HONG Kong Clean-up Day is on us. While I'm sure some of the territory's worst eyesores will be tackled with enthusiasm, I am worried this will be an attack more on the symptoms than the causes of Hong Kong's poor environmental condition.
As a mild Green from Germany, I have found Hong Kong to be full of environmental surprises - not all bad. But they suggest that this is one of the ultimate throw-away societies, lacking the ecological conscience that has grown up in Europe.
Almost everyone here is familiar with Hong Kong's environmental trademarks, but there are some things perhaps only an outsider would notice.
As a true son of Germany, one of my first acts on arrival was to buy some bottles of beer. When I tried to return the empties to the supermarket, the store management was dumbfounded at my request to have my deposit money back.
One of the most striking things about this city are the gleaming office towers, including the one I work in. It seems perplexing to me, however, that most of these corporate landmarks seem designed to be energy inefficient, as if waste were a status symbol.
Whereas in colder climates there is focus on thermal insulation to keep the heat in, there is not an equal concern in warm countries to keep the heat out. This is surprising since it takes more energy to cool a building with air-conditioning than it doesto warm one up with central heating. I hope Hong Kong property developers and architects will start to consider this factor at the design stage.