Cycling Mob Cycling Forums - View Single Post - _The Japan We Never Knew_, by David Suzuki and Keibo Oiwa

02-08-2007, 05:05 PM

This eloquent look at the social and ecological status of several of
the minorities and aboriginal peoples of Japan shows exactly why
diversity should be valued: such peoples often have a clearer view,
and more sustainable practices, than the majority culture. This is not
just a book about Japan, but one with truly urgent and timeless value
for all of humanity.

"Many of the large, industrialized cities of Japan are ecological
nightmares, biological deserts entombed in concrete and asphalt, with
rivers choking on industrial sludge and garbage, air thick with
exhaust fumes and factory emissions. The pollution became more intense
the closer we got to Tokyo. The problems here can be seen as [as] much
a failure of education as of politics and business. ... Around the
world, social structures are collapsing under the weight of explosive
population growth and massive shifts in where this population lives.
There are enormous pressures of widespread poverty, ecological
collapse, civil strife, and the increase in new and old diseases --
AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis. Highly industrialized countries like
Japan, which depend on global resources and markets, are beginning to
confront the reality of their dependence on renewable and nonrenewable
products, of the planet's finite limits, and of the ecological and
social unsustainability of our high consumption lifestyle. It is from
the turmoil within the Japan that we now see that new paradigms,
priorities, lifestyles, and goals are emerging. They provide an
important source of new ways of perceiving, thinking, and acting for
all of us in the global village who strive to find ways to achieve
social, economic, and environmental balance." pp.303-4
===
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

02-08-2007, 05:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mike Vandeman Posts: n/a	_The Japan We Never Knew_, by David Suzuki and Keibo Oiwa This eloquent look at the social and ecological status of several of the minorities and aboriginal peoples of Japan shows exactly why diversity should be valued: such peoples often have a clearer view, and more sustainable practices, than the majority culture. This is not just a book about Japan, but one with truly urgent and timeless value for all of humanity. "Many of the large, industrialized cities of Japan are ecological nightmares, biological deserts entombed in concrete and asphalt, with rivers choking on industrial sludge and garbage, air thick with exhaust fumes and factory emissions. The pollution became more intense the closer we got to Tokyo. The problems here can be seen as [as] much a failure of education as of politics and business. ... Around the world, social structures are collapsing under the weight of explosive population growth and massive shifts in where this population lives. There are enormous pressures of widespread poverty, ecological collapse, civil strife, and the increase in new and old diseases -- AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis. Highly industrialized countries like Japan, which depend on global resources and markets, are beginning to confront the reality of their dependence on renewable and nonrenewable products, of the planet's finite limits, and of the ecological and social unsustainability of our high consumption lifestyle. It is from the turmoil within the Japan that we now see that new paradigms, priorities, lifestyles, and goals are emerging. They provide an important source of new ways of perceiving, thinking, and acting for all of us in the global village who strive to find ways to achieve social, economic, and environmental balance." pp.303-4 === I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8 years fighting auto dependence and road construction.) Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of! http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande