Moved to a new website!

Hi all,

I am happy to announce that Eco-samurai is moving to a new website.
http://www.interactiongreen.com

For the list of the latest posts, check here.
http://www.interactiongreen.com/en-home/zero/zero-news/

I am also moving Nuno-zori instruction. Please visit new website.

Thank you!

Renewable for disaster relief (4): 1 year after Japan earthquake

Sumita Town, Iwate

Like many other Tohoku areas, Sumita Town is rich in forest resources. Invested in sustainable forest management and lumber processing to support local jobs, it has been the owner of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified forest.

Sumita Town was very quick to respond to the disaster. Right after the quake the mayor made a decision to build temporary housing complex for Tsunami survivors. The houses were built using local lumber. Unlike typical temporary evacuation houses that are prefabricated, those houses are made of real wood and offered significant comfort to the survivors who needed to heal from the disaster. The Tohoku Warmth and Unity Project installed 30 solar lights and 110 solar water heaters for the entire houses in the complex.

 

1 year after the earthquake, Tohoku region is still far from full recovery. Based on the request from the communities in need, the project is planning installing renewable systems in 31 more locations.  The requests keep coming in, but financial support is not keeping up to meet the demand.  In a long run, the goal of the project is to install permanent renewable system in those communities to meet the majority of local electricity demand. Their challenge continues.   

Tsunagari Nukumori Project is accepting donation. Contact them if you are interseted.

Tsunagari Nukumori Project
The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies

4-54-11 Chuo, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0011 Japan
TEL:+81-3-6382-6061
FAX:+81-3-6382-6062
http://tsunagari-nukumori.jp//english
Email：re-shien@isep.or.jp

Renewable for disaster relief (3): 1 year after Japan earthquake

Fukushima

The failure of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant subsequent to the massive Tsunami was yet another catastrophe for Fukushima. The zone within 40 kilometers radius from the failed plant has been sealed off due to high radioactive concentration. Even outside the sealed zone people are facing difficulties and uncertainties.
The Fukushima Unity and Warmth Project installed solar panels in one of the care facilities for disabled people in Minamisoma, Fukushima. For years, the life of disabled people has been depending on the support from local communities. Relocation is not an easy option for many of those living in care facilities. However, the option to stay is not an easy path either. Their primary way of living, agriculture, is seriously impacted because the soil is now contaminated to grow any kind of food. Many caretakers have already evacuated to safer areas. To help alleviate financial hardship, the project is not only providing electricity to the care facility but is also bringing much needed income through sales of excess electricity to the grid.

Tsunagari Nukumori Project is accepting donation. Visit their website if you are interseted.

 

Tsunagari Nukumori Project
The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies4-54-11 Chuo, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0011 Japan
TEL:+81-3-6382-6061
FAX:+81-3-6382-6062
http://tsunagari-nukumori.jp//english
Email：re-shien@isep.or.jp

Renewable for disaster relief (2): 1 year after Japan earthquake

Ishinomaki City, Iwate


Ishinomaki City is one of the most seriously impacted areas. Some coastal towns are still submerged because the land subsided significantly after the Tsunami. Completely isolated, those areas are still without access to electricity. But it’s not stopping local people to come back. They want to come back to repair their homes. They want to go back to what they used to do for living before the disaster: fishery.

Solar panels and solar lights are providing electricity and light that is so much needed by the local people who come visit their homes from temporary housing 15 miles away. Solar- powered light guides the fishermen early in the morning when they come back to the port sitting in otherwise completely lightless, pitch-dark town. The project also aims to install solar electric power system in town’s only shipyard that is so critical to keep local fishery up and running.

Tsunagari Nukumori Project is accepting donation. Visit their website if you are interested.

Tsunagari Nukumori Project
The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies4-54-11 Chuo, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0011 Japan
TEL:+81-3-6382-6061
FAX:+81-3-6382-6062
http://tsunagari-nukumori.jp//english
Email：re-shien@isep.or.jp

Renewable for disaster relief (1): 1 year after Japan earthquake

On March 11, 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook offshore North Eastern Japan and triggered a massive tsunami. More than 15,000 people lost their lives and 300,000 people still remain displaced even 10 months after the disaster. Affected communities are still struggling to restore normal life and people are desperate to get back the jobs that were washed away in the blink of an eye.


Energy has emerged as one the most critical issues for recovery. The weather in North Eastern part of Japan is harsh and it snows a lot in winter. Many regions are rural and remote. Right after the disaster many affected areas became energy isolated; people lost access to electricity, natural gas and/or gasoline under the freezing weather. Immediate assistance to provide electricity and heat was critical for survival of the victims. As relief activities intensified, many communities restored lifelines. However, it is also becoming obvious that some seriously impacted areas will be left without grid connection for some more time, if not for good.

Tohoku (the region hit by the disaster) Unity and Warmth Project has been launched to improve access to energy in disaster-hit communities in a sustainable way. Initiated by The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP), a Tokyo-based NGO that studies measures to promote renewable energy, the project focuses on providing electricity and heat using renewable energy. It also aims to offer much needed jobs to local people through implementation and installation of the projects.

“We would like to provide local, independent power such as solar and biomass in disaster-hit areas where help is difficult to reach. Independent renewable energy can also create local jobs. In the long-run, it can replace nuclear and fossil energy,” says Tetsunari Ida, Director of ISEP.

Since April 2011, the project has been installing small-scale solar and biomass energy systems such as solar panels, solar water heaters, solar street lights and biomass boilers at almost 200 locations throughout affected regions.

Nuno-zori fundraising

Eco-samurai is moving to a new website! 
Updated version of "How to make nuno-zori" will be added shortly.
In the meantime, enjoy new posts.
*******

I went back to Japan in July for 3weeks.

The whole country is still in the state of shock from the aftermath of earthquake and tsunami. In addition people are forced to live with the threat of radiation.....nobody knows exactly how it will affect them, their kids and the environment.

Immediate 15% reduction of energy consumption was almost mandatory. And people are making efforts everywhere on a daily basis.

And people are starting to think about energy a lot. I mean A LOT. Everybody is now thinking why they had to rely so heavily on nuclear, and what they have been risking by doing so. I think Japanese people are starting to realize what was really going on with nuclear policy.


Anyway, the recovery from earthquake will take a lot more time and money, and also I would like to help support renewable energy in Japan.

Most popular posts in this blog has always been Nuno-zori, so why don't I use Nuno-zori to help support sustainable recovery for Japan?


The company that make Nuno-zori books and kits, Cotton B's, graciously Ok'ed for me to translate "how to make Nuno-zori". My idea is to sell the book and the kit.


I will write more details in the next posts, but if you are interested in this project please let me know.

Tsunami-quake desaster: Think, ecosamurai, think!

Yes Japan is on the huge subduction area. Yes there are a lot of earthquakes.

But this was nothing we've known, this was nothing we could imagine/expect.

I am urged to do something. Only thing I can think of is fundraising, but....

What should be done to help them, and in more sustainable way?
Of course we are witnessing the world's safest nuclear power plants in trouble.

But right now we should focus on the rescue.....

If you have any idea please let me know.

Warm ice cream?

This is novel.

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is pondering how to make an ice cream that is made, shipped and sold warm, with the consumer taking the final step of actually freezing the product.

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/08/26/fighting-climate-change-with-warm-ice-cream/

I have always thought that we could reduce enormous amount of CO2 by reducing our reliance on cold or frozen foods/beverages. It's almost second nature to us, but there are a lot of things that are unnecessarily cold or frozen. We can reduce or eliminate ice cubes in soda, for example. And it won't change the function of soda that much. Eating less frozen food and cooking by yourself might reduce more GHG than you think, if you think through the supply chain and logistics.

Rethinking cold/frozen food is one of the low-hanging fruits to reduce our carbon footprint.

Thank you Ben and Jerry's for working on this, and thanks for being delicious and green at the same time.

