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NOVEMBER
17, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 45 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK
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Ricky
Wong for Asiaweek.
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Wired
Executive
Mei
Ng, Director, Friends of the Earth
"The manufacturing, packaging, storing and moving of one megabyte of data
eats up half-a-pound of coal," exclaims Mei Ng. "And it's estimated that
17,000 U.S. Internet companies each use the electrical load of a small village."
As the head of Friends of the Earth, Hong Kong's leading environmental group,
Ng is known for rattling off statistics that can stop you in your tracks.
But lest you mistake her for a tree-dwelling luddite, you should know that
she is reading those facts from her Palm Pilot. "It's the most useful thing,
especially when I'm giving a presentation and answering questions. Immediately
I can draw on real data and respond with authority."
Despite her concerns about the excesses of the information age, Ng sees
the Internet more as a friend of the earth than a foe. Government documents
she used to have to request by mail and then post to overseas experts for
input, can now be accessed quickly on the Net from anywhere in the world.
Research no longer requires time-consuming trips to the library or costly
book purchases. "With better access to information about clean technologies
and what sorts of things are working in other countries, I can be very positive
and solution-oriented," she says. And the Friends of the Earth website (www.
foe.org.hk) helps get the word out, especially to remote areas of China.
Ng's spare time though is strictly unplugged. When it comes to the environment
there is still no virtual substitute for the real thing.
| E-mails
Per Day: 30 (not including internal messages) |
| Favorite
Software: Microsoft Powerpoint, "because I do a lot of
public speaking" |
| Personal
Digital Assistant: Palm Pilot. "It's great for storing
information" |
Bookmarks::
www.ethicalconsumer.org
www.igc.org/svtc/crt,
by the International Campaign for Responsible Technology
www.geneticsforum.org.uk
www.globalreporting.org
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Last Electronic Purchase: A U.N.
report |
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Preferred Analog Activity:
Gardening. "That's one way I still keep in touch with nature" |
| Dream
Internet Site: One that connects children worldwide so
they can see how others live and think. "It can bring peace by reducing
misunderstanding." |
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Vol. 2 No. 8
COVER:
Storming Asia
U.S.-based yahoo is Asia's internet portal of choice, but
rival dotcoms are spoiling for a fight
Banter-Bots:
want to chat online with john lennon? how about a wisecracking hamster?
chatbots are the talk of the web
Expletive
Deleted: keeping your kids away from porn is made easier with
the right programs, but "chaperone-ware" can't completely sanitize
cyberspace
Pulse:
China gets a net game, fuel cells meet cellphones, cd-roms that hold
10 million books, and the latest in hands-free headsets
Politics.com:
Anti-estrada protests and resignation petitions build to a roar on
the philippines web
Index:
The asiaweek/cnn internet index may have hit bottom at last
Toolbox:
Lucent's "residential gateway" offers wireless internet access from
anywhere in your house — once you get it to work
Wired Exec: an environmental
activist's love-hate relationship with tech
Asiaweek Technology Home
Asiaweek/CNN Internet Index:
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