Sustainability: The Bigger Picture (Ep. 13)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday October 9, 2015

 

To listen to the show after the initial broadcast, please visit our archive RTHK's DAB 31.

Our journey here has come to an end, but we'll carry on protecting this amazing environment!

In Green Hong Kong's last episode, Fei and Kathryn sit down with our show scientist Inga to discuss some of the key, meaningful things we've learned. We discuss a few of the special things about Hong Kong, corals and wildlife, but talk about one of the biggest challenges facing Hong Kong's environment: waste management. We reflect on our interview with the EPD, as well as the global issue of too much plastic in our seas. At the end of the day, there are small changes we can all make in our daily lives to help reduce our impact on the environment. Simple things like bringing your own water bottle, choosing products with less or no packaging, saying no to straws, reducing meat consumption, etc., can all have a great positive impact. As Inga mentions, we must all realize that every individual's actions do have a meaningful impact, and we should never think that our individual difference is just too small! Every little action counts to making a greener Hong Kong.

Free water in Hong Kong! Just follow the map!

More information from this fantastic resource on how to reduce your waste is available at zerowastehongkong.com.

We're so grateful to have been given this amazing opportunity to do something we love and share about our passion for the environment. Thank you to CIBS and thank you to our listeners and supporters! And a special thank you to all of our guests for taking the time out of their busy lives to come and talk with our little radio show!

This show would not have been possible without the support of: 

Nick Hamilton, who introduced me to radio back in the UK and offered technical advice and feedback to get this show going! 

Sara Hessel, a kind friend who offered her radio expertise and inspiration!

Chris Tam, who patiently answered audio-editing questions and was always there for technical help! 

Thank you, too, to the team:

Inga Conti-Jerpe for her scientific expertise and explanations; 

Fei Hung for her commitment to come to the studio on her days off and translate off the top of her head; 

Dante Archangeli for advise on content and organization.

What Lies Beyond the Dinner Table: Part 2 Organics (Ep. 12)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday October 2, 2015

 

To listen to the show after initial broadcast, please visit our archive RTHK's DAB 31 (skip to 6m48s)

 

 Every single day, we all have to eat! We continue our discussion about food and what some more sustainable food choices are. And to better understand the situation with plants and organic labeling in Hong Kong we sat down with an environmental scientist Professor Jonathan Wong, who is the director of the Hong Kong Organic Resource Center. Prof. Wong first shares with us what organic means and why it's a better choice. He explains how there are chemicals and even heavy metals in conventionally grown vegetables, especially from China. But buying organic products in Hong Kong can be incredibly confusing, because there are all kinds of international "organic" labels in our supermarkets! Prof. Wong explains what the different labeling systems are and what to look for. The Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre has already set up a unified certification system for Hong Kong, but we need more suppliers to voluntarily sign up to get their label. Hopefully in the future we can see a more stream-lined system so it's easier for consumers to choose quality organic products! For now, Prof. Wong emphasized how valuable it is to buy our own locally-grown organic vegetables from our markets. 

 

 

Credits 

A special thank you to Professor Jonathan Wong, Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Director of Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre
Kathryn Davies - Producer & Host
Fei Hung - Host

What lies beyond the dinner table: Part 1 Seafood (Ep. 11)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday September 25, 2015, RTHK DAB31

 

To listen to the show's initial broadcast, please visit RTHK's DAB 31.

To listen to the show after the initial broadcast, please visit the archive here. (Skip to 7m45s.)

Every single meal we eat has to come in one way or another from the environment. Pasta, noodles, even dim sum or a sandwich all comes from plants and animals. We begin this week to look at how the environment provides the food we need to keep us alive, and we turn to the seas! Dr. Allen To of the WWF's Footprint Programme joins us to tell us about his work on sustainable seafood. The sea does not have unlimited fish, and at the moment we're over exploiting our seas. To have fish and healthy marine ecosystems in the future, we need to carefully rethink our ways of getting food.

