Remembering Jane Goodall

Goodall was fascinated with animals at a very young age

This morning we heard the sad news that primatologist and passionate advocate for animals Jane Goodall died in Los Angeles. She was 91 years old.

My memory of her dates back to 2007 when she visited Beijing as founder of the Roots and Shoots program, where Goodall inspired the next generation to care about the environment where they live through local conservation projects.

This was my blog post on November 18, 2007 when Goodall was 73 years old:

In her youth she dreamed of going to Africa

Dr Jane Goodall has arrived in Beijing for a week-long visit to China.

Known for her ground-breaking research on chimpanzees in Tanzania, Goodall now travels the world some 300 days a year, spreading the word about environmental and animal conservation.

And she specifically focuses her message on young people, which led to the establishment of Roots & Shoots, an education program in 1991. There are now more than 800 of them in 98 countries, with over 300 R&S in China.

Some of these groups, ranging from elementary, secondary and university students came from Shanghai, Dalian and Tianjin as well as Beijing to show Goodall their environmental projects.

They ranged from planting trees in Inner Mongolia, to conserving rain water, feeding bears in a zoo with a pinata filled with fruit, and making crafts out of aluminum cans.

The famous scientist was dressed warmly in a large red coat and her silvery hair tied back loosely in a clip. When she arrived at Beijing City International School Goodall received applause from the students and they practically mobbed her, trying to take pictures and getting her to autograph pieces of paper.

She handled the attention quite well, and visited each of the booths and praised the students for their work.

The event then moved to the theatre where she gave a speech encouraging the audience to continue their conservation efforts as they are the next generation.

She said they were like roots and shoots, like the name of her program, growing and taking root and then breaking through tough barriers to grow.

She studied chimpanzees for decades

Then she told a story about a chimpanzee who was taken from his mother when she was shot dead. He was nicknamed "Old Man" after enduring 15 years of tests scientists conducted on him.

He was left to retire in a zoo on an island with three other female chimpanzees. A zoo keeper called Mark was to look after them but was warned not to get too close because they didn't like humans.

So he fed them by throwing food at them. He later noticed they got excited and hugged each other when he rowed the boat towards them. So Mark gradually brought his boat closer and closer to them until he could hand a banana to the Old Man.

He then stepped onto the island and nothing happened to him. Later on, he and Old Man made physical contact, grooming each other.

Old Man even had a baby chimpanzee with one of the females.

One day Mark was on the island but he tripped and fell on his face near the baby. The mother was horrified and came to rescue it, but not before biting Mark on the neck, thinking he wanted to harm her child. The other females followed her lead, also biting him on the leg and arm.

When Old Man came, Mark thought the chimpanzee would surely kill him. Instead the animal pushed the three females away so that the zoo keeper could get off the island and row back to safety.

Goodall said that if a chimpanzee, after all the years he was treated badly by humans, could bridge the gap and look after a man, we humans who are even more intelligent, should do the same, if not better.

It was a message that resonated with the audience and hopefully that will spur them on to continue their green efforts.

Goodall taught us to care for our community

But the fight for funding, especially non-profit organizations in China is tough. Only foreign companies step up to the plate and make contributions as there's no such thing as tax breaks for charitable donations. Non-profits do get some donations in kind by local companies, but those are few and far between.

The Chinese government is looking at creating a charity law. But this needs to be established soon, otherwise the momentum for non-profits like Goodall's will quickly fade when in fact they're making a huge impression on young people who are eager to make a difference. 

Rereading her story about Old Man, I can already imagine her talking about it in her soft voice that left everyone rapt with attention. 

A few weeks ago she was interviewed on CBC Radio and the host asked her how to have hope in the world when there's so much destruction, war, climate change, and so on.

Goodall replied that one can start by caring about their own community, finding something they want to save or conserve, and looking for others to help out.

When she was young she intently observed what animals, and in her case, chimpanzees did, and from watching them, she gave the rest of us more insight into their lives.

