Sony has a new flat-panel TV that consumes less energy with out compromising image quality. The Bravia KDL-32JE1 will go on sale on July 30th in Japan, overseas markets are undecided. The TV goes for Y150,000 ($1,400). The TV uses just 82 watts of energy compared to a comparable model that is $90 less which uses 125 watts.

Sony said energy savings were achieved by using a brighter back light and better filtering. The box uses an LCD display and HD broadcast features. Old boob tube types use 70% more energy. Each new Sony TV will reduce CO2 emissions by 79kg (175lbs)/year…or about what six cedar trees consume. (The things people can figure out.)

The green TV will save about Y4,300/year, meaning buyers can get their money back for buying a higher priced box in about 2.4 years. Sony says, “We think ecology is going to become an important standard that consumers use in choosing products.” We think so, too.

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Beijing will follow NYC’s lead, sorta, restricting car traffic on roads during certain periods. The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games are less than 2 months away. Beijing will ban vehicle traffic with odd and even-numbered license plates on alternate days from July 20th-Sept 20th. The hope is to improve air quality during the Games. Taxis, buses and emergency vehicles will be exempt.

The action is taken to fulfill Beijing’s commitment to host a “Green Olympics.”

Beijing will also ban all motor vehicles that don’t meet European No. 1 standards for exhaust emissions. Trucks not registered in Beijing will be prohibited from entering the city. To compensate motorists, owners will be exempt from taxes and road maintenance fees for three months. I wonder, what will NYC drivers get. Last year, Beijing ran a test that kept about 1.3 million vehicles off the road which in turn cut 5,815 tons of emissions.

So, why can’t the city do that all the time?

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While the population of the world continues to grow, so do the waistlines of the Aussies and Americans.  While much of the rest of the world goes hungry, not enough food because of the increase in production of biofuels among other considerations, 25% of adults down under are obese. Some 25% of Americans crush scales daily.

The World Health Organization says that about 1.6 billion people (25%) of the world’s population is overweight (not obese). That number is expected to increase by 40% in the next 10 years.

Of course, the growing waistlines of the world has an impact on the environment. As people grow rounder and rounder, so do the vehicles that transport them, and the energy required to move them about. Bigger people eat more, leaving less for those who need it.

How about we take everyone in Africa and let them switch places with Americans and Aussies for about ten years. That ought to do it. Seriously, something has got to be done.

The challenge of a greener world will be the ever growing number of Earthlings to keep on track. The world population is expected to hit 7 billion by 2012, 10 billion in the 2050s.  It took 6000 years, give or take a few, to reach 6 billion in 1999. In just 13 years, another billion will be added. The world population was under 1 billion in 1800.

Medical and nutritional advances are given the credit. The good news is that the world population growth is slowing down. The population doubled from 3B to 6B in 40 years from 1959-1999. Growth is expected to be only 50% from 1999-2049. In 2050, global growth is expected to sloe to 0.5% from the current 1.2%.

In the meantime, the world is growing older. Currently, 1.5% of the world’s population is over 80 (estimate). In 2050, that number is expected to grow to 5%. By 2050, India is also expected to overtake China as the most populous nation.

Well, I done my part for world population growth, with a little help from my wife. We added a daughter to the crowd this year.

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The animal rights group (PETA) voted Faye Wong Asia’s Sexiest vegetarian woman. Faye Wong is known as the “heavenly queen” or “diva of Asia”. She beat out Maggie Q who starred in “Mission Impossible III” with Tom Cruise.

Wong was born in Beijing and starred in the “Chungking Express.” She has been featured on the covers of Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire. That would make her a friend to animals but not trees, eh?

Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachan won the award for Asia’s Sexiest Vegetarian man.

PETA does its darnest to use celebrities to attract public attention. Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington posed naked for posters saying, “I’d rather go naked than wear fur.” Hmm, I wonder if we could get Wong to do the same.

What good about high gas prices? I can think of a lot of things, but here’s one. Japan and China, historical enemies, are cooperating in the East China Sea as they explore for more natural gas. It’s the first time the two countries have agreed to explore undersea resources together.