Hong Kong eats a lot of seafood: in Asia we're second only to the Maldives, which is an island nation! We eat more seafood per capita than South Korea or Japan! As a city, we're having an enormous global impact on the oceans. We've already poorly managed our own local seas and depleted our fish. Dr. To explains how our habits haven't changed, and since we have money, we have just moved on to a different regions to buy up fish from somewhere else. This situation poses a dangerous risk to the livelihood of people and ecosystems in developing countries, where fishery management is not yet able to ensure safe fishing practices. Inga explains to us how we're simply not planning for the future, and fishermen, especially in developing areas, simply have a mentality of "catch as much as you can", which is driven by the market value of fish. However, as Allen and Inga discuss, seafood generally has a good "energy to animal protein" conversion rate compared with chicken, beef, or pork, and in that sense it is a more sustainable, environmentally choice, but the way in which we get our seafood needs to have better oversight for future protection. It can all be very confusing!

What can we do?

 The good news is that the WWF has been working to develop a Sustainable Seafood Guide for Hong Kong, which you can have a look at to better understand what good choices you can make. They include both wild caught and farmed seafood. Allen explains how we should try to go for the seafood items in the "green" category, things like farmed filter feeders (muscles, oysters, clams), and to totally avoid things in the "red" category (bluefin tuna, shark fin, wild-caught grouper, South China Sea shrimp!). Another key thing we can do is ask restaurants for an ocean friendly menu, and the WWF has been working closely with restaurants to help them develop this. They have a list of restaurants with an ocean friendly menu, and you can download their app. He points out that no matter what, we should be asking restaurants for this so we raise awareness of this issue and demand for more sustainable seafood.

 

 Another important thing to look for are the ASC (Agriculture Stewardship Council for farmed seafood) and MSC (Marine Stewardship Council for wild caught seafood) certification systems. When you're shopping in the supermarket for fish, you can look for these labels on packages. 

This was one of the most fascinating episodes we made, and we really enjoyed talking with Allen. We hope you enjoy and will become more aware of this pressing issue facing our seas! 

Credits
A special thank you to Dr. Allen To of the WWF's Footprint Programme. 
Producer & Host: Kathryn Davies
Producer & Host: Inga Conti-Jerpe
Host: Fei Hung
Music: Kodomo (Concept 9 & Concept 13, Still Life Album)

Manpower! Walking in Hong Kong (Ep. 10)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday September 18, 2015

To listen to the show's initial broadcast, please visit RTHK's DAB 31.

To listen to the show after the initial broadcast, please visit the archive here. (Skip to 7m30s!)

Walking (and cycling!) is one of the greenest forms of transport. You use your own manpower to get around! And every day in Hong Kong as millions of people in Hong Kong move from one place to another, we rely on a complex network of pathways, footbridges, and public transportation. We sit down with Southern District Councillor and Founder/CEO of Designing Hong Kong Paul Zimmerman to discuss how this network is developed and what some problems and solutions are to improving Hong Kong's street for pedestrians. Paul also discusses how designing a good network for us to move around depends on different government departments, and he discusses some underlying problems with our government's management that are holding us back from innovation and solving some of our city's design issues.

There are many challenges facing pedestrians. In addition to the up-and-down-up-and-down elevation changes necessary for crossing major roads over footbridges, our streets are crowded. 

Pedestrians squeeze by between a shop and busy street (Queen's Rd. Central)

What sadly ends up happening: Pedestrians spill over into street and on-coming traffic! 

We discuss how you have to re-think priorities not based on who has money, but by simply counting heads (a kind of public space democracy!). But until government departments cooperate better, it's difficult to make innovative solutions and an overall better city design.

Please get involved!

If there are dangerous intersections that you know about or areas that need improvement, you can report them to www.missinglinks.hk. Paul talked about how it can sometimes take 10 years to get changes implemented, while other times for "standard" solutions, the improvements can happen quickly. 

 

Green Engineering (Ep. 9)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday September 11, 2015

To listen to the show's initial broadcast, please visit RTHK's DAB 31.

To listen to the show after the initial broadcast, please visit the archive here. (Skip to 6m30s!)