What she was doing was in a way mindfulness, being in the present and focusing on what was happening around her.

I've read she was most comfortable being with animals -- and actually her favourite is not chimpanzees but dogs for their unconditional love.

We are so lucky to have had Goodall in our lives, to remind us to look after the animals and environment around us, and that every little bit of care for them helps not only them, but us do better. We all have the capacity to help, love, nurture and care.

HK Government Doesn't Entertain Benefits of Reusable Cups

So far, Kai Tak Sports Park will be using single-use cups

The Hong Kong government prefers using single-use cups at Kai Tak Sports Park, saying reusable plastic ones will "undermine" efforts to promote carbon reduction and resource recycling.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said that research by the park's operator compared local and overseas practices showed that using reusable plastic cups in Hong Kong would generate more carbon emissions and consume more resources.

But environmental NGO Greenpeace Hong Kong called on the authorities to consider using reusable plastic cups for sporting events like the upcoming Hong Kong Football Festival, and urged Law to look at other international sports organisations like the English Premier League, where 65 percent of clubs use reusable cups.

Reusable cups used at HK Sevens since 2019

However Law was not to be persuaded.

"As reusable plastic containers are not biodegradable, they do not support the plastic-free initiative and undermine Kai Tak Sports Park's efforts in promoting carbon reduction and resource circulation," she said.

"In contrast, the use of biodegradable paper cups aligns well with and makes good use of the above-mentioned waste decomposition system at Kai Tak Sports Park, leading to a better overall carbon reduction outcome."

May we point out that single-use paper cups would not decompose because they have a plastic lining on the paper so that liquids don't soak through it? Not to mention how much garbage it creates after each event?

It has been demonstrated that reusable cups at sporting events make much more sense.

A marathoner named Kristina Smithe took part in a marathon in California in 2019 and was horrified thinking about how much waste paper cups generated in one race. She calculated with 9,000 runners, some 150,000 paper cups were used once and then thrown away.

Smithe with her reusable silicon cups at a race

She went about designing a lightweight, pliable silicone cup that could be reused many times. In 2021 she launched Hiccup Earth, where she rents out 70,000 silicone cups to race organisers. 

Smithe drops off the cups by the thousand, collects them after and then washes them in her proprietary dishwasher that uses less water than a household dishwasher. 

While it's a bit more expensive to rent these cups, there is much less garbage accumulated and wouldn't people feel better using these reusable cups?

It was a proven concept at the Hong Kong Sevens in March. Greenpeace noted the sporting event used reusable cups from 2019 to 2024 and saw a 90 percent return rate of the containers.

Surely it's not too hard to implement at sporting events and concerts?

Sheepish on Charging for Garbage in HK

Residents will be charged for their garbage in August now

Hong Kong was going to finally implement its municipal waste-charging scheme on April 1, but apparently the public is still unsure about how it all works and so it will be delayed by another four months to August.

The public's lack of understanding is apparently the fault of the Environment Bureau and Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has asked the bureau to work harder on how to educate people on how to dispose of their waste properly.

Shouldn't that have been done ages ago? Or did the bureau -- and by extension the government -- assume everyone knows what they're supposed to do?

There are nine different sized garbage bags

From August, Hong Kong residents can't just throw their garbage into random plastic bags -- they must use designated ones that they can buy at supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies. They come in nine different sizes and the cost of these bags will pay for handling the trash in the landfill.

The scheme is in the hopes that people will find it expensive to pay for their trash to be processed so they will be incentivised to reduce their waste by recycling paper, plastic, and glass, or even do the dirty deed of separating their food waste and disposing of it in a special food waste bin.

But does the government have enough capacity to handle so much recycling? And does the general public know what can and cannot be recycled? 

The current state of awareness of separating waste is horrendous just by looking at the garbage boxes on the street with several different slots for paper, plastic and metal. Many people just randomly throw their garbage into any slot! More education should have been done ages ago.

Do people even know how to use this properly?

