Last post??

This is the last post in my class. I do not have to post anymore...

I have learned a lot of things from ENVS1100. It was first time for me to explore the beautiful nature of Michigan, and spend a night with Americans. Actually, it was hard time because my English skill was not so well, but I loved it. I cannot see such a beautiful scenery in Tokyo, so I will never forget it.

I think it was especially hard for me to read many books, and write reports. We sometimes had to read and write a report in two days, and I did not sleep at that time. However, books gave me a lot of knowledge, and thanks for them, I became accustomed to reading books in English.

Making a poster and a blog was very interesting for me. It was totally different from the reading, and it gave me chances to tell my ideas to others. It was also a good time to know how people in America think about the environment, and how different the ideas are between countries.

The class will end, but my blog will not end.
I would like to transmit my ideas to everyone in the future, and I am looking forward to seeing you guys!!!

Be green from cloths

"Long ago, everything on earth was organic, and the word 'organic' doesn't exist. In this mass-production society it is rather hard to find items that are purely organic and produced in sustainable way. Fortunately, we are in a generation that is aware of these mistakes and we are starting to change our ways." (Mika Machida)

Do you know "Mika Organic"? Mika Organic is one of the cloths companies in the world. Mika Machida, the designer, always draw endangered species on her cloths. By drawing such animals, she wants us to realize the impact which we give to the environment. She only uses organic fibers, for instance, organic wool, organic cotton, hemp, and the like. Even if a recycle material, it uses chemicals in the process manufacture, so she never uses that.

Hoever, it is almost impossible to print pictures on cloths in organic ways, so she uses water-based ink, which has the least damage to the environment, instead.

The price is a little bit higher than usual cloths, around $200, but it can be a first step to be green person!!!

Web site: http://www.mikaorganic.com/main/#/
Shopping site: http://shopmikaorganic.com/index.html

Birds tell mercury pollution

According to BBC, albatross feathers have allowed scientists to construct a record of mercury pollution dating back more than 100 years. The study is published in Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences. The team analysed feathers from 54 birds kept in museums at Harvard University and the University of Washington in Seattle. There was no trend in overall mercury concentrations over time, but the level of methylmercury showed a rise!!

The chemical is easy to be absorbed by marine life-form such as fish, and predator can get the chemical from them. If much of the chemical are found in the predator, it indicates the fish around the area are polluted by the chemical.

About half of the mercury going into the atmosphere comes from natural sources such as volcanoes. Of the other half, the biggest sources is coal-burning, with mercury occurring as a trace element in many deposits.

Scientists do not have any direct evidence that levels of mercury were impacting their reproductive success. Therefore, it is expected that this study will answer such a question.

(Resource: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13121088)

For zero emission

As I mentioned a little bit about the carbon offset in the last blog, there are various ways for carbon offset. I will introduce you one example to execute the carbon offset.

Before start introducing the carbon offset, I want to explain the carbon offset itself. According to Carbon Footprint Ltd., it is defined that Carbon Offsets can be used to compensate for the emissions produced by funding an equivalent carbon dioxide saving elsewhere. So, we can say we do not emit any CO2 by executing the carbon offset.



When you use an airplane, you emit a lot of CO2 to the atmosphere because the airplane use much fossil fuel. For example, if you travel from Chicago O'Hare to Kenneddy International in NY, you emit approximately 0.3 metric tons carbon dioxide. To offset the CO2, it will cost $4.29 for reforestation, and $9.04 for U.S. renewable energy.
(http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6867,53032,00.html)

It's not a big deal, right???

If you pay only $4 more, your travel will become carbon neutral!! I know there are many discussions about the carbon offset, but I think it would be a good chance to start thinking about the environment. What do you think??

To be a green person

What is "Carbon Foot Print"?
According to Carbon Footprint Ltd, "Carbon Footprint" is defined as a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc. The carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gases we individually produce and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent.
(http://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonfootprint.html)

Greenhouse gases(GHG) are gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation. GHG includes Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), HFC,PFC, SF6, and the like.

To know individual carbon footprint, there are many web sites which can calculate it. This time, I used the web site, called "safeclimate.net". Some web site introduce you how much it cost to offset your carbon footprint, so it will be helpful for you if you are interested in carbon offset.

I calculated carbon footprints of three people; my family living in Japan, a friend living in Kalamazoo, and a professor living in Kalamazoo. To calculate the carbon footprint, I gathered four information; driving distance, fuel consumption, electric usage, and gas usage.

