下一步是具有領導地位的國家組成一個合意解決政府間化石燃料供給問題的聯盟。例如旨在逐步淘汰燃煤發電廠的「脫煤者聯盟」（Powering Past Coal Alliance），就是反化石燃料燃料聯盟的一個示範。由於大部分國家不太可能簽署限制化石燃料供應的協議，因此這種結盟方式是在這樣的政治環境中前進的一個可能性。
Taichung, Taiwan, July 26, 2018 (TEIA)– Yabu Pakaw (雅砆鈸告), lead singer of Snhy (信念樂團), not only sings well, he is also a green thumb. On his plantation, Yabu reserves a space for reintroducing and sustaining 10 or so subsistence food crops used by the Atayal people. He hopes to preserve not only the crops themselves, but also the indigenous knowledge involving them.
“One day when climate change strikes us and those economic crops are unable to grow well, Atayal subsistence crops will secure our food sources”, says Yabu.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Yabu is a singer and a committed promoter of traditional Atayal cultivation.
Yabu’s Satoyama [1] practices intercropping subsistence and economic crops
Yabu, born and raised in Guguan (谷關), Taichung City, belongs to the Atayal’s Hrung (哈崙台) tribe. He owns a plantation located on a terrace in the middle of high mountains. Under his meticulous design, this relatively small plantation is capable supplying foods to people and wildlife year- round.
Today, staff from the Dongshih Forest District Office (東勢林管處), Forestry Bureau and Society for Wildlife And Nature, SWAN (自然生態資源保育協會) have come to learn how to plant Sukay (hyacinth beans) from Yabu. Everyone digs a shallow hole, selects three similar-sized seeds from a wet cotton cloth wrap, places them in the hole, and then covers the hole with a thin layer of soil, following Yabu’s instruction.
Asian persimmon trees evenly grow on Yabu's plantation, and each persimmon tree is marked with the year it was planted. They will be Yabu’s main source of income for the next five years. Having more space between trees minimizes the risk of diseases and insect pests and cuts down the use of organic fertilizers. Yabu explains that, because he takes care of the trees by himself, this approach minimizes the amount of work he has to do.
Yabu also implements grass cultivation in his persimmon plantation. He lets the grass grow naturally and controls weeds by mowing; when the top part of the grass is trimmed, the trimmings become fertilizer. Half of the grass species are native; the other half is store-purchased seeds.
Taking a closer look at the ground, you will find that multiple crops are planted here. These crops provide all seasons harvest since they have different vegetation periods in accordance with seasons. Yabu says, “this way, the soil stays fertilized and I don’t have to resoil the slope all the time.”
The Sukay beans planted today are right next to the persimmon trees and marked with stones.
Green beans grow on top of elevated ladders in another land parcel. These are not just for bringing in revenue, but also to preserve Atayal subsistence crops. Yabu has a unique planting, fertilizing, and watering arrangement in the plantation.
In Yabu’s plantation, summer heat is rarely felt — even in June. After finishing the drudgery, the staff and Yabu sit down and enjoy the farm’s breeze. An eagle is hovering in the sky and is identified as an oriental honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus). It is not the only wild creature that the farm attracts. The tetradium ruticarpum tree grown inside the plantation is host to different insects. September is the best time to both observe these insects and enjoy the natural orchestra they create.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Yabu intercrops subsistence crops and economic crops in his plantation manifests his big plan.
Seed preservation for subsistence crops as a climate change mitigation plan
What motivates Yabu to bring back these subsistence crops and preserve their seeds? Yabu answers that he has an emotional connection to these indigenous food crops. It is a shame, he says, that people adopt modern agriculture and abandon unprofitable subsistence crops. "These indigenous food crops have been planted in Taiwan for hundreds or even thousands of years; they suit local climate conditions well.".
A few years ago, Yabu started a campaign to find the indigenous food crops that that he remembers as a child back to the farm. This year, he has brought back a slightly purple skinned traditional Atayal green bean, called qerang. When Atayal elders eat the qerang, they bite off the pod and then enjoy its stringy texture.
These traditional food crops are Yabu’s climate change mitigation plan. “One day, when climate change strikes us and economic crops are unable to grow well, our Atayal subsistence crops will remain a secure food source” says Yabu.
There are around 10 different kinds of traditional Atayal food crops in Yabu's memory: cassava, pumpkin, Lima bean, pigeon pea, squash, green bean, and taro. He found sweet potato before, but the wild boars took it away. He is always searching for other traditional crops, and has faith that he will find new ones.
When Yabu was asked if he feels lonely with his seeds preservation campaign, particularly considering he has to find the seeds all by himself, he replied in an enthusiastic tone no, because he is preserving what his ancestors pass down onto him. He asserts, “seeds preservation is a meaningful, valuable task to our lives.”
