terra-economica.info, Julien Vinzent, le 5 novembre 2009

34% des Français considèrent le changement climatique comme un problème grave

A un mois de la conférence de Copenhague, rendez-vous crucial pour la lutte contre le changement climatique, certains chiffres ont de quoi surprendre. Ainsi, le phénomène et ses conséquences ne semble pas faire partie des problèmes prioritaires des Français, selon un sondage effectué dans 12 pays par l’Observatoire de la confiance climatique HSBC. Depuis 3 ans, le niveau de préoccupation a chuté de 8%. En France, seules 34% des personnes interrogées estiment que “le changement climatique et la manière d’y répondre fait partie des problématiques qui les inquiètent le plus”, un niveau égal à la moyenne mondiale rapporte la banque.

Mais l’enseignement principal de cette étude est le gouffre entre les pays émergents, beaucoup plus inquiets et volontaristes, et les pays développés. Exemple avec “l’importance d’obtenir un accord à Copenhague” : au Brésil, l’idée obtient un score soviétique de 86%, quand elle ne rencontre même pas une majorité aux États-Unis. L’Europe ne fait pas forcément mieux, en particulier le Royaume-Uni : le niveau de préoccupation y est le plus bas avec 15%, et seuls 22% des sondés affirment faire des efforts au niveau individuel.

Pessimisme quand tu nous tiens… Dans ce domaine, l’Hexagone est champion avec un petit 6% de Français persuadés que le changement climatique peut-être arrêté et 7% qui pensent que “ceux qui devraient faire quelque chose font ce qui est nécessaire“. En revanche, 44% d’entre eux assurent apporter leur pierre à l’édifice.

A lire aussi dans Terra eco :

Notre sondage : 67% des Français pessimistes sur l’issue de Copenhague

Copenhague : qui est in, qui est out ? Le classement de Greenpeace.

Notre dossier sur le changement climatique->http://www.terra-economica.info/Cli…] (mai 2009)

Tous les résultats sur l’animation interactive de l’Observatoire de la confiance climatique

planete.blogs.nouvelsobs.com, Guillaume Malaurie, le 16 novembre 2009

Copenhague : Vers un Munich climatique

Ce qui est sûr à quelques jours du Sommet de Copenhague sur le réchauffement climatique, c’est que l’esprit de Kyoto est mort. Comme est mort l’esprit  d’un nouvel ordre mondial et d’une SDN arbitre des conflits dans les années vingt. Il n’y aura pas, sauf miracle,  à  Copenhague d’engagement mondial  contraignant sur la baisse des émissions de Gaz à effet de serre. Mais au mieux un compromis sur des vœux.  La contrainte, elle,  est remise à plus tard. Quand ? Dans six mois ou un peu plus ou dans un an ?  Comment ? On verra… Et comme dans l’entre deux Guerres, les États Unis, dont on attendait tant  et trop  en matière d’environnement avec l’arrivée de la nouvelle administration Obama, se sont mis  en stand by. En attente des votes, il est vrai fort incertains, du Congrès.

Accord sur le diagnostic pas sur la thérapie

Le paradoxe, c’est que tous les exécutifs de toutes les grandes nations, sauf le Canada, sont aujourd’hui convaincus que le réchauffement n’est pas une lubie de climatologue. Et que le rôle des activités humaines est déterminant.

La Chine est convaincue  qui sait que la fonte des glaciers de l’Himalaya déstabilisera violemment son écosystème et que son régime des moussons est déjà largement perturbé qui lui fait courir le risque de sécheresses redoutables, les Etats-Unis le sont qui cherchent une solution à leur dépendance au « poison » charbon,  le Japon l’est de manière récente, les pays du Sud le sont qui seront sans doute les premiers à subir les conséquences …

Le  diagnostic est donc partagé, mais sur la thérapie, chacun y va de sa réserve. De sa priorité. De sa croissance. De son territoire ( voir entretien avec Dominique Bourg) .  De ses exigences vis à vis du voisin ou du concurrent.  Toutes sont plus ou moins légitimes. Mais pendant ce temps, les émissions de Gaz à effet continuent leur montée en puissance.

Et d’ores et déjà, les mécanismes incontrôlables, dits rétroactifs, sont à l’œuvre sans qu’une baisse des émissions de CO2 dans les années à venir y fasse quoi que ce soit.

Pendant ce temps, les glaciers fondent plus vite. Beaucoup plus vite…

C’est l’effet cliquet redouté. Un seuil est atteint  et les lois de la nature s’autonomisent.   De ce point de vue, la   fonte des glaciers  arctiques et antarctiques qui s’accélère est emblématique. Les experts du GIEC (Groupe intergouvernemental d’experts sur l’évolution du climat)  avaient sous estimé  la tendance. Une tendance dont les conséquences sur le niveau de la mer  à la fin de ce siècle deviennent de plus en plus inquiétants   : + 30 centimètres ?  +  50 centimètres ?  + 80  centimètres ? + 1 mètre ? On n’en est pas là dans la supposition. Mais sur le constat du toujours plus et de l’irréversible. La seule chose que l’on puisse faire c’est sortir son double décimètre.  Ce ne sont plus les îles du Pacifique qui jouent leur survie mais Londres qui risque  l’engorgement.

