Today is the Lantern Festival in Taiwan

In fact it started yesterday but today is also a big day of celebration. New concerns rise among environmentalists as the lanterns sent into the air at the occasion may be a strong cause of pollution:
"Every year the debris from thousands of burned-out lanterns litters the Taiwan countryside. Some even ignite fires: In 2006, according to press reports, a sky lantern set a field on fire next to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, sending up huge clouds of smoke and forcing officials to temporarily shut a runway." (Herald Tribune, 20/02/08)

The debate opposes environmentalists and authorities who promote the festival as it is a very important source of revenue and economic development. The article also recalls that the lantern Festival is not the only Chinese tradition to be questioned : for example, some alternative solutions are also figured out about the burning of paper money for the ghosts or, in mainland China, authorities had to take some measures to prevent people from burning plastic cellphones or any kind of plastic objects as offerings for the defunt souls... As well, every year, some people show some concerns about the tradition of doing a barbecue during the mid-automn festival.

The "technological" alternatives such as virtually lighting a lantern on internet seem not to be satisfying for the moment... and if we'd just try to invent some new activities more eco-friendly to compete and maybe also to balance the negative effects of these traditions that people still cherish a lot?