Clean up our act! Educate Hong Kong on marine waste!

Dalvm

FB IG Twitter: #stopwaste #cleanupyouracthongkong #discoverhongkong #thisishongkong #shapingchange

Hi. My name is Chris. I live in Hong Kong the most wasteful society in the world. We hold the crown as the kings of trash.  Moreover, we rank 8th in the world in terms of marine consumption.  The per capita consumption is even almost double that of China!  

大家好! 我的名字是Chris，我住在香港，令人慚愧的是這地方是最會浪費的城市，我們是浪費之王！而且香港人在海洋生物消耗量上是全球第八位，如按比例來比較，我們的消耗量是中國的2倍！

I am lucky that the village I live in is one of pristine beauty. It's Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park managed by the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department (AFCD). The AFCD is kind of like the parks service of the Hong Kong SAR and as the name puts it, responsible for wildlife and marine conservation in Hong Kong.  Hoi Ha is an area of 2.6 sq. Km with over 120 species of coral fish and 64 species of stony coral. It's kind of a gem in Hong Kong because it has some of the best coral communities in all of China. Because it's such an amazing site, we see more than 96,000 visitors per year.

我感到非常幸運，因為我現住在香港其中一個美麗的郊區，它就是由漁農自然護理署(下稱漁護署)所管轄的海下灣海岸公園，在香港也有很多這類型的地方，而這些地方對於香港的陸上及海洋生物是非常重要的。海下灣的面積有2.6平方公里，當中有超過120種珊瑚魚及石珊瑚生存。它就是香港的一塊寶石，因為海下灣擁有中國最好的珊瑚群，所以海下灣就是如此美麗及吸引了超過96000遊客到訪。

As a resident of Hoi Ha, I attended a meeting on November 4th with the AFCD regarding a new educational visitor centre they plan to build here. I asked them if they will include a permanent exhibit regarding the urgent situation of our trashed oceans and what we as a people can do to fix the problem. They responded that "plans for the educational package are to be more conservation related and any exhibit regarding ocean trash would be temporary in nature".  

作為海下灣其中一位居民，我參加了一次由漁護署就將設立的海下灣訪客教育中心舉辦的研討會。我問到他們會否設立一個關於「海洋污染及如何解決海洋污染」這嚴峻問題的永久性展覽，而他們的回應是這個設施主要針對海洋保育，而海洋污染的展覽只會是暫時性的。

Uh what??  I think our wasting of the oceans has everything to do with marine conservation. And most importantly, us Hong Kongers are the proven leaders of litter.

我感到非常詫異！我認為我們對海洋做成的污染對海洋生物的存亡有絕大的關係，更重要是事實已證明香港人制造的垃圾比很多其他地方更多，而這些垃圾也一直污染著海洋。

This is not a fact for us to be proud of. And so it is absolutely integral we take every opportunity to begin educating about the disastrous impact we are having on the oceans and what we can do to stop it. And what better place to do it than at the new visitor centre in Hong Kong's best marine park that sees so many visitors per year. It has got to be one of the most strategic locations to get the message across and to have the highest impact on our society here in Hong Kong.

以上的事不值得我們感到驕傲，我們更應把握每一個機會去開始進行教育，令到大眾知道我們對這片海洋所做的可怕事情。海下灣是香港最好的海岸公園而且又將會落成新的教育中心，我真的不能找到比它更好及的地方去進行教育，海下灣就是我們進行重點教學的地方，而它會為香港保育帶來最好的效果。

So this is a petition to Patrick Lai, Assistant Director, Country and Marine Parks of AFCD and Alan Chan, Senior Marine Parks Officer of AFCD to:

所以我就此發起這次請願，希望向漁護署助理署長黎存志及高級海洋護理主任陳乃觀傳遞以下4個訴求:

Guarantee the inclusion of a permanent educational exhibit at the new Hoi Ha Wan Marine Centre regarding how we have trashed our oceans and the risks of continuing on the same course
確保在海下灣新設立的海洋教育中心中設有永久的展覽關於「我們如何制造海洋污染及它帶來的嚴重後果」這個主題
Ensure the exhibit discusses the poor record we Hong Kongers have at waste management globally
碓保展覽當中討論到香港人在海洋污染的責任
Provide solutions on how each one of us can change our habits to stop the current destruction and begin fixing the disaster
提供資訊如何改變我們的習慣去制止我們對海洋的破壞及著手改善海洋環境
An ongoing status report of the improvement actions being taken and the performance of such actions
持續提供有關改善行動及其成效的報告
Please help me convince Hong Kong's marine conservation department of the importance of this.  As the visitor centre is currently under construction, we need to try to convince them of this before completion.  So, I need to get as much help as I can.

請加入我們一起說服有關機構，我們應該在這段時間盡我們的能力表達我們的訴求，更多的人參加會有更大的力量。

Please show your support and help me ensure we begin educating the world's biggest wasters on the importance of reducing our impact on the world's oceans.

請支持這次的請願行動以確保我們可以作出行動去令最浪費的人明白減少浪費的重要性。

Please sign my petition.  

Please share it globally. As the world's leading wasters, we owe it to the world.

請加入我們的請願及分享給你身邊的人，我作為地球的一份子，我們有責任去保護我們居住地方。

https://www.change.org/p/patrick ... e-waste?signed=true

Dalvm

STOP Plastic Straws in Hong Kong

Currently, plastic straws are used most widely around Hong Kong. Around 2,000 tonnes of plastic is sent to the landfills each day with plastic straws accounting for just over 5% of the total. This amount is not even enough to fit into 100 shipping containers. What is bad about this plastic? As the plastic degrades, the harmful chemicals are emitted, this can be transferred to organisms during ingestion. These toxic molecules can accumulate in the body causing cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, and other health problems. Plastic bags also affect the growth of crops by stopping the photosynthesis in fields. However, The most direct effect of plastic pollution is still the capture of animals in nets or larger debris. It is a cause of a drop of morality in marine mammals, turtles, and birds. If we want to save our environment and those who live on it we need to act.

This connects to economics because plastic straws are so much cheaper than other materials. It is easy to produce and aid consumers. Each plastic straw is about 40 cents cheaper than a paper one. Companies look at the potential of these straws and use it due to this advantage. Even though plastic waste is already a huge problem environmentally and physically in Hong Kong, companies continue to purchase and create plastic due to the increase in money. As the plastic is still cheaper, many companies will continue to invest in plastic straws. Another reason this benefits the companies is that it is single use. If consumers will return to buy the drink, another straw will be there. In addition, plastic straws are more firm enhancing the quality of the drink, making sure no loose pieces of the straw will sink into the drink. At the same time, this is harming the environment. With a tougher shell, it takes thousands of years for a plastic straw to decompose in comparison to a paper straw which only takes a few years.

In order to benefit our wellbeing and the environment, our home. We can all take part in the action. I will create a petition to multiple large food chains informing them of the crisis we are currently facing. Most likely, they will not change, so I will also inform others around the globe of this problem, persuading them to speak up. Through my petition, I hope that you will consider spreading the word of this problem to others. #Strengths in Numbers With a larger group of people aware of this problem, there will be more signatures to the petition, leading to change.