Green Way of Living

Taipei Trip July 14, 2008

Kids and I went to Taipei visiting my parents for the whole month in June.

It’s my kids’ first trip to Asia, and my first trip back after 13 years.

Going from Indiana to Taipei, it is a completely different world.

I meant to write some posting while I was there, but there were so many places to visit, so many friends to see, and great food to eat, sitting in front of the computer was the last thing on my list. Now I wish I did. I cannot recall all the things I wanted to write about now!!

Going Green in Taipei seems to be a big thing. For the people I talked to, Global Warming seemed to be one thing that everybody agrees on. Slow economy and high gasoline price were on everybody’s mind just like in the US. The very encouraging thing to me was that it wasn’t just TALK on the news, but actions by the majority of the people there.

What I most enjoyed and impressed was Taipei’s public transportation system. With one pre-paid “EASY CARD“, you can take buses, MRT, some short distance train services, and the Maokong Gondola! I used public transportation almost everyday while I was there. With the EASY CARD, it’s just so easy, convenient, safe, and I can pretty much get to every where I need to go in Taipei! Kids really loved having the cards and swiped themselves, feeling like a grown up! I really wish we could have better public transportation system over there. I wish I was not living so far out in the suburb…

Due to the VERY Limited land and resources, an island 100 km wide by 400 km long with more than 22 million people, waste management became extremely important. At public places, there were at least two type of trash bins: flammable or non-flammable, due to most of the trash would go to incinerator rather than landfill. And at majority of the places and events, there would be at least 4 different waste bins: glass/can, plastic, paper, then trash. Sometimes you can even see one more: food scrap. For residents, there is a comprehensive 5 days a week waste collection program. Even though people might not comply 100%, but I witnessed when the trash company came to pick up the trash, there were workers (even volunteers) going through all the bags to sort out all of the trash!! I was very impressed!

I miss getting up in the morning and walk to the next block to get fresh breakfast. I miss going places on the bus, Metro, and train. The only thing I DO NOT miss is the heat and humidity. Next time we have to go in the winter.

Bike to Work Week - Did You? May 19, 2008

It was the NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK WEEK the past week.

Since I work from home, I did my part by riding my bike to run my errands when the distance was less than 5 miles.

I am not in very good shape. I sit in front of my computer more than 10 hours a day. I get out of breath after chasing my cat in the living room for a minute. Most of my day workout consists of… well, really, nothing. But since it was National Bike to Work Week, I figured that I had to do something.

• Tuesday, Kids and I rode 2 miles to Prairie Trace Elementary school for Bike Rodeo event. James finally got a helmet that fits!
• Thursday, I rode 3.5 miles one way from my house to Carmel City Hall and back for Carmel Green Initiative ’s Low Carbon Diet workshop.
• Friday, I rode to kids school for class event.

Since my body did not hurt, I figured I should ride my bike to downtown Indy to meet up with my husband for the Twilight Tour at Cottage Home. Unfortunately I neglected to ask my husband to take the bike rack with him in the morning. I hated to have 2 cars downtown, so I decided to get my rollerblades out (which had been in the storage for the past year or so), parked my car at 75th street and Monon Trail (knew my limitation), and went from there all the way downtown.

I had completely over estimated my ability. After 10 blocks, which took me 10 minutes, I began to doubt whether I’d be able to make it… Took me 1 hour and 25 minutes to go 10 miles, and got there 25 minutes later than I was targeting. I was completely out of breath, and my whole body was aching so badly, but it was the GOOD PAIN. The food at the event made it all worth it.

I might not get back on my rollerblades again for a long while. But the trip downtown on the Monon Trail was very pleasant and scenic. I especially enjoyed the mural paintings along the trail. Next time I will take my bike, and give myself more time to fully enjoy the ride.

Green Roof? May 5, 2008

We visited the new Central Public Library downtown Indianapolis few weeks ago. We heard so much about this over-budgeted, over-due major project for the city.

It is definitely a high-tech, expensive, great looking library. Herman Miller chairs through out, high-tech attractions for the kids, great collections of books and materials brought in endless visitors.

We went all the way up to the top floor to admire the building and city. But this was what I saw:
Gray, black, boring, unhealthy looking roofs outside the windows.

With that much money they spent on the new library, how much nicer, better, healthier, GREENER would it be if they also put in the GREEN roof?

Earth Day 2008 at Downtown Indy April 28, 2008

It was a wonderful spring day for the Earth Day celebration Downtown Indy!

Kids and I had been going to the Earth Day event every year since we moved to Indiana.
And this time, my husband and my daughter was interviewed for TV news!!

Earth Day Indiana Festival on WISH TV 04/27/08

I was helping out at Indiana Living Green’s table hanging out our latest issue. I also had the kids packed some of the Sunflower seeds (harvest from our own yard last year) with their recycled homework paper to hand out. It was great to see the big smile everybody had when Jaymee handed them the little pack of seeds.

Earth Day at Wal-Mart? April 15, 2008

I went on a little market research last Friday night. Since I had no place to go after 9 pm, during my husband’s sporting event, I went to Target and Wal-Mart close-by.

I used to shop at Target all the time, did not even think anything of it. Since I turned GREEN, I can’t even stand the smell when I go in the store now. What is that small anyway? The vinyl flooring off-gassing? Formaldehyde from the cheap furnitures? Heavy chemical color dye in clothing? or the carcinogenic artificial butter flavoring of the popcorn from the cafe? I don’t know. I just know I better not stay too long.

Last year, I was happy to see Target carried a line of Organic cotton towels. It was very soft and cheaply priced. I also brought several sets of the organic cotton beddings for the whole family. But somehow, the towels are gone since the beginning of this year…

I still had time to kill, so I went over to Wal-Mart after Target closed at 10 pm. Apparently, there were many people had no place to better spend their time on Friday night, even young children (Shouldn’t they be in bed by now?). It’s a Super-Wal-Mart, but I did not see any organic produce. I saw this big sign “Earth Day” close to the entrance and took a closer look. Organic T-shirt for $6.95! Attractive price! But somehow the t-shirts themselves were not (the colors were awful! the feel of the fabric was different then the organic cotton I’m used to, and the printed designs were nothing to be celebrate about). I stood close to the display for about 10 minutes, watching people passing by, but no one had stop to take a look. How sad. I’m sure there are way to design them better to actually draw some attention. But I guess that’s not WalMart’s concern.

I heard so much of Wal-Mart’s green initiatives, but I guess it’s only at their showcase stores. All I saw in that store Friday night more like Green Washing, then Green initiatives. Too bad.