scene change as a conscious

31773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-78419653018078356352007-11-13T01:17:00.000+08:002007-11-16T06:36:46.263+08:00

Water shortage is not a "third world" problem.In late September, the Environmental Protection Department of the State of Georgia declared a Level 4 drought response across the northern third of the state, which immediately banned most types of outdoor residential water use. However, the drought did not draw much attention until pictures of a dry lakes and reports on a tri-state water fight were

31773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-91139864918548945592007-10-23T13:12:00.000+08:002007-10-24T09:03:08.970+08:00

It's been a while...I left Hong Kong for my last year as an undergraduate student in late August. Sorry for being MIA to those who still check this site for (noT-so-)regular updates. I have been making post-college plans...and that basically sums up my fabulous life as a senior in college. I promise to be more consistent with blogging once my schedule clears up.Anyway, to get back into the swing

31773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-29292772851201438502007-07-23T12:11:00.000+08:002007-07-23T17:39:28.367+08:00

I was a bit under the weather last week so blogging had to be put on hold. Two weekends ago, I made a trip to Tai O (south of the Lantau Island near Hong Kong) with some friends. We were fortunate to have Ms. Wong Wai King, a well-known native and community worker, as our tour guide. Currently, Ms. Wong is working on conserving the local culture of Tai O. She founded the "Tai O Cultural

31773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-65728601858156046412007-07-16T15:40:00.000+08:002007-07-23T17:42:53.651+08:00

Competition is just another word for "growing up" to Hong Kong children. Kids here are trained to cope with high pressure at a young age through kindergarten admission interviews and involvement in extracurricular activities besides a rigorous academic curriculum. I secretly feel lucky to be over and done with that stressful stage of childhood in Hong Kong. I get chills when I hear horror

31773noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-4252019997716178002007-07-11T16:56:00.000+08:002007-07-13T09:50:42.412+08:00

Gasoline, petrolatum jelly, plastics, lubricating oil, wax, paraffin, diesel--what do they all have in common? Crude Oil. They are all fossil fuel products.Just like how DDT (pesticides) were invented to improve our living conditions by increasing crop harvests, fossil fuel products weren't necessarily evil until they are overused and abused. Because oil was literally overflowing at spots where

31773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-47080557834541849112007-07-09T15:20:00.000+08:002007-07-10T09:33:58.258+08:00

Last week, Mr. Pan Yue, Deputy Head of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) of China, commented on the recent water pollution cases. Pan said, "Traditional ways of development have caused the near breakdown of China's resources and environment; and people's lives are in great danger."In the same week, water supply was disrupted in Shuyang of the Jiangsu Province in China due

31773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-75689068590624155402007-07-03T16:20:00.000+08:002007-07-03T18:47:30.454+08:00

Have you ever wondered what happens to your computer and other electronic devices after you get rid of them?Major computer manufacturers like Dell and Apple have recycling programs in place in the United States and other western countries. However, in China (including Hong Kong), they provide no such service despite the increasing demand for these computers.Following the post-Rio Declaration wave

31773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-74982172056689949652007-06-29T11:55:00.000+08:002007-06-29T17:07:28.731+08:00

Ignorance is bliss. You can't just pretend certain problems don't exist once you know they are there. It's not fun being a persistent environmentalist. Don't know if anyone out there feels the same way, but I go through internal struggles while making everyday decisions just because I don't like the idea of preaching something I don't practice myself.It's hard to be environmentally friendly. In

31773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-2230811766537021352007-06-27T16:02:00.000+08:002007-06-28T20:53:04.207+08:00

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of HKSAR, suggested that there is still room for Hong Kong's population to grow to 10 million (from 7 million now). In Tsang's opinion, Hong Kong has the growth criteria comparable to those in New York City and London. Also, to further excel internationally, Tsang said we would have to do so while Singapore and

31773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-85286154397364137772007-06-26T14:11:00.000+08:002007-06-27T00:59:53.376+08:00

So much about recent environmental news in Hong Kong and mainland China...let's go back to the basics.In today's world, we tend to assign a numerical value to everything for more efficient decision-making. We use tools like cost-benefit analyses to quantify the value of a human life when we decide where to place traffic lights. We stick price tags on threatened animal and plant species to see if

31773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-14185882627468454162007-06-25T15:59:00.000+08:002007-06-25T19:35:28.891+08:00

Last week, a report issued by a Dutch Government-funded agency declared China the new top polluter of the world. Emitting a striking 6.2 MILLION tonnes of CO2 per year, China came first on the list before the US and the UK.Indeed, China has many more coal-fired power plants than it should have. It is also true that Beijing is witnessing further desertification of the Gobi, which leads to more

31773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-67962862208669303562007-06-22T13:24:00.000+08:002007-11-16T02:25:53.661+08:00

Top: The Victoria Harbour, present, on a good dayBottom: the smogged up harbour, presentIn the previous post on red tides, I mentioned that Hong Kong used to dump the majority of its locally-produced sewage into the South China Sea after a mere preliminary treatment procedure through a long, deep tunnel. This strategy was propsed by the "Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme" (SSDS) commissioned in

31773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-13036361376796648402007-06-18T13:07:00.000+08:002007-07-05T17:56:34.241+08:00

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (Red Tide Information Network):"The red tide spread over Hong Kong waters from Ma Wan has fully dissipated, an inter-departmental red tide working group reported today (June 15). "The South China Morning Post (June 5, 2007):"The extensive accumulation of algae...is believed to be the biggest since 1998, when the worst red tides in history killed

31773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-82466109209297513902007-06-14T18:33:00.000+08:002007-07-05T17:18:11.617+08:00

Think twice before you buy the theory of global warming as the biggest hoax in history.Inevitably, Planet Earth operates on its own cycles. Some people are adamant about scientific projections that supposedly told them global warming delayed the next disastrous ice age. We all know "accurate science" does not exist. The beauty and essense and science lies in its ability to instill hope into life

31773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240412775266081022.post-68729665020955807982007-06-14T16:05:00.000+08:002007-07-05T17:18:46.151+08:00

Environmentalism a "post-materialist" movement started around 1960s along with a wave of social activism. a school of thought that preaches love and respect for nature and everything in ita "hippie", ultra-liberal concept that seeks to reconnect people and nature (or withdraw people from the "real world")a radical movement that goes against neoclassical economics, development, and all good things

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