(Photo K. Davies)

In this episode, our researcher Inga Conti-Jerpe interviews green engineer Dr. Sam C. M. Hui from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Hong Kong. He shared with us about the impact buildings actually have in Hong Kong on the  environment, since we live in a highly dense urban environment. Not only are buildings one of the largest "users" of energy consumption, but they also play a role in how comfortable our environment is. Due to our urban environment and modern conveniences we live in what Dr. Hui explains is an "urban heat island", meaning our urban temperature is higher than our countryside because of the heat our buildings emit and how heat is reflected off concrete. Plants, for example, would convert sunlight instead into biomass, but in our concrete jungles are temperatures are just getting hotter and hotter. Dr. Hui explains the benefits of heat-combating greening. And thank goodness we have Inga to help us breakdown the science of it all!

More information about the "urban heat island" effect can be found here.

Hong Kong has its first "zero carbon building", which is in Kowloon Bay.

Inga, Kathryn, and Prof. Sam Hui

Hiking Hong Kong - Homage to our Countryside! (Ep. 8)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday September 4, 2015

To listen to the show's initial broadcast, please visit RTHK's DAB 31.

To listen to the show after the initial broadcast, please visit the archive here. (Skip to 6m45s!)

(Photo by K. Davies)

This episode celebrates Hong Kong's country parks and countryside: Hong Kong is a wonderful place for hiking! We sit down with three experienced hike leaders, Paul Christensen (Hong Kong Hikers), Annie Chow (Hike HK Meetup), and Daisy Linas (Hong Kong Hiking Meetup). Our guests all come from diverse backgrounds, but they all volunteer their time to take any and everyone out on organized group hikes. They tell us about some of the beautiful places you can go hiking in Hong Kong, and share about the importance of keeping secret places secret! We also discuss some of the challenges facing the country parks, including the country park enclaves and trail management. They all conclude, though, that the best part of joining an organized group hike is that they have a meal or happy hour after!

Countryside for Everyone

Join Hiking Groups

Hong Kong Hikers - Traditionally a week-day hiking group to avoid the crowds on weekends. There are usually 1-3 hikes a week.

Hong Kong Hiking Meetup - Perhaps Hong Kong’s biggest hiking group (15,000 members!). Daily hikes: workout hikes, leisure hikes, long distance hikes. Everything!

Hike HK Meetup - Also offers a mix of different kinds of hikes, as well as some different types of activities like snorkeling.

These organized group hikes will provide a detailed description of what to expect and how to come prepared (no jeans!). You only have to find your way usually to an MTR station meeting point, and the organizer leads the rest of the way, so you can just enjoy the view! It’s a great way to learn about new places or routes, as the leaders are experienced with the areas.

What’s really nice about these groups is how welcoming they are. The hiking leaders do their best to accommodate everyone and go at a pace suitable for the whole group. They care to share the hiking experience and countryside with everyone.

Waste Not, Want Not: Part 2 - Environment Protection Department

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday August 28, 2015

To listen to the show's initial broadcast, please visit RTHK's DAB 31.

To listen to the show after the initial broadcast, please visit the archive here. (Skip to 7m15s!)

We are so addicted to trash in Hong Kong that we will soon have to build an incinerator to burn our excessive waste. So, I wanted to learn more about what the government (the Environmental Protection Department) is doing to reduce our waste by improving recycling. In today’s episode we sit down with Mr. Wong Hon Meng of the EPD to discuss recycling and waste education. Mr. Wong talks about the importance of the recycling industry, and how the EPD is supplying funds in various manners to help encourage the industry. He explains how after you throw something into the recycling bin, there is a whole process stream to collect, sort, and then send off our recyclables. 

There are a few useful tips about how we as individuals can improve the situation. We also discuss plastics and why it’s so challenging to make use of recycled plastic. All in all, while the episode talks about what the EPD is doing, I believe the EPD is simply not on track to improve this dire waste situation in Hong Kong. They are not putting pressure on shops and businesses to reduce the packaging they provide, and they simply do not make sufficient effort to help educate and encourage the public to recycle. Waste management and recycling in Hong Kong is simply a mess. As a result, we have to build a dioxin-causing, polluting incinerator on a beautiful island. Come on EPD -- you MUST do better!!!

What Can Be Better?

(Photo by K. Davies)

Plastic Bottle Deposit System: In the episode, I point out that plastics don’t really have a value. Mr. Wong notes, for example, that paper and metal is widely recycled in Hong Kong, because “old people” go around and collect these materials to bring to shops to get money. While plastic has a lesser value to the recycling industry, the EPD needs to step up and give it an “artificial” value: a deposit. If plastic drink bottles had a deposit (e.g. $5), the public would be encouraged to return them to a proper place to be recycled. Instead, to the public the plastic has no value and it is treated poorly: left on streets, thrown in the ample orange trash bins. As a result, all these plastic bottles are ending up in our landfills and in our oceans, which you can easily see by visiting any beach. Just think of how many beaches would be instantly cleaned by “old people” if all the plastic bottles could be returned for some change! Of course it will take time to set up a deposit system, but in the meantime, instead of giving taxpayers money back, why not create some stations and pay a small sum of money for plastic bottles?

Vote for Green Hong Kong!

We've applied to continue "Green Hong Kong - Eco-friendly Living in a Big City" with RTHK's CIBS program. Until Sunday (Aug. 23) is the public voting period! Vote now at: http://cibs.rthk.hk/vote/about

Every vote helps! :)

Waste Not, Want Not: Part 1 (Ep. 6)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday August 21, 2015

To listen to the show's initial broadcast, please visit RTHK's DAB 31.

To listen to the show after the initial broadcast, please visit the archive here.

(Photo by Gary Verstick)

Hong Kong is facing a major waste crisis. Our earth is facing a major waste crisis. We begin this episode by visiting an isolated beach near Kennedy Town with Gary Verstick. Gary explains how no one visits this beach, the piles of rubbish come from the sea, which is a major issue facing all of our oceans. To learn more about why this disaster is happening and what we can do about it, I sat down with Nissa Marion, co-founder of the Hong Kong Cleanup Challenge and Ecozine Magazine. Nissa shares how in Hong Kong we produce the equivalent to 250,000 double-decker buses worth of trash each year, which is 50 times the number of buses we actually have! All this trash is being permanently “parked” in our landfills (NENT, SENT, and WENT), and they simply can’t keep it up! Soon a polluting incinerator will be built to help burn this trash, and, if it’s not going into these “proper” places, it’s ending up in our seas!

How did we become so trashy?

This is an issue very close to my heart, and I don’t even know why! In our modern lives, we have evolved to have a terrible system for transporting the goods that give us comfortable lives: packaging! Every day we buy and consume things, and then throw away the packaging or products without thinking twice about it. But all of these things have to go somewhere. In Hong Kong we have a very efficient waste management system: you never have to see or smell your rubbish again after you throw it away. It magically “disappears”! But sadly, most packaging never really disappears. A plastic bottle may need up to 500 years to decompose in a landfill.

Green Youth (Ep. 5)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday August 14, 2015

To listen to the show, please visit the archive here.

(Photo by Su Tsz Ki)

For this episode, we wanted to learn about what efforts young people in Hong Kong are doing to lead a more eco-friendly lifestyle and make Hong Kong greener. We sat down with Su Tsz Ki (Suki), who is an undergraduate at the University of Hong Kong and member of the HKU Greenwoods Society. She shares with us her work to establish a composting system at HKU's New College dormitory and transform their podium level into a vegetable garden using their food waste. Suki is very passionate about education, and we joined her and other Greenwoods members at an educational event for young people of the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servant Society. On HKU's Rooftop Farm we talk with the HKCCSS children about environmental issues. These young people truly give hope that the next generation will establish a green-minded society.

How to Get Involved?
Suki mentioned how much she enjoys being a vegetarian, and she encouraged others to try! Vegetables are much more sustainable to grow than animals, and even just one or two vegetarian meals a week helps reduce the environmental footprint meat creates. Here's a helpful list of vegetarian food blogs with ideas. Kathryn's favorite vegetarian pasta recipe is here (can be made with in-season eggplants instead of celery and carrots!)

