As I mentioned before, the mine was closed because it caused too much pollution. While yesterday's picture was of the stained stream, today's picture is of where all those metal minerals go...the ocean! You can see an area of the water that is stained orange.
Sadder is that that one of my favorite beaches in Taiwan is just a little further down the coast from here. This probably explains the "unique" scar i have from when i had a motorcycle accident and weeks later went to the beach.
Actually many beaches in Taiwan prohibit going in as they are polluted. And I may or may not be contractually unable to discuss some pollution I know of. Since I'm not sure about it, I'll just leave it at that and allow you to succumb to your wildest guesses.
I can say that some local governments are and have been spending a lot of time, money, and energy on cleaning up their shoreline. I remember when I lived in a small riverside town to the north of Taipei, there was an ocean side beach not far away that was closed because it was just too polluted. After I moved back to Taipei, they started a two year campaign to clean up the beach. I have been back and it seems very nice. Granted the water could be terribly polluted, but to the naked eye the water is clear and clean.
In fact I like it so much that I'm thinking of moving back. This way I'd no longer have to plan car trips out of town for my dog and I. We can just walk fifteen minutes to the beach.
