A Very Green Taiwan

This post is sort of a follow up to yesterdays. Throughout my few short days here, I've noticed just how much Taiwan really takes "going green" seriously.

In the United States, there is some effort to make the earth a better place; recycling bins in some places, hybrid cars, and even a few people that turn off lights when they leave a house. But all of these efforts do not come close to those put in place by Taiwan.

Very rarely do I see a trash can anywhere, and if I do, it always seems to be accompanied by two or more recycling bins. And the rules of recycling really do seem to resonate throughout the population, with nearly everyone seemingly holding onto their trash and disposing of it correctly later.

On top of recycling, the Metro system of Taipei also seemed to strive to be as green as possible. Of of the most stand out features were the bike rentals. A person can simply rent a bike, ride it to their destination in a designated biking lane, and return it on the metro or bus at a later time. This is a system I have never seen implemented before, but would very much like to see it catch on.

Companies as well seem to take the green standard of living, with many having fans rather than full blast A/C units. Not only does this seem to cut costs, but also use less energy. I truly believe that if other countries took the lessons of Taiwan to heart, it would help shape a better world.