Still another indication that Japan is seeking carbon emission reductions in all the wrong places comes in a news report on the debate over whether the nation’s trend towards a night owl lifestyle should be curbed by government fiat in order protect the environment.
The sense among the government’s Central Environment and Industrial Structure councils is that the night-oriented lifestyles of the Japanese must change, and that the government should enact restrictions on nighttime lighting and late night TV broadcasts.
Not everyone is in agreement, however. According to a report by the Japan Franchise Association, cutting convenience store operation down to 16 hours a day from the current 24 would reduce carbon dioxide emissions only 3 to 4 percent.
They also point out that cutting operating hours also would necessitate deliveries during the daylight hours, which would increase traffic congestion in major metropolitan areas.
This whole debate has come about as the government grapples with ways to whip and drive the country into meeting Kyoto Protocol targets for so-called “greenhouse gasses.” As is usually the case in Japan, Taro and Hanako Q. Public are the first to get it in the shorts when it becomes time to start dishing out pain, simply because they do not have the organized political clout that major industries do.
but why do something meaningful, effective, and cost efficient when you can do something expensive, ineffective and asinine, sheesh edward take all the fun out of life
in truth it must be getting hard for japan to further reduce its greenhouse emmissions
they have nuclear power plants powering most of the country (it doesnt get any more CO2 friendly)
they have some of the most fuel efficient cars in the world
if im not mistaken, their agricultural sector, while heavily subsidized, isnt really big enough to even compare with other nations
they are very efficient when it comes to electricity usage in homes compared to the US and Europe
they dont any produce many fossil fuels
the only thing really left is the fixed sources of pollution coming from the industrial sector
if the government wants to remain business friendly in their approach why not subsidize industrial scrubbers or pay for the changes necessary
i dont understand why they would sign a treaty like this when they have so little fat to trim, or why not repudiate it if they cannot make the targets. why make the collective population jump through their assholes for very little gain.
i guess i just dont understand japanese logic
then again at least they arent stupid enough to subsidize ethanol (a whole new level of mental retardation from DC)
heres the solution to the electrical part of the problem right here and it came from an entrepreneur, not some government mandate. this man deserves a medal
http://weblog.infoworld.com/sustainableit/archives/2007/12/solar_google_gr.html
I strongly suspect that Japan supports the treaty mainly because it has “Kyoto” in the title.
I think that, at this stage, they are going to just be shaving off bits here and there. It’s not that that isn’t worthwhile but I think they need to be careful about what it is they take away. T.V. broadcasts seems a silly thing to regulate because people who want to watch television will find something to watch (DVDs, recorded programming).
I’m guessing one of the things that could be reduced would be vending machines, particularly the ones which sit right outside of shops that sell identical goods inside the store. I don’t understand why soda and cigarette machines sit outside of convenience stores which are open 24 hours.
Mainly though, they need to start cutting the workers some slack and making offices close up by 8:00 pm at the latest (7:00 pm on Fridays) and only allowing weekend opening for businesses that absolutely require it. One salesman sat in my old office until 10:00 pm with all the lights on on numerous occasions. This would both reduce carbon dioxide emissions and allow the workers to go home at more reasonable times to spend time with their families.
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