Nevertheless the fact that the new garbage scheme will be delayed another four months is pathetic -- why not start it anyway in residential areas because there is a six-month grace period? People will learn very quickly on how to use the bags and reduce their waste by recycling. There will be growing pains, but people learn by doing.

For restaurants there has to be a way for them to collect and dispose of it efficiently. Simon Wong is the honorary chairman of the Institute of Dining Professionals and says sorting out food waste means restaurants will have to hire more staff to do this when it's already hard enough to find dishwashers.

There is also the valid concern about preventing mosquitoes and food odours when dealing with food waste.

Restaurants don't have the time or energy to take out food waste and dispose of it elsewhere. The government has to make it easy for them to do this.

Sadly it seems the officials who thought of this waste-charging scheme don't have any idea how to put this in practice because they don't even do this at home! Someone else takes out the garbage for them so they have no inkling of what is involved. Have they ever separated their garbage and taken it to recycling spots? If only they knew... 

Fact of the Day: HK's Pathetic Tree Recycling Rate

A man inspects a tree felled by the typhoon

Hong Kong is still cleaning up after Super Typhoon Saola, with 1,800 tonnes of tree waste. Most of it comprises of leaves and branches. But get this -- the city has only one wood recycler and it only takes logs. 

As a result only 15 percent of the tree waste is recycled into wood products, like boards, beams, chips and sawdust.

People make their way through tree debris

The rest goes into the landfill.

Green groups are criticising the recycler, Y Park for not taking more of the wood waste and saying it should be broken down for composting to be used in future parks or maintaining current ones.

Also shocking is that Y Park was only set up in 2021 to "rachet up the scale of yard waste recycling and diversify the types of recyclable products," according to its website.

But it was because of what happened after Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 that green groups complained the government dumped 20,480 tonnes of tree waste into landfills without first seeing if it could be recycled.

Using government figures from the past 10 years, green group Friends of the Earth says less than 3 percent of the city's yard waste had been recycled -- around 2,000 tonnes out of 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes per year.

Friends of the Earth board governor Caroline Law says Y Park only accepts logs, while other garden waste, such as grass, leaves and branches must be sent to landfills. 

Vast majority of tree waste ended up in landfills

As a result, "there's no incentive for them to change that," she says.

In addition, Y Park's website claims it handled 30 tonnes in its first year of operation, and would gradually increase to 60 tonnes, but there is no update on how much it processes currently...

Sounds like there is more box ticking than earnestly trying to cut down the amount of waste going into landfills. Tree and garden waste can easily be composted and given to farmers to use as fertiliser to help grow crops. Or maybe that hadn't been considered before?

Review: Ponyo

Sosuke finds a fish and names it Ponyo

Following its successful launch of showing films by Studio Ghibli during spring break, the Vancouver Film Festival has restarted the series with a part 2 and I saw one of my friend YTSL's favourites -- Ponyo!

Before her obsession with Funassyi, the pear fairy, YTSL was in love with Ponyo, a red goldfish princess that magically transformed into a little girl. YTSL even carried around a Ponyo plushie around and took many scenic photographs with her while traveling.

But I digress.

They are both thrilled by their noodle dishes

I finally saw the movie the other day and enjoyed it very much. Director Hayao Miyazaki really understands children, how they think and act which makes Ponyo a delight to watch. 

We meet her as a goldfish under the sea, escaping from her wizard father Fujimoto, who feels obligated to teach humans how they have destroyed the natural environment. As if by fate she meets a little boy, Sosuke who finds her and really cares for her as a fish in his green bucket.

There is another story about the Sosuke and his mother Lisa, and how his father is constantly away as captain of his ship. While Sosuke is an obedient child and helps his mom, she gets frustrated that her husband often breaks promises.

Lisa works in a senior's home that's conveniently next door to the primary school that Sosuke goes to; the seniors who live there are a hoot, and even better when one of them is voiced by Betty White!

Lisa passes out after drinking beer

Amidst all this Ponyo arrives and on top of that becomes a little girl. The scenes of her discovering how things work are just as one would imagine a real child reacting to things they had never seen before. 

