僅在四百年間,東西文化在文明、科技、以及──想當然爾──能源上,給了台灣原住居民慘痛的教訓。而這短短的四百年期間,僅佔台灣島存在時間 的千分之十六,或者說,佔原住民族以「低科技」或「零科技」與少量能源──「科技」與「能源」二詞,以今日通用的意義觀之──「管理」台灣的時間,不足百 分之三。
其結果是全島為期四百年的能源狂歡節。「新台灣人」(歐洲人、漢人、日本人)在此期間已向台灣原住民展示:無限地加重全球環境負擔,以及在「能源」便宜,科技充足時,無止盡地予取予求,會有怎樣的結果。
今日結果有何?台灣有一半的河流遭到嚴重污染,而且幾乎所有河流不是築有水壩,便是受到諸多引水工程計畫(水壩、灌溉等)的威脅。此外,台灣人 口密度世界第一(不計入可居住的山區),核能電廠密度世界第一,人均水泥用量世界第二;更由於過度興建及破壞棲息地的結果,物種滅絕程度在世界上也是名列 前茅,包括百分之七十五的珊瑚礁被毀滅(1),同時,台灣有超過百分之三十的海岸,遭到水泥與二百四十座漁港所覆蓋。自殺、離婚、犯罪、癌症與心理疾症也 急速增加。
現代社會這些不幸的屬性,是否和我們過度使用「能源」與「科技」有關?(閱讀全文)
We have had what has amounted to an island-wide, 400 year-long energy blowout party during which the “new Taiwanese” (Europeans, Chinese, Japanese) have shown the natives how things can be with no holds barred on the burdens we place on the global environment, and with no limits to what we can achieve when “energy” is cheap and technology is abundant.
The scorecard today? Half of Taiwan’s rivers are seriously polluted, nearly all are dammed or are threatened with numerous water diversion projects (dams, irrigation, etc.), we have the highest population density in the world if the inhabitable mountainous areas are excluded, the world’s highest density of nuclear power plants, second highest use of cement per capita, one of the highest levels of species extirpation in the world due to over-building and habitat destruction, over 30 percent of our ocean shore is covered in cement or by one of the 240 fishing ports, and in the meantime, suicide, divorce, crime, cancer and mental illness are rapidly rising.(Read More)