-My family-
Place: Country side in Japan
Driving distance: 420km/month
Fuel Consumption: 14km/l
Electrical usage: 200kwh/month
Gas usage: 47 m3/month

Carbon footprint: 244kg/month
-A friend-
Place: Kalamazoo
Driving distance: 170mile/week
Fuel Consumption: 24mile/gallon
Electrical usage: 419kwh/month
Gas usage: 12Mcf/month

Carbon footprint: 1291kg/month

-A professor-
Place: Kalamazoo
Driving distance: 0mile/week
Fuel Consumption: 0mile/gallon
Electrical usage: 296kwh/month
Gas usage: 8.4Mcf/month

Carbon footprint: 715kg/month




Then, seeing these results, what can we learn? First of all, compared with a friend and a professor, we can see electrical usage is much important problem to think than car usage. Although the professor did not use any car, the carbon footprint is over half as much as the carbon footprint of the friend. I calculated the difference of carbon footprint between Japan and United States, and I got the result below:
Electric: 1kwh=0.36kg-co2 (Japan) 1kwh=0.61kg-co2 (U.S.)
Gas: 1m3=2.1kg-co2 (Japan) 1m3=2.1kg-co2(U.S.)
Fuel: 1L=2.3kg-co2 (Japan) 1L=2.3kg-co2 (U.S.)

This result shows using electric in U.S. emits twice as much CO2 as in Japan!!!

Second, using electric is much better than using gas. As the result of calculation shows, gas emits approximately four times as much CO2 as electric does in U.S., and six times as much CO2 as electric does in Japan. This means it would be very effective to use electric to decrease the amount of CO2.

Knowing the amount of CO2 which individual emits is very good time to think about the environment. People can imagine how much they affect on the environment, and can have chance to think how to improve their lives. Of course, we have to emit some CO2, I mean, we cannot stop emitting CO2 because we have to use electric, gas, and cars(if people live in city side, they do not have to use them). But, we have to care about the amount of CO2, and continue thinking how to improve our lives. If people want to make the emission zero, they can execute carbon offset to pay money for buying emission credits.

DON'T GIVE UP!! THERE ARE A LOT OF WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIVES!!!

Do you know what April 22 is???

April 22. Do you know what the day is??

For over 40 years, the day has inspired and mobilized individuals and organizations worldwide to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability.

"Earth Day"- It was found by Gaylord Nelson, who was United State Senator on April 22, 1970. He found this day because he wanted people to have an interest in the environmental problem. The first Earth Day was launched by Denis Hayes, and gathered over 20 million people in U.S. Now Earth Day is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year.



Of course, Earth Day has been celebrated all over Japan. In Tokyo, the capital of Japan, there has been Earth Day event since 2001. Every year, a theme is decided, and many events are held in keeping with the theme. It is a huge event, and over 100,000 people come there. Actually, I was there last year because my company had a booth in the event (I was working at carbon offset company for 6 months), I remember there were so many people.

I think this kind of event is very valuable for people. When we hear the environmental problem, we often feel the problem is too huge to deal with, or feel if many people do not do anything for the environment, it's meaningless to take an action. However, people can notice how easy to start taking actions for the environment, or how many people are caring about the environment by going to such events. People would think I have to do something since so many people are doing something.



Earth Day is held even in developing countries, for example, India. I hope people all over the world start thinking about the environment through this event. In Kalamazoo, there will be Earth Day event at Nature Center on April 16, so if you are interested, let's join the event!! (http://www.naturecenter.org/)



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Eaarth

"Eaarth" is a book about environmental problem. In this book, there are a lot of examples about what was happend, is happening, will be happend in the future. You can see the real all over the world by reading this book.

In the book, I had an interest about the gap between developing countries and developed countries. Developing countries like China do not want to accept the huge reduction of the amount of carbon emission because they want to develop their economies. On the other hand, for developed countries, they want them to reduce the amount of carbon emission, and also they will reduce. In my opinion, I can understand what developed countries state, but I basically support the another side.

Of course I do not want to say, they do not have to reduce the amount of CO2, but they have rights to develop even if they emit CO2 because we, developed countries, did. I have no idea how much each category countries have to reduce, but I think the regulation for CO2 emission should include the intension of developing countries.

The 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake

March 11 2011, a disaster occurred in Japan. Magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake off the coast of Japan. The epicenter was approximately 72 kilometers (45 mile) east of the Osaka Peninsula of Tohoku, with the hypocenter at an underwater depth of approximately 32 km (19.9 mile). The estimated death and disappearance is over 20,000.

I'm not a geologist, so I can't explain the detail. But, I would like you to know what it is like.

Most of victims of the earthquake were people who were washed away to the sea because of tsunami. The earthquake triggered huge tsunami waves up to over 7 meters. Perhaps, you cannot know imagine how powerful the 7 meters tsunami is. There is an example. There is a house which is made of wood. If the house was attacked by 2 meters tsunami, it would be destroyed.