The exploration is overtly an attempt at improving the relations of the two countries. Chinese hate what Japan did and rightfully so. Many Chinese start off hating Japanese as a rule and go from there. Japanese think about Chinese, “Huh? Is there something wrong?”

High gas prices are causing people everywhere to take extreme action and if that means people getting along who don’t normally, in my book, that’s a good thing.

I am not that naive, however. The two countries will sign treaties and agreements out the gazoo “to protect each other’s legal positions till a demarcation line is set.” Yeah, everybody wants to make sure they get what’s coming to them.

In any event, “It is a welcome development in Japan-China relations and a specific achievement in our strategic relations.”

Why can’t we all just get along?

Lose one, find one. China thinks the white dolphin in the Yangtze River went extinct, that’s one lost, but good news today. China is adding a new species of bird to the wildlife list.

It’s called the Nonggang Babbler. It has a white crescent-shaped patch behind the ear, grayish-brown spots on a white throat and the rest is dark brown. The babbler likes to walk instead of fly and feeds on worms and insects in between rocks. It flies only when scared.

The new addition to wildlife species was discovered by ornithologists in a small patch of limestone rainforest on the Sino-Vietnamese border. The bird was first spotted four years ago by a professor of the College of Animal Sciences and Technology and one of his grad students. In the subsequent four years studies and fieldwork were conducted to confirm the bird was a new species.

The prof said he had been studying birds for more than 30 years. Stachyris nonggangensis (Nonggang Babbler) is the name of this new discovery. The discovery has been confirmed by the Auk - world’s leading journal on ornithology. The last time a new bird was found in China was in the 1930s.

The prof went on to say “It is very difficult to restore the biodiversity of a rainforest once its ecological is disturbed. Given the bird’s small number and its threatened habitat, it’s important to include it in the State list of protected species.” In other words, now that I found this new bird, let’s make sure we don’t lose it.

Birdwatchers everywhere can be found making reservations to go to the Sino-Vietnamese border.

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Beijing has a national ban on the use of ultra-thin plastic bags as part of its “habit revolution.” The until now free super-thin plastic bags have been replaced by thick plastic bags that must be bought for about ¥10 ($1.50). Or, shoppers can bring their snazzy green tote bags. Because it is so hard to determine the thickness of a bag with the naked eye, China’s Ministry of Commerce has instigated the use of “checkers” (not the game) to determine a bag’s thickness.

We wonder, can they really measure the thinness of a bag? In any event, this is a big step in not being wasteful. Especially when there are tens of millions of people not using umpteen plastic bags a day. Add to Beijing southwest China’s Yunnan province will also ban plastic bags beginning January 1, 2009. Good job, China!

“Hey you! You with that plastic bag. Bring it over here so I can use my handy dandy plastic bag thickness checking micrometer.”

“Uh, okay.”

“Yo, dude. This bag is too thick. You get a verbal warning. Next time, it’s the lethal injection van for you.”

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Two members of Greenpeace Japan were arrested for stealing a box of whale meat. The greenpeacers are saying that the crew members of a Japanese whaling ship stole the meat. From whom did the ship steal we wonder? The two fellows who belonged to Greenpeace said they were stealing the boxes of meat for evidence so they could prove the crew of the ship, stole the meat.

Am I the only one getting confused here? “I am going to steal this from you so I can prove you stole it from someone else.” In all my love for the world we live in, and for the desire I have to be a good steward, I want no part of the Greenpeace group. They remind me too much of radicals, zealot-types, bible-beating super Christians, Islam extremists and that whole lot.

Why can’t we just be reasonable?

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Shenzhen is located across the river from Hong Kong. The city was mainland China’s first economically free zone in what turned out to be a successful experiment.

They are now building a new terminal at the Bao’an International Airport. The terminal will have a double skin canopy that will let patterned natural light into the space, thus reducing energy consumption. The inner skin of the roof will be made of a fine net that will allows diffused sunlight to come in creating a pleasant indoor atmosphere.

The pictures of what this airport will look like are stunning, to say the least. See the gallery after the break. (more…)