Reminiscence of Jiaxing Techno Mart

 I have had the opportunity to visit Jiaxing, where Sino Korea Zhejiang International Techno Mart and Technique Exchange Fair was held during May 26th ~ 29th 2008.

 This district including Hangzhou is famous for the silk industry. I was surprised at the vast and endless plants of the silk mulberry along the express way from the outskirts of Shanghai to Jiaxing and was reminded of the fact the region provides over 70% of the whole cocoon of the earth. So to speak, this district has been the major supplier of the silk, that has been distributed throughout the world, then Asia, Europe and the northern Africa across the silk road for thousands years.

 Our company participated in this fair with the novel technique of non woven silk producing method with the anticipation to encounter with the historical silk big shots who aspire to adopt the revolutionery innovation to rejuvenate the traditional business which is considered too cliche and old for us to pay the attentions. The disregard to it was arisen firstly in Japan some fifty years ago and in the next place in Korea, where the sericulture department of  the college of agriculture and forestry of Seoul National University was abolished and merged into agri-bio material one in 1990. When I had visited the professor of the department with the recommendation in 2005 or in 2006, I unexpectedly met the unwelcome treatment with the brief comment that he had majored in the synthetic fabric and had not have any interests in bio one, though he was working in the agri-bio material department.

 In spite of the ardent supports from the officals and staff of Korean Techno Park, Torch High-Tech Industry Development Center of Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Jiaxing Science and Technology Park Management Committee,  Science and Technology Bureau of Zhejiang, Science and Technology Bureau of Jiaxing and Nanhu of Jiaxing local government, our technique had attracted little notices from the silk manufacturers. On the contrary, some chemical non woven companies had shown concerns with the caution.

 In retrospect, the average persons of that time felt far less problematic at the deterioration of the ecological environment and the climate change of the planet than ones of nowadays, even though only 5 years elapsed.

Worldly CO2 Emission Breaks Historical Record in 2012

 International Energy Agency made clear the global carbon dioxide emission had recorded the ever highest 31.6 billion tons with the increase of 1.4% over the previous year in 2012 in its annual world energy prospect report on the 10th inst. It worried the future earthly temperature would be 3.6~5.3 degrees C higher than pre-industrialization, if this trend continue. Scientists have warned the heightening over 2 degrees Cellcius of the earth from that of the pre-industrialization would put it at the high peril in the point of the climate change. The CO2 emission of China has increased 0.3 billion tons(3.8%) than the year before, while U.S.A. and Europe showed the decrease of 0.2 billion tons(3.8%) and 0.05 billion tons(1.4%) respectively. 


국제에너지기구(IEA)는 10일 연례 세계 에너지 전망보고서에서 작년 세계 이산화탄소 배출량이 전년보다 1.4% 늘어 사상 최고치인 316억 t을 기록했다고 밝혔다. 이런 추세라면 향후 지구 온도가 산업화 이전 대비 섭씨 3.6∼5.3도 높아질 것으로 예상된다고 IEA는 우려했다. 과학자들은 산업화 이전보다 지구 온도가 섭씨 2도 이상 상승하면 기후변화 측면에서 매우 위험할 것이라고 경고해 왔다. 중국은 이산화탄소 배출량이 전년에 비해 3억 t(3.8%)이 늘었고 미국과 유럽은 각각 2억 t(3.8%)과 5000만 t(1.4%) 감소했다.

Sustainable Consumption Cited from UNEP on World Environment Day

 Our planet’s regenerative capacity is being greatly exceeded as the world’s population is now producing and consuming more resources than ever. In fact, in developed and developing countries, people are acquiring much more than what they actually need and therefore producing an enormous amount of waste.

 Our growing population puts so much pressure on the environment that nowadays the natural resources are no longer as abundant as they used to be. How we use and dispose of non-renewable resources is radically altering our ecosystems and even the planet’s renewable resources (such as water, timber or fish) are rapidly being exhausted. We have now reached a tipping point where the quality of air and water needs to be improved, the level of production needs to be balanced and the amount of waste generated needs to be reduced.

 Sustainable consumption is all about ‘doing more and better with less,’ through reducing resource use, degradation and pollution while increasing the quality of life for all.
 The massive consumption of both renewable and nonrenewable resources contributes to a massive loss of biodiversity – with current extinction rates of birds, mammals and amphibians estimated to be at least 100 times, but possibly over 1,000 times, higher than pre-industrial rates. The poorest population is most affected by such changes giving that they rely directly on natural resources — such as fishing, small-scale agriculture or forestry — for their livelihoods.

 Pollution and over-exploitation of the world’s resources are increasingly compromising our own wellbeing and quality of life. The planet cannot afford to continue taking this path. A transition towards a more sustainable lifestyle is crucial to enable future generations to have access to their fair share of resources.

 There are many possibilities as for how we can change our unsustainable consumption habits while also improving our quality of life. To do more with less is essential for us to live within the resources the planet has to offer. Changing our current living standards requires us to adopt innovative and creative solutions on the way we use and dispose the products and services we own and consume.

 This could enable a transition to more sustainable activities and lifestyles while also protecting the world’s natural resources.

 So orient your action for World Environment Day this year to an activity that promotes sustainable consumption and be the one to reshape our future!                          

 Source from UNEP