267: Japan's environmental showcase

Japan's energy-efficient enterprises will have a chance to showcase their work next week, when several world leaders and their entourages drop in for the G8 Summit. And, as today's linked story from the New York Times reports, there will be plenty to look at - and think about. Japan's drive towards energy efficiency began in the 1970s when its high-tech economy was hit hard by the oil crisis and there was a pressing need to conserve fuel. As the article reports, even when that crisis abated, investment in clean, energy-efficient technologies continued, and conservation has become central to Japanese culture. As a result, the nation has a head-start when it comes to reducing natural resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and is innovating in ways that could benefit us all - for example, by designing buildings that capture their own heat to generate electricity. Further, the Japanese government specifically wants to use the upcoming G8 Summit to push for commitments on energy-efficiency by the world's leading industrialized nations (see earlier posts, such as 106, for background). Now, who's gonna turn up and spoil that party, eh? Let's hope nobody does...