Climatewire: 
In a move to protect the environment, Taiwan last week urged its citizens to honor the dead by going online rather than burning incense and ritual money.
Ahead of yesterday’s Tomb Sweeping Festival, an ethnic Chinese holiday during which worshippers visit the graves of their ancestors to burn incense and paper gifts, the government called on its citizens to consider the environment.
The practice of burning incense and paper gifts for ancestors comes from Taoism. Followers believe that burning paper products will keep their ancestors comfortable in the afterlife. But burning paper money releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide, as well as benzene, methylbenzene and ethylbenzene, which can cause cancer and other diseases.
“We can now choose to pay homage to our ancestors in a modern and environmentally friendly way by worshipping online or donating the money meant for the offerings to charities,” said the Environmental Protection Administration in a statement.
Environmental agencies have also offered to collect paper money from households and temples, then burn it in state incinerators that can cut emissions and clean the exhaust (AFP/London Independent, April 5). – JP