news20101006jp

[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]

[japantimes.co.jp > Life in Japan > EDUCATION AND BILINGUAL]

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010
BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT

Hiyakasu: Teasing finds easy target in first love

By MICHAEL HOFFMAN

"Yukino! My big brother is in love with Yukino!" Little Kimika Keyes whoops with delight, which of course only throws Peter deeper into misery. Kimika is 10 and he's 14 — he should have the upper hand, but there is in her a bewildering mix of yōchi (幼稚, childishness) and seijuku (成熟, maturity) that forever kōsansaseru (降参させる, defeats) him.

Ana ga attara hairitai (穴があったら入りたい, He is ready to sink into the ground) for haji (恥, shame). Suddenly a thought strikes him, overpowering in its novelty: "Why don't I tataku (叩く, give her a good smack)? Just once, not hard, to teach her a little sonkei (尊敬, respect)." For a moment, he forgets about Yukino, his love, and his shame.

It seems an astonishing thing — he has never, ever, not once, raised a hand to her! Of course, it's hazukashii (恥ずかしい, embarrassing) to hit a girl, especially one so much younger than himself; on the other hand, doesn't a parent slap a child for the sake of kiritsu (規律, discipline)? Just once, to teach her. After that, it will never be necessary again.

But kangaete mireba (考えてみれば, come to think of it), it's his own fault, not hers. What moved him to uchiakeru (打ち明ける, confide) in her? Her of all people! He should have known — of course he knew. She's a child, a kid . . . and yet something about her makes him forget that. When had he almost honnōteki ni (本能的に, instinctively) started to regard her as his oneesan (お姉さん, older sister) instead of as his imōto (妹, younger sister)?

"She's minikui (醜い, ugly), she has nikibi (にきび, pimples)." When Kimika is in the mood to hiyakasu (冷やかす, tease), she holds nothing back. "Have you kissed her? Ugh!"

"No, I haven't! All right, listen, that's enough. There are things in life" — he assumes his most otonappoi (大人っぽい, grownup) air — "that you're too young to understand. Now listen to me, or I'll kubi wo shimete yaru (首を絞めてやる, wring your neck)!"

"Kowai! Kowai! (怖い！怖い！ Oh, I'm so scared!)"

"Listen. You think you know everything because you read lots of books and get ii seiseki (いい成績, good grades) in school and mom and dad amayakasu (甘やかす, spoil you rotten). But omae wa nani mo shiranai zo (お前は何も知らないぞ, you don't know anything), because you're still a baby — you'll have nikibi yourself when you grow up a bit! So just damare (黙れ, shut up)!"

The two children look at each other. It's hard to say who's the more odoroita (驚いた, surprised) of the two — Peter, who delivered that uncharacteristically long and resolute speech, or Kimika, who was its object.

"Just shut up and listen. Yes, I do love Yukino. Waratte mo ii (笑ってもいい, Go ahead and laugh). Zenzen kamawanai (ぜんぜんかまわない, I don't care at all), because you don't know what love is, unless maybe it's love for mom and dad and obaachan (おばあちゃん, grandma). You say Yukino is ugly. I know she's no bijin (美人, beauty). When you're a little older, I'll explain to you that when you love somebody, that doesn't matter.You asked if I kissed her. No, but — I want to! So there!"

"Ugh!" Kimika says again, laughing. "Get out and let me finish my shukudai (宿題, homework). Wait. If you want to, why don't you?"

"Because she doesn't want to. She said — "

"She's probably afraid of catching some disease!"

At dinner that night, Kimika says, "Peter hit me."

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

Reiko, back from another day at court as a saibanin (裁判員, lay judge) in a murder trial, looks wearily from one child to the other. All week she has been engaged in judging yūzai (有罪, guilt) or muzai (無罪, innocence). It is wearing her down. She doesn't know whether to laugh or cry to find herself in a similar role at home. "Jigōjitoku (自業自得, serves you right)," she says half-playfully to Kimika. From various indications, she has gathered that the situation isn't serious and that Kimika was, and is, behaving obnoxiously on purpose. "Stop it now and — "

Suddenly there's a burst of music — the opening bars of "God Save the Queen." Peter's cell phone. Reiko jumps, as she does lately at any sudden noise. "Hontōni kyūkei ga hitsuyō (本当に休憩が必要, I really need a break)," she thinks to herself.

"Shinkeishitsu da ne, okāsan wa! (神経質だね、お母さんは！ You're so nervous!)" says Kimika.

"It's nothing."

Peter gets up and leaves the room.

Kimika snickers. "I bet I know who that is!"

news20101006gb

[News] from [businessgreen.com]

[BusinessGreen.com > News > Recycling/Disposal]

American food waste also wastes millions in energy
{アメリカの食品廃棄物で、原油換算、３億５千万バレル相当が無駄に}

New research highlights energy footprint of throwing food in the bin

GreenBiz Staff, BusinessGreen, 06 Oct 2010

Americans waste a lot of food - 27 per cent of all food produced was not eaten back in 1995, the last time a study was conducted by the USDA. That number has no doubt gone up in the last 15 years, and two researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have published a paper looking at the wasted, embedded energy of all that food.

It turns out that if, by some miracle, Americans stopped wasting food entirely, the country would save two per cent of its annual energy budget, or about 350 million barrels' worth of oil.

