Difficulties in Promoting the Switch to Renewable Energy Sources

Subsequent to the nuclear disaster at the Daiichi Nuclear Plant in Fukushima, recently the Japanese Prime Minister Kan has asked for one reactor (Hamaoka) in Chubu to shut down until it installs more safety measures for earthquakes and tsunamis.  The Government of Japan (GOJ) is also beginning to promote renewable energy such as solar and wind power to make up for shortfalls of nuclear powered energy.  The government as recently as last year was subsidizing solar panels on new home construction, for example, so this is not their first effort.  These subsidies come from tax dollars or rate payers, of course, so they are not always popular with the public at large.  This same situation exists in the United States, creating a serious obstacle for changing over to renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuel and nuclear power.

What with how stubborn or uneducated or just plain fanciful the general public is on such things as the environment and what fossil and nuclear fuel can do to you short and long term, it almost requires such an horrific disaster to prompt some sort of change.  Of course, if the change is mandated by the government in the States, half the people cry "Socialism!", regardless of how it may positively benefit them.  No one wants to pay higher taxes or electricity rates for a benefit that they don't "see" immediately in their own home or wallet.  The homeowner who installs the solar panels sees the benefit, but his neighbor who is paying a higher rate to partially subsidize the solar panels does not see that cash benefit.  He is also unlikely to appreciate the benefit of lowered pollution that he and his family is reaping by having his neighbor install solar panels which provide power substituting for the largely coal powered electricity that most people use.  It's much easier to just bitch about higher taxes and electric rates and vote as such, destroying any and all programs providing incentives for positive behavior by the citizenry.

This nuclear disaster is right in your face every day, so it's easier to use as a cudgel to move the public and the government, frankly, in the right direction on promoting renewable energy sources.  In the title article, the GOJ estimates that wind power along the Pacific coast of Northern Japan could replace the nuclear power currently used, for example.  And how about all those new homes that will be constructed as cities rebuild, not to mention every other building; warehouses, restaurants, hotels, etc.  Imagine the power generated by mandated solar panels on every roof above a certain number of square meters.

Absent such a prolific disaster as the one we are currently facing, it is more often than not difficult to impossible to motivate the public at large to support such efforts if they are not immediately, directly affected.  For example, the people whose water supply is poisoned and lungs are destroyed by mountain top coal mining or strip mining are ready to say yes to renewable energy, but if you don't live right next to such a destructive operation you don't see the incentive in your daily life.  "Sure, the air is getting more polluted every day and the effects of that pollution on the climate and our lungs will surely kill me or my grand, grand, grand, grand children, but hey, what's in it for me today?"  It's damn hard to convince people of what to do for their own good if the effects will not be realized for some years down the line.  Even with such a disaster, the effects are usually only temporary on the country as a whole.  As life gets back to normal for most of the population, they usually experience amnesia about the whole thing.  "Crisis, what crisis?  I don't want to pay more taxes!"

I guess we'll just have to wait until the U.S. experiences their own horrible nuclear or other disaster to see people convinced.  Until then, it sure feels like we're hitting our heads against a brick wall.

Drinking and Driving Cultures

A Japanese friend of mine drove home drunk last night and almost hit a building on his way from where he was drinking.  I guess that's what made me think to write this post doing a bit of comparison between drinking and driving in the U.S. and Japan.

In the States, it always seemed to me that the society is built to encourage drinking and driving.  When you drink, you generally do it in groups of friends who also drink.  This makes it difficult to find a designated driver when everyone wants to participate.  And with the blood alcohol content limit at .08 or so, depending on your state, people are lead to believe they can have "just one or two" and be OK to drive.  Then, there is the almost total lack of public transportation except downtown in the largest metropolitan areas.  All of this contributes to a situation where it shouldn't be surprising to find people drunk driving and doing all sorts of damage and even killing themselves and others.  It always strikes me as so strange to see a bar in the suburbs of Anywhere, U.S.A. with a big parking lot full of cars.  How else do they expect people to get there?  Inside, they are drinking, many of them having driven themselves there after work or whatnot.  One person to a car, that's the American way.  Then, if we find some majority of them drinking alcohol and driving home, why should we be surprised?  None of this is to say that each person is not individually responsible for their actions.  Anyone who does this is the one at fault and responsible.  Not to blame society.  It just seems that things are set up such that we assume everyone will drunk drive and we'll only worry about it if we catch them or they kill someone.

What is surprising to me is that anyone here in urban Japan still engages in this self-destructive activity.  We live in a city with prolific public transportation and harsh DUI and drunk driving laws.  There are trains, buses and taxis literally everywhere, and the bars and restaurants will call you a cab any time, which will arrive in 15 minutes or less in most cases.  If we lived some inaka (rural) place where everyone had to drive or bicycle or scooter around, it would be a different situation, of course.  Even there, however, with the strict .03 BAC limits and the DUI definition being seemingly whatever the cop feels it should be, one would think that people would be effectively deterred from drinking and driving.  Apparently not so, based on my experience last night.

I don't know how true it may be, but I've also heard that the owner of the establishment where the person got drunk can also be fined or somehow penalized.  I do know that other passengers in a drunk driver's car here can get fines and perhaps jail if there is a death that occurs due to the drunk driving.  No passengers in the car last night that I know of, but he was drinking at a friend's restaurant.  If there was additional penalty for that, more people are affected directly than just the individual with the poor judgement.  He lied to us and told us he wasn't driving home.  Then, after we walked outside to go home, we saw his car careening down the alley, narrowly missing a building and an electric pole.  We should have been more responsible friends and taken his keys or called him a cab.  It's kind of sad, but there we are.

No control.

Bar / Restaurant Recommendation

Today, I am recommending Beer Saurus in Ikebukuro.

 

A short walk from the train station, Beer Saurus has a seemingly unlimited selection of excellent beers, both mass produced and micro brews.  We arrived for their 6 - 8 PM Happy Hour which gives 50% off all beers.

The drafts

I tried the Bear Republic Racer 5, the Left Coast Hop Juice Double IPA and the Green Flash Le Freak, all of which were excellent.

California brews available

You can see that the beers are a bit pricey at regular price, particularly the Stone Brewing Company selection.  Thus, the Happy Hour is key.

Food-wise, we had some delicious chicken wings, sauteed mushrooms in oil with bread, and spring rolls.  Outstanding flavor in all of them, and the wings are available in varying levels of heat.  We were pleased with the spicy and with the sweet thai chili variety.

All in all, an excellent venue for hanging out and enjoying quality brew and food.  The environment is chic/cool with lots of risque adverts for drinking to go along with some nudes in the bathroom.  The staff was attentive and friendly.  I'm giving it two thumbs up!

Timing is everything

6 months later...

Due to a trip to the States, we missed the cherry blossoms this year to my great disappointment.  It's always one of my favorite times to head down to Yoyogi Park and take in the sights and sounds of a Sunday in good weather; bands playing, yaki soba, Asahi beer, frisbees, circles of kids performing their choreographed dance moves.

One of the beautiful things here is that seasonal blooming flowers appear to have been part of the city planning.  The sakura roll through the country in the month of April each year.  Then, when they are gone, the tsutsuji arrive with their neon pink blossoms.  They line the streets in green bushes you may not even take note of during the other 11 months of the year, but in early May, they are incredible.  After they fade, the ajisai (hydrangea) arrive in blues and pinks.  There is even a temple in Kamakura that is filled with them.  It's just nice to have a new, colorful bloom appear on a seemingly monthly basis.

Anyone else surprised?

... that Harry Reid is still the Senate Majority Leader?

Rare Earth

Man, I saw those guys back in '74 at the California Jam in Ontario.

I was there to see Sabbath, but they rocked the house!

Peace. Out.

Swedish Cuisine in Tokyo

Today, for fun, I went to a new restaurant. Well, a restaurant that was new to me, in any case. You get the picture.

I have some fraction of Swedish ancestry, so I Googled (Googlimashita?) "tokyo swedish restaurant", and came up with the above link'd Lilla Dalarna in Roppongi. I suppose it's no surprise to find a foreign restaurant in a neighborhood like Roppongi filled with embassies, Western-style discotheques (man, that was tough to spell), and folks from all over the world. However, I guess I was a bit surprised to find a couple Swedish restaurants with my extensive Googling.

It was overcast and periodically raining, but we all had a good time and some good food. It's only a hop, skip, and a jump from the Roppongi station on the Hibiya line, or the Tokyo Subway. Just head toward Roppongi Hills or the Azabu Police Station, if you just happen to know where that is because your friend got a parking ticket at last year's Father's Day brunch in Hiroo. I had the meatball lunch, which wasn't all that different from what you get at Ikea, but it was good. The lunch menu is reasonably priced, and you get salad, bread, and either coffee or tea with the set price. Carlsberg on tap.

Enjoy!