Bright side of economic downturn: People are eating healthier

American Diet Changing Out Of Economic Necessity

Eating healthier is definitely good.

And probably it's time to start thinking about "peak food", just like "peak oil".

We only have one Earth to cultivate yet world's population keeps growing so rapidly. Shouldn't it hit the peak eventually?

If everyone on earth live the same standard of living of Americans, we need almost 5 earths.
Below is the links for ecological footprint calculator.

http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.html
http://myfootprint.org/
http://www.ecologyfund.com/registry/ecology/res_bestfoot.html
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/

Haramaki! - tummy warmer -

My sister sent this from Japan and I was very skeptical at first.
It's called Haramaki. It's basically underwear that you wrap around your waist. (sorry it's not explicit with this pic)

This was an old way to get yourself warm - when building heating system wasn't good. Back then, people used to put on anything they could to keep them warm.
Now that we are in the modern society, we thought we didn't need it any more because it's not sexy and we've got whole bunch of cool ways to warm ourselves.

But then, it's back! And it's back with whole new look. (see the website I linked below)

My sister said it was super warm.

And it is! I think it is back because people decided, after all, that this is much more efficient and comfortable than its modern version competitors!
....this is hard to explain. Can you imagine how much such a small piece of fabric can do to your body? It's pretty thin and fits your body, and when your tummy is kept warm, your whole body feels so much warmer!

If you are trying to minimize your expense, this small cloths can save your some dollars because you can lower the temperature of your home heater 2-3 degrees! And obivously it'll reduce your carbon footprint. I am serious.

Well, honestly, you can't wear your hip-hung jeans with this, but if you are done with that phase, it's for you. I found some interesting story on Haramaki: Check this out.

Solar Prius?

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/01/02/toyota-reported-to-be-developing-solar-powered-car/

Best performance Tofu: Trader Joe's

Good quality Tofu is determined by its texture and the flavor of soy bean which should be just right.

Among those that are easiliy available at grocery stores, Trader Joe's is best considering its price (I think it's $1.29~1.49) and the fact that it's organic. Thank you TJ.

Japanese major brand "House" is probably the most widely available Tofu in the US, but I am not a big fan of it. It is either too soft (silken) or too firm (firm), and it's waterly and flavorless.

Another option is Korean grocery stores. Korean brand Tofus are not bad at all, and best of all, you might find locally produced (possibly hand-made), fresh Tofu.

Yamaha fuel cell scooter: FC-Dii

Yamaha unvailed its fuel cell scooter "FC-Dii" at Eco-products 2008, Tokyo, Japan.

Fuel cell use methanol as fuel and it can also be charged by external li-ion battery.

Well I don't know well about the true eco-friedliness and feasiblity of this technology, but the product looks sort of cool. Probably postman can use this to deliver mails?

California AB 32 Scoping Plan adopted, Toyota iQ is coming to US

Today, California Air Resources Board adopted its historical AB 32 Scoping Plan. This is a huge milestone for California to shift toward low-carbon society.

Yesterday, Toyota decided to launch their new concept car "iQ" to US market. I think iQ is a next generation Prius, not in terms of functionality but in terms of concept -- to (possibly) change people's perception as to how a cool car should be. This is a big and nice surprise because small cars were traditionally thought to be the last choice by the American consumer and automakers haven't tried to sell them here. If people just choose to drive smaller cars, it's such a simple and easy way to reduce GHG emission at a considerable scale.

AB 32 Scoping Plan is highly praised for its "comprehensiveness", but it's missing one critical concept: Small.

Being smaller is less footprint, both ecological and carbon.

Yes, small is not a bad thing at all. Small is a beautiful thing.

Find more about iQ...
http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyota/bv/iq-blog.jsp
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2214/

Recycling or collection? Both.

When we say "recycle", we typically talk about "collection effort" -- putting things in recycling bins. This is confusing because "collecting recyclables" and "remanufacturing recyclables" are very different two processes.

