Recent Comments:
July's Green Challenge: My hair = oil slick {Green Daily}
Jul 17th 2008 9:10AM I haven't timed my shower yet, but I would assume that I clock in at under 5 minutes. I will have to figure out a way to time it one of these days.
Anyways, what I do (these days) is just take cold showers. Since live in Japan, we have an on-demand heater that is located outside of our apartment. The water that is still in the lines outside warms up during the day, giving me a quick burst of about 15 seconds of warm to hot water when I first turn on the shower. With the insane heat and humidity here though, it actually feels a heck of a lot better when the cold water starts flowing.
Even when it isn't summer, I still have the advantage that my on demand water heater is located about 3 feet from where I take my shower. That means instant hot water. I usually turn off the shower three times. First while I am washing my hair. Second, after I soap down my body (head to toes). Third, when I wash my face. If I have to shave then the water goes off for that too. I never just "let the water hit me."
My dream is to live in a semi-warm place where I can have some private-ish land on a lake. Use your imagination on how I would take advantage of a situation like that. Oh, and I have done it before, and nothing beats it!
Japanese community goes zero waste {Green Daily}
Jul 14th 2008 9:21AM We wash our styrofoam trays before recycling them where I live in Japan too. I would guess that almost every city in the entire country does this. What we don't have is 36 bins for separating things into...
Lead Camry hybrid engineer died from working too hard {Autoblog Green}
Jul 10th 2008 6:05AM I work for a large Japanese automotive parts company in Japan. I can say, from experience (including my own, personal), that overtime is a fact of life in Japan. Even middle school children are subject to it.
Those who mentioned that mere 12 hour days are nothing, and that he got off easy. Truth is, he was probably working WAAAAY more than that. There is a thing called "service overtime" here, where workers work for free. They are shamed into doing this, as everyone else does, and believe me, you don't want to be the first guy out the door. You can't believe the icy stares you would get. No, this engineer guy probably would have been better off bringing his futon in to work with him and just living at his company.
Companies actually set themselves up so that people can do just this. My company has a pretty much 24 hour cafeteria, though we don't have showers quite yet.
So, coming from someone who has lived and worked in Japan for 3 some odd years, this IS a big problem, and it is finally coming to the headlines. Forced paid overtime (ie, don't let workers work for free) is becoming more accepted these days.
Oh, and Luke was right on... Japanese people have nothing other than drive going for them. They only rose to the level that they are at now because they had the will to succeed. That usually translates to working your hands to the bone.
Got green fatigue? {Green Daily}
Jul 7th 2008 10:13AM Quite simple, just stop believing anything you hear. To go a step further, don't believe anything you hear. Treat every new claim as guilty until proven innocent.
Don't buy anything other than things that you absolutely need. There is an almost direct correlation between garbage produced and things bought.
Most importantly, realize that this short time in history (arguably last 50-100 years) has been a short blip in the history of the human race. Our unnatural growth is going to abruptly stop. When you see that life as we know it cannot be sustained, as infinite growth is physically impossible, things become a lot easier to deal with. I mean, who cares what kind of vegetables, pants, and milk you were buying when society has collapsed into oblivion? If you are one of the (un)lucky to still be alive, the things you once held dear will have meaning no more.
end rant.
Prediction: Global energy use to jump 50% by 2030 {Green Daily}
Jul 3rd 2008 5:40AM Wait a second, there are STILL people who think that society as we know it will exist in the year 2030?!
Japan's postal fleet is going electric {Green Daily}
Jun 12th 2008 6:09AM They are actually eying up the Mitsubishi iMEV.
Laloo organic fashion by Rashida Jones {Green Daily}
May 10th 2008 1:58AM kyle: Good point. Defeating the consumer mindset is a rather large dilemma. I was able to do it, but even I can't convince my own wife. People just have to change their thinking on their own.
In the meantime, I just got a new sales job, so I will have to bolster my wardrobe. Not a whole lotta choice here in Japan, so I will have to wait until I am sent back to America (regrettable that I have to make such a long trip by plane, and only for a week) to stock up on suits and such. I would be content wearing the same suit every day of the week, but I have a feeling that that wouldn't jive with my company.
Damned if you do damned if you don't.
Aerocivic and its aesthetically-challenged modifications strikes again! {Autoblog Green}
May 10th 2008 1:50AM His car is not the VX. It is a CX. Check out this link.
http://www.gassavers.org/garage/view/40
BMW twin-turbo 2.0L diesel wins Best New Engine of 2008 {Autoblog Green}
May 10th 2008 1:47AM I believe that a twin turbo 2.0liter diesel, with the right transmission, would convince people of the viability of diesel. Yes, many Americans love the seat of your pants feeling you get from stepping on the go-pedal. Diesel power plants are great at amplifying this feeling. With prices where they are now, even people who drive $50k+ cars are wincing in pain at the pump.
The timing is right for a full-on invasion of diesels. Everything is in place for them to succeed, the manufacturers just need to sell them to the public.
Laloo organic fashion by Rashida Jones {Green Daily}
May 9th 2008 8:12AM If you are going to choose between two products, then the organic one is likely to be the better choice.
Consumerism is NEVER the better choice for the environment. What we have now are people thinking that it is ok to blow tons of money on organic this and eco that -- straight into debt. Wear what you have. Buy less, and when you buy, buy quality.
I wonder, at an alarming frequency, whether this whole green thing is going to do us any good. If everyone were to quit buying crap, then the world would instantly get back onto the right path. On the other hand, the more garbage we amass the worse off we are.