Ark Eden on Lantau offers many internships, workshops, and educational opportunities. They have a farm, eco-centers, and take people out to explore nature! It's a great place to start getting engaged with the Hong Kong's environment!

Credits
A special thank you to:
Suki, Su Tsz Ki
Youth from the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servant Society

Kathryn Davies - Producer & Host
Music by Kodomo (Red Giant) and Arnold Bax (Oboe Quintet)

From Wild to Domestic (Ep. 4)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday August 7, 2015

To listen to the show's initial broadcast, please visit here and click on the headphone icon.

To listen to the show after the initial broadcast, please visit the archive here.

In this episode, we begin look at the living beings that inhabit our earth, and we start with animals!

(Photo by K. Davies)

We wanted to learn more about wild and domestic animals in Hong Kong, so we went to the SPCA and had the opportunity to talk with Fiona Woodhouse (Deputy Director of Animal Welfare), Lucy Wong (Foster Parent Coordinator), and Calais Sin (Cat Colony Care Program Coordinator). Fiona tells us about the broad range of their work with all kinds of animals, as well as some background information about types of wild animals in Hong Kong and some of the different categories of animals. Encouragingly, she talks about some good new legislation being discussed to help put an end to the awful pet trade in Hong Kong. Lucy Wong tells us about how we can get involved by fostering animals, and we briefly discuss the Cat Colony Care Program (CCCP) work to help reduce the number of unwanted animals.

There are so many animals in shelters across Hong Kong that are in need of loving homes. There are all kinds of animals to chose from, and, I find, that shelter animals always recognize the loving act that you’ve done by saving their life: they are so loving back! By adopting animals from shelters, you helping to reduce the populations of unwanted cats and dogs on Hong Kong’s streets and in our country parks, which helps protect the wildlife!

How to Help Animals

As Fiona mentions, one of the best ways to help is to offer your home to an animal in need: adopt an animal from a shelter! If you’re not ready to adopt, you can also foster animals for a short period of time. You can also just volunteer or donate to animal organizations. There’s many ways you can help them!

Here are some organizations doing work to help animals in Hong Kong:

SPCA

LAP (Lifelong Animal Protection Charity)

Hong Kong Dog Rescue

PALS (Protection of Animals Lantau South)

Sai Kung Stray Friends (Note: they have faced particular challenges over having to move and can use extra help!)

Hong Kong Alleycat Watch (Note: they have some useful information/resources on their website!)

Kirsten’s Zoo
Linda's Cat and Dog House

More About Fostering

Foster Kitten Clyde (photo by: K. Davies)

I got involved with fostering after I met Calais Sin, when I went to show her a cat colony in a country park. I was so skeptical at first, because I didn’t want to get attached to a kitten! I didn’t feel I was in a position to adopt any animals, either, but she really encouraged me to try. Some 15 foster kittens later, I still love it!

They SPCA provides good support: food, litter, vet expenses, and you can return the animal at any time if it doesn’t work out for you. Sometimes the kittens need medicine or extra attention, but it’s very rewarding to see them recover and become happy, healthy little kittens! And let’s be honest, they are just so darn cute!

To get involved with fostering, please just call and leave a message with Lucy Wong and she’ll get back with you. Many of the other organizations listed above also need foster parents to help animals recovering from surgery or illness or in-transition.

Fostering is a wonderful way to enjoy the company of an animal while helping to make a good contribution to these animal welfare organizations and the happiness of the animal.

Key Vocabulary

Cat Colony Care Program - 貓隻領域護理計劃

Trap Neuter Return - 捕捉、絶育、放回

fostering - 暫養

foster parent - 暫養家庭

animal welfare legislation - 立法保障動物福利

domesticated animals - ​ 家畜​

feral - ​野生​

stray - 流浪​

feral cattle (in HK) - ​ ​野生牛隻

buffalo - 水牛​

civet cat - ​靈貓​

badger -​ 獾​

porcupine​ - 豪豬​

barking deer - 麂​

bad breeder - 無良繁殖​

pet shops - 寵物店​

appalling conditions -​ 惡劣的繁殖環境​