The Dark Side of Flying Sky Lanterns

Goldthread

Sky lanterns are iconic in Taiwan, where they’re released every day by tourists vying for a good photo op. But there’s a dark side to these magical flying paper lights.    **NEW VIDEOS EVERY MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, AND FRIDAY **FOLLOW US ON IG, TWITTER, AND FACEBOOK: http://instagram.com/goldthread2 http://twitter.com/goldthread2 http://facebook.com/goldthread2  Written and Voiceover by: Clarissa Wei Featuring: Ryan Hevern, Shao Aiting, Yu Weidao Produced by: Clarissa Wei and Nicholas Ko Shot by: Nicholas Ko and Clarissa Wei Edited by: Nicholas Ko Mastered by: Victor Peña Special thanks: Bank of Culture, Taiwan Ecotourism Taiwan, Taiwan Adventure Outings  Music: Audio Network Pixabay Resources: Bank of Culture: http://bankofculture.com/ Taiwan Ecotourism Taiwan Taiwan Adventure Outings: https://taoutings.com/

Transcript

00:00These are sky lanterns.

00:02They’re marketed as lucky charms,

00:04wishes that people can send up to the heavens.

00:07And every year in Taiwan,

00:09up to 600,000 of them are released into the sky.

00:13And what goes up, well,

00:15eventually has to come down.

00:25Sky lanterns were traditionally used as military signals,

00:28but in the 1990s, Taiwan turned them into a tourist attraction.

00:32For 5 U.S. dollars a piece,

00:34you can paint your wishes on a lantern and send it into the sky.

00:37It’s a great photo op for tourists,

00:39but few consider the environmental repercussions.

01:16Shifen is the sky lantern capital of Taiwan,

01:19and every day, hundreds of tourists come here

01:22to release lanterns into the sky.

01:24But walk five minutes outside of the town,

01:27and this is what you’ll see.

01:33This is Ryan.

01:35And he often takes people on excursions through Taiwan

01:38 and hosts trash clean-ups.

02:33This local farmer has unwillingly amassed

02:36a pile of sky lanterns on his front porch.

03:04Shao Aiting is the president of a company called Bank of Culture.

03:08Their goal is to preserve traditional Taiwanese crafts.

03:11And in 2016, they came up with a biodegradable lantern.

03:15Traditional lanterns are made out of wire and bamboo,

03:19but this version is made entirely out of paper and combusts in the sky,

03:23leaving no trace behind.

03:47Price is indeed a factor.

03:49The environmentally-friendly sky lantern

03:51retails for $10 at the store.

03:54Traditional lanterns go for half that price.

04:14For these activists, their hope is to preserve the practice

04:18of sky lanterns in Taiwan,

04:19without leaving an impact on the environment or the economy.

04:23And they say changing the narrative is the most effective way

04:26to change people's minds.

Transcript

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