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kiwiduncan
Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Location: New Zealand
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 Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:54 pm Post subject: Lee Myung Park gets Green Award from Time Magazine |
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President-elect Lee Myung-bak yesterday received an award from Michael Elliot, chief editor of the TIME, an influential current-affairs magazine based in the United States, for his contribution to resolving environmental issues facing the world.
The 21st century is an era when the environment and economy must be in harmony. I will achieve sustainable economic development in pursuit of that harmony, Lee said to a gathering of some 300 guests, including ambassadors and environmental activists, at the National Institute of Biological Resources in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.
He added that the incoming government will actively respond to global environmental challenges, including tackling global warming and pollution-related diseases such as atopic dermatitis and asthma.
The award was first launched to mark Times 60th anniversary in 2006. Lee was one of the 45 heroes chosen in October last year, including Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union and Prince Charles of the United Kingdom. The award presentation was held on Oct. 25th, but Lee did not attend the ceremony due to his preparations for the presidential election.
TIME highly valued Lees contribution to improving a Seoul environment once described as unlivable, due to pollution caused by rapid economic growth. The magazine also touted his drive to restore the Cheonggyecheon, an environmentally friendly civic jewel.
It also said that Lee showed that environmentalism can go hand in hand with development through his successful environment-friendly projects. |
Turn off the pumps however and Cheonggyechon stops flowing.
To be fair, LMB did improve the bus systems and get a lot of the bus only lanes established, and the widening of pavements, new city plazas, and so on have all been good.
He certainly oversaw many quality of life improvements while he was the mayor of Seoul but I still think that, on a national level, LMB is going to do more harm than good. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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| It's good to see that The Time is recognising the attempts of chaebol leaders in Korea to improve the environment. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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Quite weird that a man nicknamed "The Bulldozer" for his history of pushing through huge construction projects, can win a green award.
I'm speculating than LMB has a sneaky idea that if he does high-profile green projects and get his PR department to go nuts about that stuff, then he can get away with trashing the environment in other projects. Projects that no one talks about. |
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King Baeksu
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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| TIME highly valued Lees contribution to improving a Seoul environment once described as unlivable, due to pollution caused by rapid economic growth. The magazine also touted his drive to restore the Cheonggyecheon, an environmentally friendly civic jewel. |
What a joke. The Ch'onggyech'on is hardly "green." It's a canyon of concrete that wastes electricity to pump fake water into it. It's purely an aesthetic showpiece that actually harms the environment.
If LMB was really serious about the environment he could have at least blocked off the two car lanes of road on either side of the stream and made it a real oasis, instead of the claustrophobic, exhaust-fouled canyon of concrete that it is.
Last edited by King Baeksu on Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:32 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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King Baeksu
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:29 pm Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
| I'm speculating than LMB has a sneaky idea that if he does high-profile green projects and get his PR department to go nuts about that stuff, then he can get away with trashing the environment in other projects. Projects that no one talks about. |
Bingo. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:30 pm Post subject: |
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| King Baeksu wrote: |
| Quote: |
| TIME highly valued Lees contribution to improving a Seoul environment once described as unlivable, due to pollution caused by rapid economic growth. The magazine also touted his drive to restore the Cheonggyecheon, an environmentally friendly civic jewel. |
What a joke. The Ch'onggyech'on is hardly "green." It's a canyon of concrete that wastes electricity to pump fake water into it. It's purely an aesthetic showpiece that actually harms the environment.
If LMB was really serious about the environment he could have at least blocked off the two car lanes of road on either side of the stream and made it a real oasis, instead of the claustrophic, exhaust-fouled canyon of concrete that it is. |
Agreed. When I walked the Cheonggyecheon it felt as noisy, crowded and polluted as any Seoul street. Whether it was at all possible to do a proper job and close off the streets on either side, I dunno. Maybe it was just impossible and LMB did what he could. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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Sounds like some of you haven't caught Canal Fever!
During the holiday I'm planning to hike from one end of Cheonggyecheon to the other to photograph the dilapidation that has been taking place all along the canal. |
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kiwiduncan
Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
Sounds like some of you haven't caught Canal Fever!
During the holiday I'm planning to hike from one end of Cheonggyecheon to the other to photograph the dilapidation that has been taking place all along the canal. |
I'm thinking of doing something similar along some stretches of the Han and Nakdong rivers. I'll go along on my bike and take photos showing just how shallow the river waters are and how much damage could be done by get the river beds in order to make the canal.
Time magazine is a load of crap anyway. Despite my lefty, eco-fascist, anti-consumerist leanings, I've got far respect for the Economist. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
Sounds like some of you haven't caught Canal Fever!
During the holiday I'm planning to hike from one end of Cheonggyecheon to the other to photograph the dilapidation that has been taking place all along the canal. |
RT,
If you get some good photos of problem spots please post them.
I have to admit, the whole thing reaks to high heaven. How much did he pay this Michael Elliot guy? |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:32 am Post subject: |
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| Milwaukiedave wrote: |
| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
Sounds like some of you haven't caught Canal Fever!
During the holiday I'm planning to hike from one end of Cheonggyecheon to the other to photograph the dilapidation that has been taking place all along the canal. |
RT,
If you get some good photos of problem spots please post them.
I have to admit, the whole thing reaks to high heaven. How much did he pay this Michael Elliot guy? |
I'm actually going to be focusing more on real estate of the surrounding businesses than ecological threats. |
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Kimchieluver
Joined: 02 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:48 am Post subject: |
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| King Baeksu wrote: |
[
What a joke. The Ch'onggyech'on is hardly "green." It's a canyon of concrete that wastes electricity to pump fake water into it. It's purely an aesthetic showpiece that actually harms the environment.
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Fake water? |
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King Baeksu
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 1:01 am Post subject: |
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| Milwaukiedave wrote: |
| How much did he pay this Michael Elliot guy? |
I wonder if he actually visited it in person. What happens is photographers take pictures of it using wide-angle or fish-eye lens and make it look much wider and prettier than it is in real life. You might even say that it exists as much to be photographed as to be seen in person -- indeed, the most popular activity amongst visitors there is taking endless pictures of it.
What happens next is editors around the world see these photos and believe the hype because they've often never actually been there, and then the start handing out cheesy awards that lack genuine substance. In fact, I believe I read somewhere that Claes Oldenburg essentially mailed in his famous psychedelic snail sculture at the top of the stream without even having visited the site before making it -- pretty much par for the course, in other words.
In the sense that it is artificially pumped in, yes. |
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CeleryMan
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 1:38 am Post subject: |
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Simmer down people. This has nothing to with South Korea being Eco-friendly or Green; those who live here know its a concrete cesspool. LMB's PR team & Korea Sparkling paid TIME "Taliban" type money to get 1/2 page.
LMB is a bizness man .. a very very savvy one at that. |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:11 am Post subject: |
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At the same time as he is proposing this canal.
Certainly the existance of the canal is good for the environment, but the building of it is gonna cause a heck of a mess. |
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bejarano-korea
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:13 am Post subject: |
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He gets the Bejarano-Korea award for being the second Japanese national to get elected to run a democracy other than Japan! 
Dodgy bastard number one was Alberto Fujimori in Peru - how do they do it? |
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