The crops for seeds preservation are unsuitable for food consumption and should be prioritized for seeding. The crops grow fast in their properly reserved space on the plantation, as though the land is remembering them. To attract more tribal members to join his campaign, Yabu shares these seeds to anyone who asks.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Yabu teaching a group of people about preserving Atayal subsistence crops’ seeds as they plant the Sukay.
Traditional living styles, such as foods, hunting, and barter work, are fading away
These seeds are closely tied with the aboriginal people and culture that plant them. Yabu notes that most of the crops are still being prepared and cooked in the traditional way, but certain cuisines are fading away — for example, cavasa bread and mashed Sukay. Yabu recalls that “My yaya (mother in Atayal) told me how to make cassava bread and mashed Sukay, but people nowadays just no longer make these cuisines in traditional way.”
Yabu details the complicated preparation work of making cassava bread from scratch. After gathering the cassava, it has to be dried out completely and then powdered by mortar with pestle. The powder is then mixed with water to make dough, which is then baked on top of a piece of slate. The purpose of making cassava into bread is to make the meal portable and preserved when hunting in the forest.
Later, he shows us how to cook Sukay. Tribal members traditionally gather Sukay and save it for wintertime. Members make a stew with Sukay and game meats, which is the main nutrition source for the elders. Another way to prepare Sukay is to mash it. Dry out the beans, cook the dried beans thoroughly, mash the beans by a mortar with pestle, and then divide the mashed Sukay into portions. The mushy texture is similar to Minnan people’s “tau sar” (豆沙,mashed bean paste). Yabu additionally notes that the mashed Sukay is suitable for people to bring to construction sites, such as reclaiming lands or building sheds, to be shared as a meal. Because it is easy to carry and facilitates the type of barter work that is common for the Atayal people (instead of using money, the people often barter for food and services). Nevertheless, hunting and barter work are fading away — and these cuisines that suit the living styles are being forgotten.
“Millet was planted in arid land parcels and used as food and winemaking sources. When the Japanese came here, millet and upland rice fields were gradually replaced by rice paddies for their high food production” says Yabu.
Though millet was not planted in Hrung for a considerable amount of time, Yabu never forgets the meaning of millet plantation to the Austronesian peoples. Local Squliq Atayal people use Taiwanese chinkapin (Castanopsis formosana) as a millet cultivation barometer. When the Taiwan chinkapin blossoms, the rain is on its way and it is time to sow the millet. Taiwan chinkapin is a important tree species to the Atayal people. In the past, the elders relied on the Taiwan chinkapin heavily when there was no weather service.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Each seed was collected by Yabu from different places. He takes good care of these crops for seed preservation rather than for food consumption and is keen on sharing these seeds with more people.
Tribal indigenous knowledge is the best Satoyama strategic tactics
In 2017, the Dongshih Forest District Office initiated a Satoyama engagement in aboriginal tribes along provincial highway 8 in Guguan. Its goals are to promote a better understandings of these aboriginal tribes and communities and to put Satoyama into practice making Guguan an harmonic human-nature environment. With helps from the SWAN, the office has collected data and organizing information to document traditional Atayal subsistence crops and cultivation. A pilot study on tribal everyday life, productions, and ecosystem landscapes was materialized.
Because of this engagement, Yabu and several other tribe members started collecting and organizing the indigenous knowledge of their own tribe.
Yabu stands out not only as a talented singer, but as someone working tirelessly to preserve Atayal indigenous knowledge. With his firm believe in his land and its connection to Atayal, he devotes himself in preserving Arayal subsistence crops.
[1] Satoyama (里山) is the management of of landscape used for agriculture. This concept originated from a Japanese term meaning the management of forests through local agricultural communities. Literally, it means the border zone or area between mountain foothills and arable flat land (Wikipedia: Satoyama).
Taipei, Taiwan, July 26, 2018 (TEIA)– Starting Jan 1st, 2018, seven more types of businesses, such as beverage stores, bakeries, pharmacies, and bookstores, plus 80,000 regulated subjects, were added to Taiwan’s plastic ban policy. These vendors can no longer provide plastic bags for free. According to the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (Taiwan EPA), 60 warning tickets were given out after 600,000 inspection visits between January to April. Vendors' statistics estimate that 70% of customers choose not to buy a plastic bag.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Many shops are no longer allowed to provide free plastic bags. Photo Credit: 賴鵬智（CC BY-NC-ND 2.0）
The tightened plastic ban covers seven new businesses and 80,000 regulated subjects, including cosmetics stores and pharmacies, medical supply stores, electronic device and components retailers, bookstores, cleaners, beverage shops, and bakeries. Violator of the ban will be fined NT$6,000 (approx. US$200).