The effort to increase collection rate is one thing, effort to increase good quality recyclables is another thing, then improving remanufacturing process and marketing secondary products are yet another thing.

Interesting story about Japanese plastic bottle recycling. (leftt: EoL plastic bottle collection rate)




1) Collection rate has been increasing and coming close to 70%. (I guess simple strategy to install recycling box exclusively for plastic bottles everywhere really helps.)
2) The quality of feedstock is improving. (Consumer awareness matters: they are educated and increasingly source-separate recyclables, therefore plastic bottles are not comingled with other plastics, making feedstock more heterogeneous)
3) Technology for remanufacturing is improving, helped by heterogeneous feedstock. (even different kind of plastic is considered contaminants that deteriorates the quality of secondary material)
4) Secondary products are increasingly with good quality, finding them suitable for different kinds of uses. (combination of 1, 2 and 3)


source: http://www.petbottle-rec.gr.jp/nenji/2006/index.html

Zen-garden designed by the Zen-monk

Very interesting.

http://www.kenkohji.jp/s/english/index_e.html

Genmai (brown rice) for beginners

Brown rice (whole grain) is a lot more nutritious compared to the white rice. It's rich in Vitamin B and E, Potassium... and fiber. But it has some disadvantages as well.

1. Takes long to cook (it's best to soak brown rice in the water overnight).
2. Takes more to digest (might not be good for kids or when your body is ailing)
3. Got some brown rice-ish odor.....

This half-brown rice solved those problems. As you see in the picture, it's not whole-grain; it looks to me like 40%-grain instead of 100%. Obviously less nutritious than brown rice, but more so than white rice. You can cook just as you cook white rice, and it tastes pretty close (not the same though).

It's a little bit expensive, but worth trying. If you live in California, it shouldn't be difficult find it in Japanese grocery stores.

Sukoyaka Genmai, or 健やか玄米 (I bought 15 lbs bag at about $22)
Nishimoto Trading, Santa Fe Springs, CA USA

New Honda Insight

Debuted at Paris motor show.
Honda's hybrid car "Insight" is totally renewed and will hit US market next spring, with affordable price less than $19,000.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/honda-new-insight-hybrid-car-photos-specifications.php
http://www.hybridcars.com/compacts-sedans/honda-insight-overview.html

Renewable energy: Policy matters!

Learn from failure.

Japan had been leading solar cell market both in production and implementation till 2004. Sharp had been No.1 producer for a long time. But in 2007, it gave up No.1 position to Q Cells, a German company.

Everyone would know that Germany is heavily invested in renewables. They introduced feed-in-tariff which boosted German solar power market. And it's not only Germany - a lot other countries are pursuing renewable energy as policy goal.

A lot of countries, except for one country that once boasted World's No.1 solar cell technology and market - Japan.

There is no sign that Japan will start investing seriously in renewable energy as policy, at least as earnestly as other countries. Consequently, it is losing its ground on such a promising field and its leadership role in the market. How sad.

This shows that technology won't spur on its own; policy direction and support (including incentives and regulatory changes) really matters for this kind of paradigm shift.

Ultimate minimal / Chashitsu- Japanese tea house

Revisit calculus: keep dividing 1 by ever decreasing number, and the result becomes larger and larger and larger.....toward infinity. 1/0.0000001, 1/0.00000000000001, 1/0.000000000000000000000000000001......

Zero has infinite power.

Yes, zero is null itself, but by being null, it can have infinite power. This is like zen.

Japanese traditional Chashitsu (tea house, tea room) is designed to be very very small as if it wanted to be infinite by being physically null.

Discover some concepts and philosophy that are embedded in 20 square feet or so confined room where most minimal and sophisticated ceremony happens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chashitsu
http://www.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/architecture/japanese-teahouse.cfm
http://www.teahyakka.com/chashitsuElayout.html
http://takatsuka-architects.com/suki&sukiya.htm

It reminds us that we don't need huge or extravagant things to be rich in mind. We can release our mind to the world of infinity by allowing ourselves close to zero, physically and conceptually.