Il faut lire à ce sujet le livre du canadien Gwynne Dyer «  Alerte , Changement climatique : La menace de guerre. » . Laffont. Dyer ne parle  pas seulement de guerre des hommes avec leur climat  mais de guerres tout court suite au réchauffement climatique. Ses sources ? Des rapports du Pentagone ou des militaires britanniques. Ça fait froid dans le dos. C’est alarmiste. C’est aussi tout bétement alarmant. Comme le livre préfacé par le climatologue Jean Jouzel : ” Réfugiés climatiques». Soit le passage en revue des 150 millions d’hommes et de femmes qui selon l’Onu vont quitter leur sols pour chercher asile ailleurs.

Bourreau encore une minute…

Le mol esprit munichois  «  Bourreau, encore une minute, ça va sûrement  s’arranger  pour le moins pire » a pourtant ses adeptes. Ses pacifistes comme dans les années trente. Ses incrédules.  Claude Allègre, invité  d’un  débat sur Public Sénat en fin de semaine dernière,   fait partie de cette mouvance relativiste et rassurante. La montée des eaux ? «  Pas du tout, c’est le Bangladesh qui s’affaisse » assure Claude Allègre. ” Les experts du GIEC ?”  “Des extrémistes ! Des spéculateurs idéologues et  anxiogènes !”  “Hulot ?” ” Un va-t-en guerre idiot et irresponsable.” La solution ? Allègre, qui ne nie pas le réchauffement, ni l’excès de CO2, ni l’acidification des océans qui captent moins le carbone, l’a trouvée comme Maginot avait trouvé sa « ligne » : la captation et l’enfouissement  du CO2.  Tout le monde est d’accord que cette technologie balbutiante -  comme un paquet d’autres-  doit être étudiée. Le message d’Allègre tient en un mot   : les technosicences sont  là. Elles veillent. Elles ont  réponse à tout.  C’est du Marx de la belle époque : ” L’Homme ne se pose que des questions qu’il peut résoudre”.

On voudrait tant que Claude Allègre  et Karl Marx aient raison.  Qu’il suffise de centrales nucléaires un peu partout et  que 200  millions de chinois roulent en voiture électrique  pour que tout soit sous contrôle.

A la recherche des plans B

Reste que c’est comme ça : l’esprit Kyoto d’un traité contraignant qui arrache des parts  de souveraineté aux grands Etats sur  l’intérêt général de la biosphère est mort.  Sans doute, n’était-il pas adapté au monde du marché. Pas assez réaliste sur la montée en force des puissances industrielles chinoise et indienne.  A la fois trop normatif pour les anglo-saxons et pas  passez incitatif pour les Etats Nations. Sur ce sujet, lire “Les Etats et le Carbone” de Patrick  Criqui, Benoit Faraco et Alain Grandjean  qui permet de bien comprendre les intentions et les bugs de Kyoto. (Puf)

Il ne sert de rien de refaire l’Histoire. Il faudra bien  trouver des plans B et d’autres mécanismes de réduction des Gaz à effet de serre. L’idée qui prévaut aujourd’hui, ce sont des accords pragmatiques multilatéraux ou régionaux : ceux  sur lesquels pourraient s’engager Chinois et Américains lors de la visite de Barack Obama aujourd’hui à Pékin.

Le “plan justice-Climat” de la France

Ou encore l’accord qui vient  d’être conclu  samedi entre le Brésil et la France auquel pourrait  se rallier les Etats africains, l’Inde et le Bangladesh. Jean Louis Borloo qui sillonne discrètement  les Etats africains et du Sud est asiatique  depuis des semaines  en essayant d’appliquer la méthode du Grenelle de l’environnement à  la  géopolitique,  y croit. Nicolas Sarkozy jouera son va tout en se rendant au sommet du Commwealth à Trinidad et Tobago le 27 et 28 novembre. L’idée de cette diplomatie parallèle  est de contrer avec l’allié brésilien, voir indien, un condominium americano chinois. Ambitieux. Pas gagné.

Le plan B : un “  Plan justice-Climat” évalué  à 450 millions de dollars sur vingt ans pour la seule Afrique.  Sauf que ce week-end, les dirigeants des États membres du Forum de coopération Asie-Pacifique (APEC), qui comptent parmi les plus gros pollueurs de la planète, ont refusé de se fixer des objectifs contraignants avant le sommet sur le réchauffement. Une sorte fin de non recevoir.

On verra  donc comment les efforts de dernière minute  de la France ou d’ Angela Merkel qui a annoncé qu’elle irait à Copenhague,  seront perçus lors des réunions  restreintes de la dernière chance  et à huis clos aujourd’hui et demain dans la capitale danoise. Ou sur les cendres de Copenhague quelques jours après l’énoncé par les chefs d’Etat d’un texte général sans doute très comme il faut  sur la survie de la planète.

Aprés Munich, Daladier avait trouvé les mots qui rassuraient. Il avait été applaudi pour la qualité de sa  rhétorique cosmétique.  Ce qu’il pensait vraiment ? Lui-même l’a confié plus tard : ” Les cons, s’ils savaient ! “

En tous cas, tout le monde va devoir réviser ses fondamentaux. Les ONG qui ont mis toutes leur billes dans la signature d’un nouveau  Kyoto à Copenhague et qui vont  se retrouver avec une sacré gueule de bois le 1° janvier 2010.  Ils devront faire aussi leurs comptes avec une représentation militante bien   plus dynamique en Europe qu’en Amérique du Nord et bien sûr qu’en Chine ou en Russie… Les pays industriels  seront également amenés à  trouver une solution – La taxe Tobin qui revient en grâce ?- au financement en technologie verte des pays émergents s’ils ne veulent pas  voir leurs efforts domestiques – voir la Taxe Carbone sur le kilométrage automobile que viennent d’adopter les Pays bas – annulés. La Chine aussi  ne pourra éternellement se prévaloir du statut de  pays en voie de développement alors qu’elle vient  de dépasser les Etats-Unis pour les émissions de CO2.

Outre les accords multilatéraux et régionaux, il faudra sans doute  mobiliser d’autres acteurs  qui étaient quasi absents au sommet de Kyoto :  à commencer par les industriels  dont beaucoup se jettent dans la bataille des Greentech aux Etats-Unis, en Europe, mais aussi  en Chine qui est en train de ravir les premiers postes sur le photovoltaïque et sera ultra compétitive sur le secteur des voitures éclectiques.

Cet acteur industrialo-technologique est certainement l’un des nouveaux piliers avec lequel  les politiques vont devoir compter. Car les majors des énergies renouvelables, de la chimie verte, des  batteries électriques  vont être bientôt en mesure, comme jadis les pétroliers, de demander et d’exiger des aides et des incitations voir des réglementations pour élargir leurs marchés.

Sauf que le temps, comme dans les années  trente,  joue contre nous. La réduction de 80% des émissions de CO2  pour 2050 (on ne parle plus que de ” moins 50% ou plus”   dans les coulisses de Copenhague ou dans l’accord franco-brésilien) se gagne ou se perd maintenant.

Ceux qui ne seraient toujours pas convaincus par l’injonction du  réchauffement savent pourtant qu’une autre  épée de Damoclès pendouille au dessous de nous tous : c’est l’épuisement des ressources fossiles.

Personne ne le nie. Beaucoup de grandes sociétés pétrolières  l’évoquent pour demain aux alentours de 2015. L’Agence Mondiale de l’Energie le murmure.  Et chacun   sait que décarboner nos économies est la seule manière de contenir à la fois  le pire du réchauffement et  le pire de crise spéculative  sur les  hydrocarbures dés lors que le « peak oil » (Le pic de production)  sera officiel.

“Tatewaku extinction illusion 2″

*Tatewaku = a Japanese pattern

Colored dots appear to disappear if we fix our eyes on the cross.

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2009 (November 16)

MNE Bx Aquitaine et PUMA, le 16 novembre 2009

“Le vélo prend le pouvoir!”

Lundi 16 Novembre, à 18H00, à l’Université Bordeaux 2, place de la Victoire, amphithéâtre Pitres.
Dans le cadre de l’Université populaire de l’environnement mise en place par la MNE Bordeaux-Aquitaine, le Pôle urbain des mobilités alternatives (PUMA) qui rassemblent Vélo-Cité, AutoCool, Droit du piéton 33 et AIR organise une soirée débat après la diffusion du film documentaire « Live Bicycle ».

Quand le vélo prend le pouvoir !

Les négociations internationales de Copenhague qui vise à renouveler le protocole de Kyoto n’avance pas. Nous sommes encore très loin d’un engagement à la baisse de 30 à 40 % de la consommation énergétique des pays riches d’ici à 2030 et d’une aide suffisante à l’adaptation des pays les moins développés. L’échec semble inévitable.

Le discours de nos élus locaux s’écologise à grande vitesse, mais ils semblent avoir un problème d’imaginaire et être incapables de proposer autre chose que de préhistoriques projets d’aménagements énergivores à la construction et à l’utilisation, consommateur d’espaces et destructeurs de ressources non renouvelables : A 65, grand contournement autoroutier de Bordeaux, port méthanier du Verdon, pont levant autoroutier de Bordeaux, doublement de LGV, grand stade de Bordeaux… Le grand écart entre les discours et les actes va grandissant.

Fort heureusement, depuis 2 ans la prise de conscience de la réalité des crises énergétique, climatique, écologique… et du changement radical de mode de vie et de consommation, subi ou choisi qu’elle implique, grandi dans l’opinion publique. Près d’un quart des Français (27%) se déclare « prêt à changer en profondeur son mode de vie et à restreindre sa consommation de manière significative » (Sondage IFOP Sud-Ouest Dimanche du 10 octobre 2009).

Quel doit être le rôle des citoyens face à l’incapacité grandissante de nos représentants à prendre les décisions, où se joue l’avenir de l’espèce humaine ?

Quelle est dans la population, la masse critique pour que s’opère le changement de paradigme, la métamorphose nécessaire ?

Live Bicycle est un documentaire consacré au vélo, au mouvement de la Critical Mass (Vélorution en VF) et au thème de la mobilité durable/soustenable. La Critical Mass est un mouvement planétaire de cyclistes qui exige que le vélo reprenne sa place dans l’espace public de la rue. Le vélo, seul moyen de transport individuel absolument non polluant, qui, au lieu d’être encouragé, est poursuivi par la plupart des réglementations et des gouvernements de par le monde.

Le film a été tourné pendant les trois jours de la Critical Mass mondiale qui a eu lieu à Rome les 26, 27 et 28 mai 2006.

Deux mille cyclistes, arrivés du monde entier pour occuper pacifiquement les rues de Rome, interrompent le flux des milliers d’automobiles qui, chaque jour, s’entassent en files interminables et créent un maximum de pollution, de tension et d’accident.

Ce film parle aussi des automobilistes et explore, au-delà du rideau de fumée doré du monde publicitaire, les intérêts liés au pétrole, met en évidence les dommages sur la santé inutilement provoqués par la voiture et dénonce des formes de communication commerciale qui exalte l’image de la voiture en démultipliant ses identités, ses pouvoirs d’attraction et ses charmes.
Le film évoque aussi la poétique du vélo, présente en chacun de nous depuis l’enfance et mis en image par de nombreux films.

Live Bicycle est aussi un kaléidoscope d’images et de citations (film, publicité, vidéo, dessins animés) où l’on retrouve Totò, Gassmann, Freddy Mercury, Tomas Milian et tant d’autres.

Le récit est en prise directe avec les émotions des réalisateurs qui ont suivi la Critical Mass pendant ces trois jours, en pédalant au côté de cyclistes venus de France, Chili, Espagne…

Live Bicycle nous parle du vélo comme d’une possible utopie.

Pour 2010, Paris s’offre une bouffée d’air pur et de bonheur en accueillant sa première Masse Critique Universelle !

La grande parade Vélorutionnaire : http://velorutionuniverselle.org/articles/

Not long after President Obama took office, he made the bold statement that he wanted to double the generation of renewable power during his first term. It seems a fairly comfortable thing to say, because, starting from so low a base, then doubling that might actually seem achievable. However, the reality is that these plants take 6 to 10 years in the planning and up until the stage they are delivering power to the grid. So, in reality, any new renewable power plants that do open in his first term will have been planned and approved during the previous Bush term of office. When I mentioned that in January, and also in February, I also mentioned that the President would be seeking to have photo ops at these renewable plants to give the impression that something tangible is being done. To that end, he toured the Solar PV (Solar panel) plant at the Nellis AFB in Nevada in May, a plant that had already been in operation for nearly 18 months, well before he took office.

Three weeks ago, the President was at the commissioning of the new Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant in Arcadia, in DeSoto County in Florida, the new DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center.

In the short video clip there, the President says that this is what a ‘clean energy future’ will look like. With that in mind, let’s then look at what this Plant provides.

This plant is the largest Solar PV Plant in the U.S. surpassing the one at Nellis AFB in Nevada. These plants utilise panels that generate the electrical power under direct Sunlight. There are more than 90,000 panels mounted on Heliostats that track the progress of the Sun across the sky during daylight hours. The plant occupies nearly 200 acres of land and cost $150 Million.

The Nameplate capacity of the plant is 25MW, which means that is the maximum power that the Plant can generate. This however is not the power being supplied to consumers. That power is expressed in KiloWattHours, (KWH) and this plant supplies 42 Million KWH of usable electrical power to consumers for each year, and that is the important number here and one I will be closely referring to later on here.

This Plant proudly mentions that this is enough electrical power to serve 3,000 homes. Those figures alone, the total power and number of homes, being as large as they are, certainly sound impressive, and give the impression that this Plant is a large supplier of electrical power to service those homes. It is however a very clever diversion. How they come at this figure is like this.

They know how much power the Plant actually supplies to consumers each year. They know from detailed figures from numerous sources the amount of power consumed by the average home in that area for each year, a figure expressed in the same KWH. They then divide the home usage into their total yearly output and come up with that figure of 3,000 homes.

The Plant does not supply power to those 3,000 homes in its totality. It supplies electrical power to the grid for that area.

Let’s then look at the grids that supply power to the consumers of Florida. Like the rest of the Country, Florida has consumers of electrical power in the same three sectors, those being Residential, Commercial, and Industrial. For the whole of the U.S. the breakdown is Res. (37%) Com. (35%) and Ind. (27%) In Florida however, the breakdown is a lot different, mainly because the major Industry of Florida would be tourism, which mainly would fall into the Commercial sector of consumers, Industrial meaning heavy industry etc. Also because Florida is that huge tourist destination, and the place for retirement in the Sun, then the Residential sector is also a lot larger than for the U.S. average. The breakdown for Florida is Res. (50%) Com. (40%) and Ind. (10%) The overall total power consumption for the whole State of Florida is 125 Billion KWH. I express that term in KWH, because that is what most people would identify with, as that is the way it is expressed on their electrical utilities Bill.

So, this new Solar Plant provides 42 Million KWH of new power to the Florida grids. This amounts to just a tick under 0.0334% of all Florida’s electrical power consumption. Still sounds impressive, even at such a small number, considering the whole U.S. average for Solar power of every kind is only 0.02%, so it’s above the average, but considering the average is so low this is still only a minute amount of power.

I’ll take you back to the maximum delivered power I mentioned above, that of the 42 Million KWH.

The total power that can (theoretically) be produced from a Plant can be worked out by a simple (even though it looks difficult) formula.

NP (Nameplate Capacity) X 24 X 365.25 X 1000.  NP is in MW, the 24 for hours in a day, the 365.25 for days in a year (leap year for the .25) and the 1000 to convert from MW back down to KWH.

So then in the case for this new Solar Plant it looks like this.

25 X 24 X 365.25 X 1000 which comes to 219.15 Million KWH.

The power actually supplied is 42 Million KWH.

President Obama opens the new Solar Power Plant in Florida.

This means that this plant has an efficiency rating for power delivery of 19.16%. This means that extrapolated out over the year, it supplies its maximum power for that 19.16% of the time. Even though the Plant starts contributing power as soon as the Sun starts to shine on the panels, that amount is nowhere near the maximum. There is also the problem of cloudy days. As soon as even one cloud flits across the face of the Sun, the power produced drops by anything up to two thirds and then takes a while to build back up again, so the image you see at left of the President opening the plant on a cloudy day would have seen little in the way of real electrical power being generated.

The Plant supplies power only during daylight hours, that level slowly rising during the morning, and then diminishing approaching Sunset. However that maximum supplied power amounts effectively to an average of four hours and 35 minutes each day, averaged for the whole year.

Four hours and thirty five minutes a day.

This is about the average for these types of Solar PV plants.

Let’s then compare it with another power plant, and one that supplies power to the same grid. The Plant for comparison is the one Nuclear reactor powered generator at the Crystal River Power Plant, which is around 160 miles from this Solar Plant. It also has four coal fired generators at the same site, the plant having a total capacity of 3200MW. That one nuclear reactor powered generator has a Nameplate Capacity of 840MW and produces just on 7 Billion KWH of power sent to the grid. It utilises a Pressurised Water Reactor to generate the steam to drive its turbine, and it delivers its power at a delivery efficiency factor of 95%.

To use the same comparison this Solar plant uses, then this one nuclear generator can serve 500,000 homes, more by a factor of 170, even though it is only larger in Nameplate Capacity by a factor of 34.

This Solar Plant also says it will supply that power for 30 years, although this is a little better than the World average standard lifetime of 20 to 25 years. The Nuclear Plant has a lifespan of 50 years which can be effectively extended out to 75 years, so let’s use the quoted standard for this Solar Plant of 30 years and the Nuclear plant for the lesser figure of 60 years. Over the life of the Nuclear Plant, it will supply power to the grid, greater by a factor of 350 times. Using that example, then just to supply similar power to this one small Nuclear generator, you will need to build 350 of these Solar Plants, and at $150 Million, there’s a figure of $52.5 Billion. All that has to be done after that is completed is to find a way to make the Sun shine throughout the night.

It’s a pretty academic argument using statistics like this, but it serves to highlight the stupidity of saying that this is the vision for the future.

One last and very telling statistic. This new Solar Plant produces its 42 Million KWH delivered to the grid over the whole year. The one small nuclear generator used as a comparison delivers that exact same amount of power to the same grid every two days and five hours.

If this is what a ‘clean energy future’ looks like, then I’m afraid that the President is looking in the wrong mirror.

Era de esperar y, sin embargo, decepciona. Quizá porque se habían depositado muchas esperanzas en esta cita internacional, o quizá porque la Cumbre de Copenhague llegó a simbolizar el fin de los privilegios del Protocolo de Kyoto. Nada más lejos de la realidad.

Hoy, un mes antes de la celebración de este evento, ya se sabe que no va a servir de nada. No se ha dicho con estas palabras, pero que China y Estados Unidos anuncien que va a ser imposible llegar a un acuerdo en la capital danesa viene a significar exactamente lo mismo. Y es que las dos naciones más contaminantes del mundo están comprometidas con el medio ambiente, pero un poco, sólo un poquito [como diría mi sobrino Marcos].

En fin, que Barack Obama y Hu Jintao no quieren comprometerse a reducir las emisiones de CO2 por el momento. Para contentar a la opinión pública, eso sí, lo que proponen es poner en marcha un acuerdo de dos etapas. La primera, la de Copenhague, para elaborar un escrito de buenas intenciones y convencer al mundo de lo importante que es el planeta para sus respectivos países. La segunda sería la de los compromisos serios y las obligaciones legales.

¿Cuándo y dónde? Aún no se sabe. Dicen que el escenario podría ser la conferencia de México del próximo año. Pero puede que sí o puede que no. Sólo depende de ellos. Es lo que tiene el Derecho Internacional, que ni regula, ni obliga, simplemente recomienda.

9h Capsule Hotel

Specially as a backpacker a cheap accommodation is always welcome. Being in Japan you won’t be able to find a low-priced accommodation. You might know those tiny capsule hotels that cost an exorbitant price just for a nights sleep. The product designer Fumie Shibata came up with a new concept called the 9h capsule. The hotel is named that way because you are supposed to only stay nine hours (1 hour shower + 7 hours sleep + 1 hour rest = 9 hours). With the help of her team she was working on this design concept for three years and tried to link luxury and minimal transit space.Fumie Shibata began her career as a product designer in 1990 in the Toshiba Design Center. In 1994 she founded her own company, Design Studio S. Since then her work has been honored with numerous design awards.

The first 9h hotel will open in december this year. It is located in Shimogyo-Ku, Kyoto ( Kyoto is the traditional city and old capital of Japan ) located on Teramachi Street between department store Fujii Daimaru and convenience store AMPM, two minutes walk from Kawaramachi Station. The building itself will be nine stories tall, will host 125 capsules, locker rooms, showers, and a lounge. Each capsule has a Panasonic-designed panel with a sound system and mood lighting which provides comfort for every situation. You probably don’t want to stay longer than 9 hours because each room is so small you won’t even be able to stand up, but as you might know Japan has a limited amount of space and therefore capsule hotels are a great alternative to normal hotels.I am looking forward to see how this niche concept works out.

What I don’t understand is why something like this can’t be set up for homeless people?  Obviously not as fancy or well designed, but something where somebody can just crash for a night or two. You’d be able to pack quite a few of them in less space, and for someone who has nothing, I think they would be ok with sleeping in a capsule. Specially during winter time it’s gotta be a lot better than sleeping somewhere in the street. An other good way of using these capsules efficiently are Airports. Specially after long distance flights it would be nice to take a quick nap until catching the connecting flight.

Small Japan Survival Guide:

If you want to spent a few nights in Japan without wasting too much money you should book yourself an Internet Capsule. It might not be as comfy as the normal Capsule Hotels, but you just pay for the Internet and you can get a good nights sleep. After waking up you probably would like to take a shower. No problem! There are all sorts of bath houses in Japan where you can relax and refresh yourself for a small amount of money.

As can you see there is no need for a 9h luxury capsule hotel. I have been to Japan myself so if you have any questions let me know and I am more than happy to answer them for you. Some people might consider to spent a year abroad in Japan. I can promise you that Japan is going to be a great experience. Have a look at this article it should answer some of your question concerning the semester abroad.

References

9h overview

Design in white

Huge Buddha statue in Kyoto

First some first impressions;

Japan is pretty much a western looking country, but there are a lot of big differences that jump right out.  The biggest is that the people are very friendly, gracious, and there is a lot of bowing going on. You can not hear the thank you’s but you see them all around you. Thank you in Japanese has a little more meaning than in the US. They do not know how to be pushy, they prefer to back off and bow and let you by. What a pleasant surprise.

The doctors leave their office and walk in public with their surgical masks on and about half of the school kids imitate the doctors. A very confusing custom.

Lots of bicycles, and they are on the sidewalks. Did not even expect bicycles in Japan. No casual strolling on city sidewalks. Not a pleasant surprise.

Most Japanese people are thin so it makes walking easier on the crowded sidewalks and they can pack more of them of the crowded rush hour trains. Speaking of the trains they are everywhere, easy to use with the latest technology to help passengers get to the correct track. At the station there are easy to use directions for everything and at the track you can find yellow guiding pathways to where the train door will be and at pathway end it will have blinking lights when the train is arriving.  There is not enough space to mention everything about the trains, but it’s all very impressive.

The Japanese like their gadgets, as Americans know with the Japanese cars, it’s all over the train stations, street sidewalks are cushioned, creature comforts everywhere, but the biggest surprise is the electronic toilets, complete with control panel. It’s like the Japanese adopted Western culture and put some finishing touches to it.

Not so much of a surprise is that the USD does not go as far as in the USA.

Mariko Shotaro Ann at the Golden Pavillion in Kyoto

The highlight of Japan has been meeting with our good friend Mariko and her 8-year-old son Shotaro. Mariko was more than gracious in meeting us in Kyoto, a 3 hour train trip for her and showing us the traditional city of Koyoto. How lucky we were!! She toured us to the Golden Pavillion, Kiyomizu Temple, Yasaka Shrine, Chion-in temple, Ryozen Kannon statue, Nijo Castle, Nanzen-ji, and Heian Jingu Shrine.  Our last day with Mariko was in Osaka were she showed us the Osaka castle built in 1540 that marked the beginning of the city of Osaka. That evening it was our pleasure to have dinner with Mariko and her mother. The next day used our last day on our JR rail pass and we took the train for 10 days in Tokyo.

Our first day exploration in Japan was spent in the Ueno Park that we found accidentally while we were trying to find our hotel after we left the train station from the wrong exit. A large park with the National museum of Tokyo and other museums in it and a temple. Reminded us of the Mall in Washington DC.

Good Luck Against The Bengals!

Thoroughly depressing news to wake up to this morning. It looks like our feared about the Copenhagen climate change talks have come true. World leaders have admitted that there is likely to be no final resolution and that the Copenhagen talks are most likely to be a starting point to talks rather than an end point.

At the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum leaders including Barack Obama, Hu Jintao and Kevin Rudd, who have all drawn up significant plans for ETS deals and other environmental strategies in their own nations, appear to have given up on uniting world nations’ to come up with a meaningful deal.

This is disappointing, but not unexpected. There has been some intense expectation management over the last few weeks and it seemed almost inevitable that there was to be no lasting strategy to come out of this meeting. The EU has set out strategies to help nations meet their climate change targets,  but nothing has been set in stone, especially in regards to money being set-aside. Developing world nations have been consistently threatening to walk out of talks due to the lack of agreed funding from the developed world to help developing nations fund anti-climate change projects.

Personally, I never really had much faith in the COP15 meeting to come up with any large-scale meaningful treaty. The fact is though, Kyoto formally ends at the end of 2011, begining of 2012. This obviously leaves a couple of years to create a meaningful and effective post-Kyoto deal.

The significance of a no-deal result in Copenhagen, is the number of nations that have created emission reduction schemes that will only be meaningful if there is a result in Copenhagen, the EU is one of these nations. Currently the EU has committed to a 20% reduction in carbon emissions, but it would be 30% if a deal was met in COP15.

Therefore, not reaching a result in Copenhagen will obviously be a failure. Hopefully, world leaders have something up their sleeves and will be able to swoop in at the last-minute to come up with something. In my wildest dreams I can imagine Obama, Rudd or Brown flying in at the last moment and saving the day, but realistically, I think we will still be looking forward into 2010 before a post-Kyoto deal is reached.

Thoughts?

Today my kid brother turns 30.  Unfortunately, he lives in Misawa, Japan so this year won’t be able to celebrate with him in person.

I can honestly say I’ve loved him fiercely from the very beginning.  This is the day we first met-

My brother is an intense guy, I guess you would have to be to decide at age four that you want to be an F-16 fighter jet pilot and actually make this a reality…and though some of his intensity is hard for me to understand, he is an intensely deep and loving person and I can’t imagine not having this amazing guy in my life.  (Sorry, Andy if this online declaration of sisterly love embarrasses you.  Embarrassment from your sister is nothing new…)

So “cheers” today to my kid brother who has so often experienced the “debuts” in my life.  This is a guy I made at age 14 hold my hand on my very first roller coaster ride and who ordered my first “real” sushi for me!

This summer I had the great opportunity, thanks to Andy to visit him and his wife Sharon in Japan.  Here are some of my favorite “Andy shots” from our trip.

Amy’s first Sushi Adventure near the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Japan-

Tall man in Tokyo-

Ordering Takoyaki in Kyoto, one of Andy’s favorite foods-

Not too manly to use a fan-

Some things never change-

Posing with the oldest weeping cherry in Kyoto-

Andy eats figs for breakfast-

“The temple bell stops

but the sound keeps coming

out of the flowers”

—Matsuo Basho

A shakuhachi improvisation.  Meditation #12

by Nao

kane, kana, kin, gon

Kane is money. It sounds blatant. Say okane to make it sound polite. O is a polite suffix. Kinsen is also money. Sen means money, too. Kingaku is a certain amount of money. Gaku means an amount. Kinko is a safety box. Ko is a box you store things.

Kin, kogane, and ōgon are gold. Pure gold is junkin. Jun means pure. Platinum is hakkin. Alchemy is renkinjutsu. Ren means to forge. Jutsu means technique.

Kinzoku is metal. Zoku means generic. Metal utensils are kanamono.

Kinsei is Venus.

One of the most popular sightseeing spots is Kinkakuji in Kyoto. It is a gold temple.

The drawing order of kanji generally goes from the top to the bottom.

1. Draw the sweeping stroke from the top to the lower left. Make it narrower gradually.
2. Draw the sweeping stroke from the top to the lower right. Make it broader in the end.
3. Draw the horizontal stroke close to the previous strokes.
4. Draw the horizontal stroke below the previous stroke.
5. Draw the vertical stroke.
6. Draw the left dot.
7. Draw the right sweeping dot.
8. Draw the horizontal stroke at the bottom.

During the trip to Inujima, we spent a night in Kurashiki, an old warehouse town near Okayama that survived both the war and modernization. In the Ohashi house, built by a wealthy merchant in 1796, there is a wonderful example of a mansion built around courtyards that offer ventilation and gardens.

Perhaps similar to Kyoto’s kyomachiya (capital town homes), the use of courtyards and the ability to open the house to nature provide a historic reference that could inspire contemporary residential architecture.

We’re in Kyoto today, and will most likely be visiting the Kyoto Costume Institute. You might know them from 2 fantastic Taschen hardbacks called simply “Fashion”, that were released as part of their 25th aniversary (and if you follow the link to Amazon, you’ll see how cheap they actually are!).

Kyoto Costume Institute

Whatever we’ll be doing today will be great – we’re staying in a beautiful Ryokan at an amazing location, just 2 minutes away from a giant Buddhist shrine and temple. The little I have seen of Kyoto so far is amazing, so I’m ready to explore the city a little more. Who knows I’ll be able to grab some nice fabrics here as well!

Un tranquillo americano si aggira per il mondo; è un giovane turista a stelle e strisce che si diverte come un bimbo a fare l’idolo delle folle, uno yankee-nyano sempre ottimista e speranzoso riguardo al cambiamento della sua nazione. Tal rampante pendolare della retorica, però, soffre di qualche amnesia: pare che giusto ieri, in pieno vuoto di memoria, gli abbiano ricordato, mentre scondinzolava dietro a un certo Hu Jintao durante una colazione di lavoro, che lui è il Presidente degli Stati Uniti.
Ormai palesemente fuori tempo massimo, questo signore, che poi è Barack Obama, si è scosso, e gli è subito venuta una gran paura che qualcuno gli facesse tornare la memoria tramite waterboarding.
Così ha dovuto esporsi in sua vece, terminato il ricco breakfast, un “semplice” consigliere economico, Michael Froman, il quale si è docilmente prestato al massacro della conferenza stampa.

Quello che avete letto può essere tranquillamente il riassunto, visto in chiave americana, del vertice Apec di Singapore, a margine del quale si è consumato un G2 da disgelo tra Cina e, appunto, Stati Uniti.
La notizia ha dominato, si fa per dire, le pagine di tutti i quotidiani online; nel caso però non sappiate che diavolo è successo di tanto grave, vi riassumo i fatti salienti.
I 21 leaders del forum dei paesi dell’Asia-Pacifico stavano trascorrendo il summit tra cene e pranzi “di lavoro“, quando all’improvviso Hu Jintao e Yes, we can si sono ritrovati protagonisti di colloqui bilaterali (più o meno un incontro degli amanti) nell’ambito della lotta ai cambiamenti climatici. Ci è voluto poco tempo: questi due supremi reggitori, in solida comunione d’intenti, si sono presi la libertà di dire al resto delle nazioni che non ci sarà, nè in via obbligatoria nè in via possibile, alcun margine di accordo durante la Conferenza di Copenhagen di Dicembre. Due marionette in giacca e cravatta hanno deciso in fretta e furia per tutti, per ogni benedetto paese, per ogni governo, per ogni singola persona. Hanno messo in disparte l’immensa mole di fatiche, speranza, duro lavoro, accumulata in un decennio di lotte, loro che promettevano un punto di arrivo, per lasciar perdere, per differire, per evitare di sforzarsi a raggiungere un compromesso reale, preferendovi un’intesa illecita, devastante e, deontologicamente, profondamente fascista.
Lo stesso premier danese, Lars Rasmussen, è stato avvisato in fretta e furia, come si chiama normalmente un maggiordomo, e si è visto costretto a raggiungere nottetempo Singapore, solo per assistere, impotente, al delirio di onnipotenza di un dittatore e di un bambino.

Obama, in particolare, si è giocato la sua credibilità a livello internazionale. Più che con l’Afghanistan, più che con la riforma sanitaria, il presidente americano ha confermato quello che si temeva di lui, ed ha sputato in faccia a tutti coloro che hanno creduto che un’America in testa alla lotta per i cambiamenti climatici fosse possibile. Come ho scritto in precedenza (vedi L’audacia della titubanza) l’ex-avvocato si è rivelato totalmente incapace di raggiungere accordi a livello internazionale. Ogni qual volta deve negoziare qualcosa, perde la voce, perde il carisma, perde lo slancio. Se oggi centinaia di milioni di cittadini si sentono traditi, il colpevole è in primo luogo lui. Proprio come Alden Pyle, l’americano tranquillo del romanzo di Graham Greene, Obama gigioneggia per il mondo cercando di pilotare la questione a vantaggio degli interessi americani, con una valigia piena di ideali sul “ruolo dell’Occidente“ e, a questo punto, anche una grave malafede nel cuore. 

Nulla, non accadrà nulla in Danimarca, solo uno spreco di soldi per delegati che non discuteranno mai, una ridicola operazione tanatologica che, se non sarà il funerale della sfida ambientale (e della terra), ne significherà almeno la messa in coma farmacologico. Soprattutto, il Cop15 si rivelerà per quello che ci appare già adesso, ovvero una gigantesca figura di m…a per tutti i presenti, un danno di immagine impensabile alla credibilità di ogni singolo governo che si renderà colpevole di participare ai lavori. Se fossi il premier di una qualunque delle nazioni invitate, non macchierei la mia reputazione in alcun meeting orchestrato apposta per rimandare il suo stesso scopo a data da destinarsi; non entrerei in alcuna sala, nè mi siederei ad alcun tavolo, a costo di essere escluso da ogni futura discussione in materia. Preferirei piuttosto concentrarmi nel perseguire una seria politica ambientale nel mio paese, ignorando tutti questi tromboni impegnati a formulare una nuova data che sarà sempre troppo vicina per poter prendere una decisione in tempo.
Per quanto può valere un mio auspicio, invito tutti i delegati del vertice che non fossero d’accordo con gli accordi Usa-Cina a disertare, boicottare, infangare in ogni modo la Conferenza. Se decideranno di presentarsi, che si portino almeno dei grandi cartelli con su scritto “Fascisti del clima“.

Nel 1997 il protocollo di Kyoto venne definito uno storico punto di partenza. Vi fu almeno il merito da parte dei delegati, di entrare all’interno del problema, per cercare di combatterlo con cognizione di causa. Passando per Bali 2007, il punto di arrivo di questo sentiero (tracciato idealmente da Al Gore) doveva essere appunto Copenhagen. Ma i Capi di Governo presenti al vertice Apec hanno lasciato intendere che sarà piucchealtro l’ennesimo “inizio“.
Se penso che potrei dover aspettare per altri 12 anni, prima che qualcuno parli anche solo in via ipotetica di una destinazione certa, la prima cosa che mi viene in mente, non so voi, è che 12 anni di discussioni non ce li abbiamo davanti.

D.Piselli