According to the Taiwan EPA, 60 warning tickets were given out during the 600,000 inspections between January to April. Beverage shops were the main violators of the ban, receiving 39 of the warning tickets given. Bakeries had the second most violations, receiving 9, and 7 warning tickets were given to cosmetics stores and pharmacies.
The Taiwan EPA initially expected an annual reduction of 1.5 billion plastic bags in total and 870 million of which would be from beverage vendors. I-Hwai Lee (李宜樺), Senior Technical Specialist of the Taiwan EPA’s Department of Waste Management, noted that they inspected whether the vendor provided free plastic bags and recorded the number of customers and how many plastic bags were sold during an inspection visit. The data revealed that almost 70% of customers choose not to buy a plastic bag after the plastic ban was tightened, meaning this implementation is certainly reducing the use of plastic bags.
公民電廠的形式多元，參酌許多國內外經驗（高淑芬，2016；REScoops，2016a；Ofgem，2016；Thomas Bauwens et al.，2016；Anna Schreuer，2016；REN21，2016），從公民參與的方式與程度到地域性皆有區別。以台灣在地案例，如陽光伏特家、綠主張綠電生產合作社、台東達魯瑪克原住民部落電力公司、彰化台西村公民電廠（村民正在籌組台西村綠能社區促進會）等，都可被指認為公民電廠。前兩者是以公民集資或合作投資設置再生能源發電設備為主，是跨地域的；後兩者則更有地方能源（local energy）的特性（地域性），強調在地居民（社區）的參與。
在國際案例上，本文舉幾個發展較早的歐洲國家經驗。Bauwens et al.（2016）提到能源合作社（power cooperatives）的重要性與發展程度在歐洲有很大的差異，有些國家的合作社模式已建立並運作完善，但在有些國家並非如此。英國雖然是風力發電條件很好的國家之一，但相比丹麥與德國其能源合作社卻發展不足。2011年英國共有19個再生能源合作社，其中8個組織尚處於發展階段，而這歸因於英國能源偏向大型設施和企業所有。英國能源供應集中在6家大型公司，佔了超過99.7％的電力供應，只有0.3％的發電比例不是源於這些大型電力公司。此外，英國政府對再生能源頒發的獎勵機制，主要是對投資者的稅收減免，排除了合作社組織，使得英國大型公司容易取得優勢地位。而後，英國政府逐漸發現大型電力公司容易造成高交易成本，所以透過與社區能源的戰略結盟，在2014年成立了一個負責再生能源社區型發展的專案小組。而至目前為止，倡議仍集中在社區能源集團和大型企業開發商的比例調整。
Bauwens, T., Gotchev, B., Holstenkamp, L. (2016). What drives the development of community energy in Europe? The case of wind power cooperatives. - Energy Research and Social Science, 13, p. 136-147.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. 台達基金會首次派員參與2018年EETW，吸收全球最新的能源效率知識與推動手法。
５月中的台灣，已經暑氣衝天，溫度不時飆破攝氏35度。但9800公里外的法國首都巴黎，此刻仍未脫離冬天陰影，清晨只有10度左右，街上不時瀰漫細雨和霧氣，讓人以為置身「霧都」（倫敦）；而非「花都」。上次來這是參加2015年底的COP21（聯合國氣候公約第21次締約方會議），在此見證《巴黎協定》的誕生。暌違三年再訪，則是參與由IEA（國際能源總署）舉辦的「新興國家能源效率訓練營」（Energy Efficiency in Emerging Economies Training Week，簡稱EETW）。
EETW的起源可回溯至2015年，是IEA針對發展中國家提供的能源效率訓練，至今累積培訓逾800人，今年即有來自40國的上百名參與者，在五天的緊湊課程中提供：建築、工業、照明和設備 （lighting and appliances）、運輸等四領域的最新能效概念。開幕儀式上，除了IEA一干主管，包括印度駐法大使Vinay Mohan Kwatra、墨西哥駐OECD（經濟發展合作組織）大使Mónica Aspe Bernal、丹麥駐OECD大使Klavs A. Holm等官員也到場祝賀。IEA執行董事Fatih Birol開宗明義地說，不管是減緩全球暖化、因應氣候變遷、到抑制環境污染，能源效率都扮演相當吃重的關鍵角色。
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. IEA預估到了2050年，全球2/3家戶都會安裝冷氣，須防範因此衍生的龐大耗能和電網衝擊。
首先是「空調」耗能的急遽成長。IEA甫發表的《The Future of Cooling》報告直接點名，未來30年全球成長最快的吃電怪獸，既非電動車、也非比特幣，而是藏在建築裡的冷卻系統（冷氣、電扇、除濕機），估計全球冷卻設備將在2050年暴增至80億台，比2016年（34億台）多出一倍有餘，而且其中56億台都是冷氣，所需電量將突破6,000 TWh（6兆度），幾乎等於多出「一個中國」的用電量。
