Environmental issues are a profound question worth deep reflection.

Why is it that when international oil prices rise, electricity prices in Taiwan, China have to rise along with them? Is there any way to keep electricity prices from being affected by oil prices? Taiwan, China produces less and less of its own food. If imported food becomes more expensive and unaffordable, what methods are there? Why can consumers only passively accept the price of food? Is there a way to let the public participate in pricing? The climate is becoming more and more abnormal, and disasters are increasingly beyond the capacity of local areas to recover from. What good countermeasures have you thought of? Must economic development always come at the expense of the ecological environment? What methods do you have to keep coastal wetlands from being turned into industrial zones? Are ecology and tourism inevitably in conflict? What creative methods do you have to make ecology and tourism mutually beneficial? Can you propose a more creative question that crosses different fields to challenge teachers and experts? Propose an environmental problem and a solution, and you will not only have a chance to win a big prize, but also possibly find a new direction for environmental problems!

1. How to register

Currently enrolled university and college students form their own teams of 2 to 5 people, and must form teams across departments or across schools (members must include at least 1 student from another department, and at most 1 member who is a master's program student), and find 1 to 2 university teachers for guidance and consultation.

2. What is good to ask

Propose an environmental problem and a corresponding solution direction. Topics include: land use and restoration, agriculture and the food crisis, water resource use, oceans or disasters, energy issues, natural energy use, climate change and disasters, air pollution, green employment, sustainable design, green economy, urban and town development, urban renewal and rural town transformation, etc. The scope of questions is encouraged to cover different aspects of environmental issues. The question proposal plan includes the following items: motivation for choosing the question, explanation of the issue or case, cross-aspect explanation, proposed solutions, references. (For an example question, see Appendix 1)

3. How to participate

1. First stage "team registration and question proposal": Submit the list of team members and guiding teachers, and propose a summary of the question, explaining the motivation behind the question and possible solution directions. The summary should be around 500 words, and images, videos, or any media may be used to help explain it. Submit before 5 p.m. on September 30, 2013. The deadline for Facebook likes is October 20. (For registration and summary format, see Appendix 2) 2. Second stage "full issue explanation document": Explain the background information of the issue and its interdisciplinary aspects, and propose suggested solutions, limited to 5000 words, and send it before 5 p.m. on December 31, 2013. The deadline for Facebook likes is January 25. All teams registered in the first stage may propose suggested solutions for any of the questions selected within the top 30 (including their own work). (For format, see Appendix 3) 3. Announcement of selected entries: first stage October 31, 2013; second stage February 20, 2014. Contact person: Manager Kuo Jui-kun (03)-6681100 Email: [email protected]

4. Selection and awards method

1. Stage selection: Independent scholars and experts in related fields and cooperating media are invited to jointly participate in the selection. First stage review - To increase public participation, expert evaluation accounts for 50%, and a public vote through a Facebook activity is also opened, accounting for 50%. The first stage selects up to 30 groups, and each group can receive a 5000 yuan award. For fairness, guiding teachers must recuse themselves from the selection. Second stage review - Facebook likes 20%, judges invited by the Wutong Foundation 80%, selecting up to 10 outstanding solutions, and each group can receive a 30000 yuan award. There are also up to 5 special judge's awards, and each group can receive a 10000 yuan award. 2. Selection principles: A. Authenticity and rigor of the question 30% B. Practicality of the solution 30% C. Creativity of the problem-solving direction 20% D. Interdisciplinarity 20% 3. Selected topics will have the opportunity to be included as themes hosted by the "World Cafe" in the first half of 2014. The proposing teams will be able to have Q&A with experts, and mainstream media will be invited to report (United Daily News, Global Views Monthly, POTS Weekly, Environmental Information Center, National Education Radio, IC Voice, Universal Broadcasting, Public Television Service).

5. Intelligence is also property

All submitted works must involve absolutely no imitation or plagiarism. If any infringement of copyright, patent rights, or other rights is involved, the participant shall bear full responsibility, and the organizer may cancel the award qualification and recover all awards and prize money. The intellectual property rights of all submitted works are shared by the organizer and the participant, and the organizer retains the right to promote in any form (photography, publication, authorship, exhibition, and other uses), preserve, and authorize reproduction.

6. Organizer and co-organizers

Organizer: Wutong Environmental Integration Foundation Co-organizers: Department of Marine Environment and Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University; Center for Science, Technology and Society, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology; Science and Humanities Interdisciplinary Talent Cultivation Program (SHS Program); Science Education Development Center, National Taiwan University; (…more invitations ongoing)

7. Latest/selected news

Wutong Environmental Integration Foundation official website www.wutong.org.tw
Wutong Environmental Integration Foundation Facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/WuTongFoundation
Wutong Environmental Integration Foundation "Environmental Big Questions" Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ecoissue
Appendix download http://tinyurl.com/nlkzvkr

Now that you have read this far, hurry and find your partners and get registering!

(The author of this article once worked at the Wutong Environmental Integration Foundation)