In addition to the tsunami, one more big problem happened, nuclear plant. One of the nuclear plants in Fukushima prefecture was bombed. The scientists in Japan said the amount of radiation from the nuclear plant is not so serious, but the idea about the nuclear plant is different from countries.

If you want to know more about the earthquake, go to the URL below:
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367684/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-Fukushima-nulear-plant-radiation-leak-kill-people.html)

How to develop?

I have read a book, "HOPE, HUMAN AND WILD". This book gives us ideas how to satisfy human lives with less damaging way, and gives evidence that our infatuation with accumulation and expansion.

I will introduce an example, Kerala, which is one of states in India. Kerala is poor with a per capita income about 1/7 the American average. However, this area is totally different from others. First, the life expectancy rate is 70 years old even though the rate in North America is 72 years old. Second, Kerala has 100 percent literacy rate, according to U.N. Third, Kerala's birth rate is eighteen per thousand, compared with sixteen per thousand in United State.




In Nadur, one of the villages in Kerala, many people do not even have own beds. Only 42 percent have cooking utensils, a wooden bench, and a few stools. 36 percent have some chairs and cots, and 19 percent have a table. In five households possess cushioned seats, dressers, etc. There is one VCR, one refrigerator, and one television. Even in that situation, why Kerala have such high rates?

I will explain the reason from two perspectives: social history, and public policy.

-Social History-
The traditional caste system was strong when it was 18 to 19 century in India. However, Kerala was less caste-ridden than any place in the Hindu world. This situation brought in different economic condition there. For example, the need for literacy rate grew because the British and the rajahs pushed cash crops instead of farming, and more and more tenant farmers became involved with that market. Therefore, people spent their lives without social strong restriction.

In developing countries, people think man is much more important than woman. Therefore, it is usual for them to kill baby daughters. For instance, in Muslim Pakistan there are only ninety-two women for every hundred men, and boys are twice as likely to be taken to the hospital as girls are. However, in Kerala, there are more women than men; there are 1,040 women per 1,000 men even though 929 women oer 1,000 men in other states. As a result, there are actually more female than male college students.

-Public Policy-
In the morning, there are a lot of boys and girls who go to schools with their eyes bright. Education has been both cause and effect of Kerala's development, breeding new demands for progress and offering the example of other parts of the world. After Christian missionaries and the British started the progress, leftists spread education, and the first great boom was in the 1920s and 1930s. By 1981 the general literacy in Kerala was 70 percent-twice as high as all-India rate of 36 percent. Moreover, female literacy was 66 percent.

The government, the leftists who governed for much of the late 1980s, focused on "total literacy", defined by the United Nation as a population in which about 95 percent can read and write. The leftist Peoples Science Movement (KSSP) recruited twenty thousand volunteers tutors and sent them to teach.Teachers taught not only subjects, but also some basic civics, as well as message on how to deal with the government hygiene, "the dignity of work, equality of the sexes, the need for clean drinking water, how to read a clock, and what immunizations should be given to one's children at what age."

In Kerala, the government gives children free health care. With virtually, all mothers taught to breast-feed, and a state-supported nutrition program for pregnant and new mothers, infant mortality in 1991 was 17 per thousand, compared with 91 for low-income countries basically.

-Problems-
The combination of a stagnant economy ans a strong commitment to providing health and education have left the state large budget deficits. As the world is globalized, the life in Kerala have to be changed. People could not sell coconuts as same price as years ago; the price of coconuts has plummeted 50 percent. In addition to that, we cannot see whether the system in Kerala can use in other countries.



-My opinion-
When I read this chapter, I was surprised about Kerala. Although Kerala is in developing country, it has high literacy rate, life expectancy rate, and the like. I think there are a lot of things we have to learn from Kerala, but it's hard for us to do that. We, people in developed countries, have wealth, and we do not want to lose it even if the life in Kerala is less damaging to the environment. What we have to do is to find the way to develop, while giving the environment the least damage.

My favorite movie

This is the first time for me to post in English..I think there are many grammer misses, but please do not care so much!!

This time, I would like to introduce my favorite movie, called "La maison en petits cubes". The movie was produced by a Japanese man, Kunio Kato in 2008. It got the academy award for animated short film in 2009. It describes love and environment through life of an old man who lives in a house like blocks alone. It is a silent film, so even if you are not Japanese, you do not have to worry. The best point of silent film is that people can feel from various perspectives. In fact, some people say this file is about just love. On the other hand, some people say this is about environment.

I've watched more than 10 times, and cried. This movie will give us something which modern people prone to forget. If you watch it, you can absolutely feel and think something!! It is just around 12minites!! Let's watch and feel!!!