Posts Tagged ‘environment’

Turning off the lights across Japan

Cities across Japan and Asia turned off lights for two hours on Saturday night as part of a “Candle Night” campaign to bring awareness to energy waste and other environmental issues:

The movement was started in 2003 by Shinichi Tsuj, a professor at Meiji Gakuin University who wanted to bring attention to all the energy waste going on in the world:

Tsuji had an epiphany about 10 years ago when he came back to Japan after living in the United States and Canada. He said he was dismayed by “aesthetically ugly” rows of vending machines–a sight peculiar to Japan–that were chewing up huge amounts of electricity. Since then, he has never bought a drink from a vending machine and carries a bottle of water wherever he goes.

His concerns about energy wastage helped inspire the Candle Night initiative.

“Being able to consume as much electricity as we want has been considered a sign of wealth, and we’ve smiled at satellite photos of Japan’s city lights shining brightly,” Tsuji says. “But considering the Earth’s current state, consuming so much electricity is about the most destructive thing we can do.”

Tsuji says many Japanese have become wealthy at the expense of spending time with their families and friends, or even by themselves. “Turning off the lights, which you take for granted will always be there, may seem like a small action but it has wider significance,” he said at an office of a nongovernmental organization named Namakemono Kurabu (The Sloth Club) in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, that advocates energy-saving. The windows are usually left wide open in summer. Staff go about their work under a few lightbulbs.

This year, the Candle Night campaign will be extended through July 7 to raise public awareness of the environment up to the day the Group of Eight summit meeting begins in Toyakocho, Hokkaido.

“I believe it’s in human nature to look after our environment. We can’t afford to destroy Mother Earth or its ecosystem,” Tsuji says. “I hope Candle Night to will be an opportunity to remind people of that.”

Beetle Given Government Protection

Yomiuri reports on an expensive beetle that needs protection:

The Environment Ministry has banned catching and trading a newly discovered species of stag beetle, effective Wednesday, to protect the insect from indiscriminate hunting, officials said.

The ministry made the decision after the revelation that the takaneruri kuwagata beetle, whose scientific name is Platycerus sue Imura, had been traded online. A pair of the insects was put up for auction on the Internet in January and traded for about 110,000 yen [about 1,100 USD], according to the ministry.

The one-centimeter-long insect, which was discovered by Yuki Imura, was revealed as a new species in November.

Ministry officials said the species is likely to go extinct unless steps are taken to protect the distinctly colored beetle–males have a turquoise metallic luster, while females are bronze-colored.

The insect is put under protection for three years starting from Wednesday under a law for the conservation of endangered species of wild fauna and flora, they added.

Japan Urges People To Recycle More

The Japanese government is calling for a 60% reduction in garbage, which could mean an end to the days of ridiculous over-packaging and disposable chopstick usage:

The Cabinet approved a set of plans Tuesday to promote a recycling society, said Tsuyoshi Kawakami, an official in charge of recycling at the Environment Ministry.

Japan aims to reduce the total amount of garbage _ produced by both industries and individuals _ by 60 percent of the fiscal 2000 level to 23 million metric tons (25.3 million tons) by fiscal 2015 under the plan posted on the ministry’s Web site. The fiscal year begins in April in Japan.

The government target for individuals was a reduction of 20 percent.

“We are still lacking efforts. We have not been able to break away from the mass consumption society,” Kawasaki said.

Shoppers in Japan normally receive multiple plastic and paper bags, while gifts are typically wrapped in elaborate packaging. Environmentalists criticize the wide use of disposable wooden chopsticks in the country.

For more on wooden chopsticks and recycling, here’s a France 24 news report video from 2007:

Ryukyu Spiny Rat: Not Extinct

Photographic evidence that a certain species is isn’t yet extinct:

A species of rat feared to have become extinct was recently captured in photos in a forest in a northern part of Okinawa’s main island.

It was the first sighting of the Ryukyu spiny rat in 15 years.

The pictures were taken by a team of Asahi Shimbun journalists and Okinawan photographer Masakazu Kudaka.

The nocturnal Ryukyu spiny rat (Tokudaia muenninki), listed by the Environment Ministry and the prefectural government as critically endangered, had not been confirmed alive since 1993.

Kudaka, 56, who helps monitor wildlife for the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI), teamed up with The Asahi Shimbun to set up motion detection cameras in spots where rats were thought to pass.

Four cameras with infrared sensors that automatically snap pictures when a creature passes by were set up in spring 2007.

One took two images of a rat at 3 a.m. on Feb. 28.

“There is really no mistaking that it is a Ryukyu spiny rat,” said Fumio Yamada, a researcher at the FFPRI’s Kansai Research Center, noting the spike-like coat and white hair on the rodent’s belly.

An adult rat typically measures around 15 centimeters.

Their numbers plummeted in and after the 1970s, having fallen prey to feral cats and other reasons.