Interview with Wang Suya

Here it is. She came from Innter Mongolia to Japan and is now studying solar thermal energy. She talks about why and how she became interested in Global Warming and started commenting on Andrew Revkin's Dot Earth blog everyday. What intrigues me is when she tells about her green life :

QUESTION: In your everyday life in Japan, how do you try to live a "green" life and reduce your carbon footprint?

WANG SUYA: This is a good question. I asked my husband to stop driving me two extra train stations every day, so this saves is some gas mileage every month. I also bought an electricity switch for my company computer to save electricity. I have also joined my company's eco-family activity to input our electricity, gas, water, gasoline bill every month. These are my small private, personal steps to be more green here in Japan.

Rght. I guess that most Japanese are doing the similar things. And even trash classification and recycling (embarrassing, yup). My family seldom drive a car, and we ride a bike as usual (we don't have much money, in fact). Really small steps, though.

Ben Jelloul : Voir la réalité du changement climatique

Review of Kerry A. Emanuel, What we know about climate change ? (MIT Press), at nonfiction.fr (21.03.2008) :

Kerry Emanuel nous propose à travers ce court ouvrage de vulgarisation, une synthèse claire des résultats scientifiques sur le changement climatique. Mieux, il nous décrit comment, partant d'une position plutôt sceptique, mais à l'époque scientifiquement défendable, le chercheur qu'il est en vient à se rallier sereinement à la réalité du changement climatique devant l'accumulation d'indices de plus en plus convaincants.

L'auteur part d'une description des perceptions du climat par l'opinion publique. D'un coté, des individus convaincus que la Nature est immuable, qui ne peuvent concevoir qu'un climat d'une inébranlable stabilité quelles que soient les perturbations dues à l'activité humaine. De l'autre, des gens certains de déceler dans chaque phénomène nouveau (crues, comètes, etc) un cataclysme irrémédiable, voire une punition divine, en réponse aux manifestations nécessairement orgueilleuse de l'esprit humain. 

Il leur oppose la vision du scientifique. Celle-ci peut concevoir une évolution du climat au travers de cycle entre des périodes glaciaires et d'autres plus tempérées, des équilibres qui distinguent la terre et sa planète sœur, la torride Vénus. L'impact de l'activité humaine ne peut donc se comprendre sans identifier les mécanismes qui régissent la dynamique du climat.

The Vaclav Klaus Climate Joke Awards

Here it is.

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Update :: 09.03.2008

The blogger sent me a note :

These awards, it should be pointed out, are created with a sense of humor, and they are for people with a sense of humor, a sense of outrage and a sense of proportion. In addition, it should also be pointed out online that these awards in no way mock President Klaus as a human being or as a national president, he is an upstanding man in all senses of the word. In fact, these awards are set up to showcase quotes on both sides of the aisle, pro and con global warming, with Professor Klaus's name attached just for fun, because it is he who first said that "climate is a joke".

But in no way does this award contest want to mock Mr Klaus. In fact he should be honored that he has been so honored, since he believes that climate change is a joke. And one hears that he does have a good sense of humour.

So quotes and people on both sides of the debate, pro and con climate change, are welcome. This is equal opportunity humor. Although it does seem that the denialsts are getting most of the awards so far. Why is that?

Thanx. I love this blogger's humor.

According to Prince Charles, it can be said that Mr. Klaus is sharing "sheer madness".

Related papers :

• "Václav vs. Václav" by Vaclav Havel and Paul Wilson, The NY Review of Books (10.05.2007).
• "If climate sceptics are right, it is time to worry" by Paul Klemperer, FT.com (28.02.2008).
• "Global Warming Skeptics Insist Humans Not at Fault" by Juliet Eilperin, WaPo (04.03.2008). — Ralph Reed again !
• "What is Endangered: Climate or Freedom? And Just How Sensitive is the Climate Anyway?" by Ronald Bailey, Reason Online (05.03.2008).
• "Gored: Why Skeptics Need Al" by Keith Johnson, Environmental Capital (05.03.2008).

Japan's Wild Scientific Genius : Minakata Kumagusu

Roger Pulvers illustrates Dr. Minakaa's life and work, at Japan Focus (20.01.2008) :

Let’s start with the most intriguing question: How did a person born in Wakayama in 1867 become a pioneer in his field of biology, recognized as such around the world? This is a time when Japan was barely emerging from 250 years of self-imposed national isolation, a policy that created a scientific and technological gap with the West of immense proportion. And one more question: How could a man like Minakata, eccentric, feisty and volatile to the point of being wild, turn himself into one of the most respected, even worshipped, figures of the Meiji intellectual establishment?

Minakata Kumagusu was born in 1867 as the second son in a family that ran a general store (zakkaya) in Wakayama City. Eventually he would have five siblings. Stories of his intellectual feats as a child are legendary. It is certain that, while in primary school, he did have the ability to throw himself into a task and keep at it for weeks on end. He copied out several lengthy classics, including the 40-chapter Taiheiki, word for word. His early diaries show a marked talent for drawing, both realistic and imaginary. It was when still in primary school that he began making comparisons between Western and Japanese concepts and myths.

Dan Bloom on Polar Cities

Dan-san speaks his mind on Radio Ecoshock. You can download MP3 file from here. The first half rounds up the Bali Conference (COP13). His interview starts about at 22:40. It's a long, long way to go from now.

Also see his blog. He needs pros and cons.

Modern Polar City Blueprints

Danny Bloom needs & cons :

WANT TO SEE WHAT ''POLAR CITIES'' MIGHT LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE?

At this blogsite, you can see some early artwork depicting what polar
cities might look like, interior views. Art was created by Taiwanese
artist Deng Cheng-hong, with production notes from Dan Bloom, creatorof the ''polar city blog''....

Also see Global Warming and Polar Cities.

People Get What They Deserve : Climate Change

I received a note from Danny Bloom in Taiwan today, who forwarded to me this curious rant about climate change and the end of the world. Ecco.

Prolifération nucléaire acte II

Par Laurent Zacchini au Monde (09.12.2006).

Continue reading "Prolifération nucléaire acte II"

Poisonous clouds of pollution spread after Israel air strike

By Geoffrey Lean at The Independent (10.09.2006) :

More people will die as a result of pollution unleashed by Israel's bombing of the Lebanon than perished in the month-long war itself, the Lebanese government believes.

Yacoub Sarraf, its Environment Minister, speaking exclusively to The Independent on Sunday, said last week that a highly poisonous cloud spread over a third of the country - an area that is home to half its people - from a fire in a bombed fuel tank that burned for 12 days.

Europe's Underwater Chemical Dump

By Charles Hawley at Spiegel Online (30.08.2006) :

Some 3,500 barrels of mercury have been found in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden. There may be thousands more to be discovered. Experts say the sea is full of industrial waste -- but nobody knows how much.

Asia's Coming Water Wars

By Chietigj Bajpaee at Japan Focus (23.08.2006).

Altered Oceans

The LA Times.

Worker exposed to radiation at Aomori nuclear plant

At Mainichi Daily News (24.06.2006).

Stop Rokkasho form for petition.

La baleine, exception culinaire nippone

By Philippe Pons at Le Monde (23.06.2006).

Continue reading "La baleine, exception culinaire nippone"

Saving the planet and ourselves: the way to global security

By John Sloboda at Open Democracy (12.06.2006).

Japan buys votes to take control of whaling body

By Michael McCarthy at Independent (14.06.2006).