Editorial
Japan should reduce energy consumption to make it less vulnerable to global crises
It may seem odd to take the opportunity on the anniversary of the end of World War II to insist that Japan should reduce energy consumption. However, it is indispensable for peace and safety in Japan.
It is impossible to completely eradicate the threats posed by climate change, uncertainties in the demand and supply of energy and potential food crises. However, Japan can at least make itself less vulnerable to these threats by transforming itself into a society that relies less on energy. By doing so, Japan can also extend assistance to developing countries faced with such global problems.
The more energy efficient a military is, the stronger it is. The climate change strategy announced by the British Defense Ministry in December last year is based on this idea. To promptly respond to the threat posed by climate change, the British ministry believes it indispensable to increase the energy efficiency of its weapons. Any military that consumes a huge amount of oil lacks the ability to continue to fight in a war. U.S. forces are even considering developing and introducing hybrid tanks.
Japanese forces constantly suffered a shortage of resources and energy throughout World War II. They desperately attempted to extract petroleum from oil shales in Manchuria and to get fuel for aircraft from pine tree roots, but to no avail.
The United States is now processing massive amounts of corn into bioethanol, a fuel for automobiles, contributing to a potential food crisis.
Japan's technology of extracting oil from pine tree roots was far more primitive than the U.S. technology of producing bioethanol. However, both are similar in that labor force and facilities were wasted.
The global population, which now stands at approximately 6.5 billion, is expected to grow to 9 billion. A growing number of countries are assuming that the increase in the global population could trigger a food crisis. Last year, countries banned exports of agricultural products one after another. India and many other countries continue to do so this year.
A coup in Madagascar in the spring of this year was triggered by protests against a foreign company for buying up farmland in the country. There are numerous countries that buy up farmland in developing countries and secure food exclusively for themselves. The potential for oil, water and food crises are growing all over the world.
Various countries including Japan are competing in their own Green New Deal policies, to decrease their reliance on fossil fuels and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, they are trying to ensure both environmental protection and economic growth through technological innovation. We have urged Japan to take the lead in such efforts.
Still, it is necessary to go one step further considering the urgency of problems involving global warming and the limits of natural resources available.
Sooner or later, we need to drastically change our lifestyles due to the need to protect the environment and the limits of natural resources. Experts are divided over when we have to do so. In any case, as the British Defense Ministry points out, the less energy we consume, the less vulnerable we are to environmental and energy crises.
Japan has not drawn a road map toward a low-energy but affluent society that could be a model for the world. Low energy consumption is widely regarded as leading to a poor lifestyle. Nobody would accept it. People must be affluent even if they are forced to substantially reduce their energy consumption.
One thing is clear. Reduction in energy consumption is a matter that is closely linked to the independence and self-reliance of regional communities because it requires each regional community to ensure their self-sufficiency for not only food but also energy.
Japan should transform itself into a country where regional communities will compete with each other in pursuing affluent lifestyles without wasting energy.
(Mainichi Japan) August 15, 2009