But then one day the seas become extremely rough, causing Sosuke's father to wonder if there is a tsunami; there is a disturbance in the equilibrium of the earth, and only Ponyo and Sosuke can make it peaceful again...

The version I watched was the English one, dubbed with the voices of Liam Neeson as Ponyo's father Fujimoto, Noah Cyrus as Ponyo, and Tina Fey as Lisa. Fey's voice was not recognisable to me, while Neeson and White were.

Nevertheless the dialogue especially of Lisa was funny, reflecting the stress of marriage and relationships. Most hilarious was her irate messages to her husband via signalling lamps.

However, one did have to suspend reality to believe a goldfish could become a little girl, but Ponyo is such a cute character that viewers are keen to watch what happens next with her and Sosuke. 

Cute underwater scene with sea creatures too

Miyazaki purposely chose Sosuke to be a five-year-old boy -- not too young to take on some serious tasks, and not too old to dislike girls. 

Meanwhile the animation, particularly under the sea in the opening scene is so imaginative; later on there's a scene of a huge flood and an octopus finds its way into the entrance of Sosuke's home.

Ponyo is an enjoyable film that hardly feels like 101 minutes, that has themes of love, the environment and relationships all rolled up neatly into this story.

Ponyo

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

101 minutes

HK's Only Carton Recycler's Dead End

Yip says Mil Mill has been given a Dec 31 deadline to leave

The Hong Kong government has very little interest in protecting the environment. The latest news is a drinks carton recycler being kicked out of its space by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, a body set up by the government. 

The science park has given Mil Mill till the end of the year to operate and then it has to vacate the 20,000 sq ft plot in Yuen Long. In order to process everything and leave by December 31, Mil Mill's executive director Harold Yip Man-ki says they will have to stop taking in drink cartons in October.

He added the deadline is hardly enough time for the recycler to prepare for its departure.

The plant processes 3 tonnes of waste per day

Mil Mill is the only recycler in Hong Kong that can process drink cartons that are made with layers of polythene and aluminium for water resistance and durability. Recycling these cartons is considered to have lower profit margins compared to other recycling ventures because of the additional work needed to break down the coating.

In 2019, Mil Mill rented the current space in a three-year contract and then last year science park extended the least to the end of 2022.

It was in September that Mil Mill received an email from the landlord to vacate the premises without stating a reason why or any suggestions of renewing the lease.

The city's environmental department offered three alternative sites for Mil Mill: in Cheung Chau, Chai Wan and Stonecutters Island. But Yip rejected these offers, saying the locations were not suitable.

It is hard to understand why the science park is kicking the recycler out since its mandate is to support small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time the government half-heartedly trying to solve the situation started by another government body. 

Seems strange and awkward.

Mil Mill takes in these drink cartons to recycle

This is happening at a time when Hongkongers feel even more passionate about saving the city's natural environment and are more environmentally conscious. 

If any thing the government should be leasing the land for the pulp mill since the current space is run by a government body. Mil Mill only recycles 3 tonnes of the 67 tonnes of waste produced in Hong Kong everyday. Hong Kong needs several of these recyclers to try to reduce as much garbage as possible.

It is imperative for the government to encourage more companies and individuals to recycle, if not set up its own enterprise to do so. But instead it shifts the responsibility on people who really care about the environment. They know they aren't going to make much money, but they feel strongly about landfills and excessive waste.

The current recycling bins in the city are a joke -- people haphazardly dump things into the wrong bins -- because the government has not educated them properly on how to separate their waste. 

As a result when they migrate abroad, Hongkongers have had complaints from neighbours about them having little understanding of how recycling works and what part we play in all of this. It is embarrassing that they know so little about it and why it's so important to participate and do it properly.

So this demonstrates how the government has given recycling such a low priority, not enforcing nor encouraging it.

Why does the government want its land to become a massive garbage dump? Very hard to understand its lack of interest in the environment and the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle.