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Environmental problems are becoming a focus of worldwide attention.
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Air, land and water are the three key factors vital to life on earth, but man's activities are resulting in their destruction around the world.
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Could you give some concrete examples of this?
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Broadly speaking, environmental destruction takes four forms: (1) destruction of the ozone layer, global warming and acid rain; (2) urban residential pollution and the problem of waste disposal; (3) environmental pollution by toxic chemical substances such as dioxins and harmful chemicals; and (4) devastation of the natural environment and loss of diverseness. The problem is that the destruction of the environment is outstripping the ability of current scientific technology. And if things continue as they are, we will reach the point where mankind's very existence is put in jeopardy.
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If the earth was a person, would it be on its death bed?
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Absolutely. People found that the "Gaia" is the earth that is an organic living including the atmosphere and denied former thinking that the earth is inorganic aggregate, and this organism, "Gaia", is now on its death bed.
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How has this happened?
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This has been caused by the social activities of humans, who are ignorant of the existence of Gaia.
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In concrete terms, what do you mean?
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Society, characterized as it is by mass production, mass consumption and mass waste, has squandered energy resources that have taken millions of years to accumulate, and has at the same time polluted the earth faster than the earth can cleanse itself, thus shaking the very foundations on which the survival of the human race depends. Now aware of this, people are hurrying to switch to a socioeconomic system for the 21st century that promotes proper production and consumption and minimizes the amount of waste generated, and there are calls for natural habitat that has already been lost to be restored. What we must do then, is to break the habit of prioritizing economic efficiency.
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Can you give us any more examples of environmental problems in addition to those you have already described?
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The main problems are water pollution, desertification and the frequent occurrence of abnormal weather conditions.
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Why is it necessary to consider environmental problems on a global scale?
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To give you an example, the acid rain generated in Chongqing in China falls on the Japan Sea side of Japan. It is thus not enough for Japan alone to attempt to overcome environmental problems. The whole world must work together to deal with the problem of environmental destruction.
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When did destruction of the natural environment first begin?
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Destruction of the natural environment of Gaia, shining a beautiful blue in the darkness of space, began at around the time of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution caused feudal society to disintegrate and created the wonderful civic society and materially affluent society that we know today. The driving force for this was modern science. At the root of the destruction of nature is materialist fundamentalism and an over-emphasis on modern science. Today's society is founded on the production and consumption of massive amounts of energy. Society is dependent on the combustion of coal and oil to produce this energy, and the massive use of chemical fuels results in the release into the atmosphere of CO2, SOx and NOx and the pollution of the atmosphere. This overheats the air and alters air and ocean currents, causing unusual weather around the world. It also causes acid rain, which destroys forests, social buildings and public facilities, adversely affects the farming and fishery industries, and can ultimately undermine people's health. I cannot go into each individual environmental problem in detail as this would take too much time, but suffice it to say, it is a truly frightening problem.
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I can see that the problem is almost too unbearable to consider, but what should we do about it in the future?
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What is needed in order to restore Gaia's natural environment to the state prior to the industrial revolution is organized activity on a global scale. This is what is coming to be known as environmental business. Environmental business should not be conducted in pursuit of profit alone. Nevertheless, it is difficult for government to become successfully involved in environmental business; somebody must undertake such business under organized and specialist planning and control. If they subsequently manage to generate a profit, that is fine. The first priority, though, has to be to at least make a start. The international community needs to consider the matter carefully, determine what responsibilities should be allotted to whom, and take action to improve the environment as soon as possible.
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I am sure there must be all kinds of environmental business. Could you give us some examples?
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Environmental business in Japan basically revolves around collecting waste, reprocessing it for reuse, and selling it to users of recycled resources. In short, environmental business in Japan is about recycling. The three starting points for environmental business are the "three Rs": reduction, reuse and recycling. The first step is to reduce emissions of waste, and this can be achieved through developing and using alternative energy sources (such as fuel cells, solar power, solar heat power, natural gas, wind power, geothermal power, marine energy power and hydrogen energy, etc.) to take the place of coal and oil. The second step is to find alternative sources of energy for powering vehicles (such as lean burn engines, methanol-powered vehicles, electric vehicles, hybrid cars, solar cars and hydrogen-fueled cars) in order to prevent atmospheric pollution. Thirdly, waste heat can be utilized by, for example, improving energies and vehicle design. Cogeneration (i.e. the simultaneous generation of both electric power and heat), which has rapidly become the focus of much attention, falls into this category. Fourthly, energy released in large quantities can be recycled in a clean and highly energy efficient manner. Fifthly, new materials can be researched and developed. A good example of this is the recycling of waste paper and production of non-wood paper to reduce deforestation caused by mass paper consumption. Sixthly, water resources can be conserved by reusing rainwater and sewage. Seventh and finally, electricity can be generated from waste. Conversion of waste into solid fuel is also getting underway.
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What sorts of activities come under the reuse category?
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First of all, there is the reuse of waste as it is without reprocessing. This can mean redistributing unnecessary resources to areas of processing and production where they are required. It can also involve the resale and reuse of used goods. Secondly, there are "zero emission" schemes, which are designed to eliminate waste emissions. Examples of this include the manufacture of baby food from tree leaves and the reuse of chaff from cereals in natural animal feed. Thirdly, there are businesses that reuse or resell disused goods much like the pawnshops and secondhand bookshops of yesteryear. These include shops selling secondhand TV games, large, out-of-town bookstores selling secondhand books, CDs and videos, and fashionable secondhand clothes shops found around town. This is currently a promising area of growth.
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What kinds of recycling business are there?
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There are basically two types: (1) recycling of necessary materials extracted from waste, and (2) recycling by altering the physical structure and properties of waste. The first category includes the extraction and reuse of materials from mercury cells and mining of gold, silver and copper in towns. The second category covers the recycling of chemicals, a typical example of which is the recycling of plastic bottles into fashionable clothing and outdoor wear. Another well-known example is the manufacture of rubber mats for buildings, erasers, artificial turf matting and outdoor shoes from old tires.
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In addition to the three Rs, the repair business has also started to attract attention.
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That's right. This involves repairing and mending things rather than throwing them away. People are now becoming more likely to mend not just machinery and equipment but also things like shoes and umbrellas.
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Could you briefly explain about the ISO14000 series?
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The ISO14000 series is a series of international standards providing specifications for environmental management systems and also guidance and advice on developing management manuals for achieving goals relating to conservation and restoration of the global environment. They were promulgated as a means of encouraging sustained independent action by businesses to protect the environment, rather than to stipulate quantitative targets that had to be met.
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Finally, what about the technological side of environmental business in Japan?
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It's world class, and countries and businesses around the world look forward to further progress in this area. There is an urgent need for international cooperation to solve individual environmental problems and enable Gaia to rise from its death bed. |
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