The researchers, Michael Webber and Amanda Cuéllar, of the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas at Austin, looked at how much energy it takes to produce, package, prepare, preserve and distribute a year's worth of food in the United States. The figure they arrived at -1.4 billion barrels of oil equals between eight and 16 percent of our annual energy consumption.

"[T]he energy embedded in wasted food represents a substantial target for decreasing energy consumption in the US," the article notes. "The wasted energy calculated here is a conservative estimate both because the food waste data are incomplete and outdated and the energy consumption data for food service and sales are incomplete."

The report, which is available for download from the American Chemical Society, breaks down food waste by type, and looks at the energy used to produce, process, and transport food.

Although this is the first time food waste has been quantified as energy, it has been a focus of companies' efforts for some time - especially outside the United States. Last month, UK grocery retailers announced they had made progress in cutting their food waste, saving 1.2 million metric tons of food waste over the last five years. Sainsbury's, one of the leading UK grocers, announced earlier this year that it was investing in new technology to let grocery stores reduce food waste based on real-time supply chain decisions influenced by the weather. And in 2009, Marks & Spencer set a goal to recycle all its food waste as a way of achieving its zero-waste goal.

In the US, Sodexo last month launched an education campaign urging students to reduce their food waste on campus. And the Minnesota State Fair this year experimented with using food leftovers and animal waste to power the fair.


[BusinessGreen.com > News > Renewables]

Desertec looks to secure route to African solar farms
{デザーテック事業イニシアティブ、アフリカ太陽熱発電開発への確実な路線を歩む}

Italian grid operator Terna becomes latest shareholder in Desertec Industrial Initiative as high profile solar project gears up for its first annual conference

Jessica Shankleman, BusinessGreen, 06 Oct 2010

The high profile Desertec solar project has moved a step closer towards delivering on its ambitious plans for solar thermal power plants across the North African desert that could one day supply Europe with energy.

Italian transmission and system operator Terna confirmed last week that it has joined the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) as a shareholder and will provide expertise on how to integrate solar energy projects into the European grid.

Meanwhile, Steg Renouvelables, a subsidiary of Tunisian utility company Steg, also said it will sign up to the DII, providing the project with a major ally in the North African energy sector.

The new recruits take the number of company's involved in the Desertec project up to 18 shareholders and 25 associated partners, all of whom are now working to promote the creation of giant solar thermal power plants, which could, if successful, generate up to 15 per cent of Europe's electricity.

Paul van Son, chief executive at the German-based DII, welcomed Terna's decision to join the project, particularly given its expertise as a grid operator and Italy's close proximity to Tunisia.

"Apart from creating a framework for power generation in desert regions, power transmission from North Africa to the European markets is another important element for Desertec," he said. "Italy is a key country for us due to its geographical location and its proximity to Tunisia. In addition, given its core expertise as a national grid operator, Terna can contribute to our joint venture with valuable knowledge about the integration of renewable energy into electric grids."

The vision of large-scale renewable energy generation in the deserts will also be at the centre of discussions at DII's first annual conference in Barcelona at the end of this month.

EU energy commissioner Günther Oettinger is expected to deliver the keynote speech at the conference, where executives from participating companies will discuss topics such as the regulatory and incentive framework that will be required to make desert solar power a reality.

In related news, Germany's energy watchdog yesterday urged the government to accelerate the country's grid expansion, warning that stringent planning regulations are undermining the country's ambitious renewable energy policies.

Germany is planning to build 850km of new power lines by 2015, but in the past five years only 90km have been completed, largely as a result of planning difficulties.

Speaking to Reuters, Matthias Kurth, president of the Bundesnetzagentur – the agency in charge of processing planning applications – accused some of Germany's 16 regions of dragging their feet when making planning decisions.

"The current speed is too slow," he said. "Planning and approval processes must be hurried."


[BusinessGreen.com > News > Renewables]

US Navy connects first wave power system to grid
{アメリカ海軍、潮力発電システム網に初アクセス}

PowerBuoy installed off the coast of Hawaii begins feeding energy into the grid

Danny Bradbury, BusinessGreen, 06 Oct 2010

The US Navy has installed a wave power system at the Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base in Oahu, Hawaii, in what it says is the first grid-connected wave power installation in the US.

The test wave generation system, installed by Ocean Power Technologies, will generate 3 to 4 kilowatts of power, according to the Navy.

The device, called the PB40 PowerBuoy, is situated three-quarters of a mile off the coast in 100 feet of water. It is the third buoy that has been tested by the Navy since it began evaluating wave-based power in 2001.

The Navy said the test site will be expanded in the future to a capacity of one megawatt, as it tests out a number of commercial-scale systems from different suppliers.

Marine Corps Base Hawaii Commanding Officer Col. Robert Rice said the wave system was part of a wider project that would see the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay become completely energy self-sufficient by 2015.

The project also represents the latest in a series of renewable energy deployments by the US Navy, including solar-powered parking lots and algae-based fuel.

Last year, Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus announced five renewable energy targets designed to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

These included the deployment of a 'Green Strike Group' of nuclear and biofuel-powered vessels by 2016, the halving of petroleum in its non-tactical commercial fleet by 2015, and the production of half its shore-based energy from alternative sources. Half of all shore-based installations will also be net zero energy consumers within ten years.