Dubai has a Wind-Powered Rotating Skyscraper.  Tokyo is building a Sky Tree. The two are tall. The similarities stop there though Tokyo definitely sounds like it is doing something earth friendly. The Tokyo Sky Tree is expected to be a major tourist draw at 610 meters when it is completed in 2012. Tokyo hopes 5.4 million people will take a look in the first year and 2.7 million/year for the subsequent 30 years.

The Tokyo Sky Tree is designed for terrestrial digital broadcasting and to take the place of the current analog broadcasting format by 2011. It will also aid in anti-disaster measurements. There will be observation decks at 350 and 450 meters.  The surrounding area - commercial facilities, offices and colleges. The cost Y65B ($600 million).

Read about the debate surrounding the construction here. (subscription may be required.)  Suffice it to say that in the debate, nobody is talking about how friendly or not the new tower will be to the Tokyo environment.

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We do love it when a plan comes together, when the world gets along. Here’s a guy who has people all over the world dancing together. On a different level, 31 provinces in China have received $4 million from Norway, the European Union and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to draft programs to fight climate change over the next two years.

The project is called  Provincial Programs for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in China (PPCCMAC). Try and say that three times real fast. At first, 14 pilot provinces will take a shot. Qinghai will address its retreating glaciers, for example.

Norway says, “The finalization of such plans for all provinces of China will be a remarkable achievement, which I think will meet broad international recognition and be an inspiration and model for many other countries.”

Sichuan is one of the pilot provinces. The area experienced an 8-magnitude quake in May. Good luck stopping those. Shanxi is a coal-rich province looking for alternatives. For good or for bad, IMHO, it’s always a good thing seeing the world work together to solve problems.  What do you think?

Casio Computer has found a way to substitute fluorine gas for sulfur hexafluoride.  Sulfur hexafluoride is used in the processing of silicon thin films for LCD panels. As greenhouse gases go, sulfur hexafluoride is also 20,000 times worse than CO2. Casio thinks that if it eliminates this chemical the company will reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions by about 205.

Casio Computer says  -

“Fluorine gas is difficult to handle because it is highly reactive and potentially explosive. The company solved this issue through careful management of hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid levels. For the processing of silicon thin films, the company determined it could achieve the same quality as with sulfur hexafluoride by optimizing the volume of fluorine gas used and adjusting the voltage and other parameters.”

Evaluation of the use of fluorine gas will continue until the end of the year at such time a decision will be made. Does that line “highly reactive and potentially explosive” concern anybody else besides me? Casio also makes dandy wrist watches that can do all sorts of things, elevations, barometers, hail taxi cabs and such.

“Hey, Taro! Where’s you arm?”

“Ah, just another failed fluorine test for Casio. No big deal.”

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Beijing is getting serious about clean air during the Olympics. The city has removed one half of all government vehicles from the streets of Beijing. The move eases congestion, reduces emissions and saves resources for a greener Olympics, which start 8-8-08. “The government wants to take the lead in guaranteeing smooth transport during the Games,” said a transport official.

The move is more aggressive than an initial plan to ban just 30% of all government cars starting on July 1st. Happy, of course, are the Beijing cabbies. Business is good and traffic is far less congested as they haul around their fares. Beginning on July 20th, Beijing will ban 70% of all government vehicles until September 20th. Altogether, some 210,000 vehicles are expected to be sitting in garages. That number is in addition to the half of 3.3 million cars that will be parked on 0dd-even days. The 12 million commuters in the city can expect some 4 million more to crowd onto buses and other public service vehicles. To meet this demand, some 2000 buses and three new metro lines will be added or extend their operating hours. A 4-day trial period last year showed that it works.

Now, if the city really wanted to save money and do something about hot air, they would try to reduce the number of people that create congestion in the government bureaucracy by 70%, too. And, if that works, help us out here in the U.S. please.

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Mazda Motor Corp has a hydrogen-powered minivan coming to Japan for lease beginning next March.  The minivan will have hydrogen-combustion and an electric motor. Mazda is the Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Co. The company received permission from Japan’s transport ministry to test the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid. The Premacy is known as the Mazda5 overseas.

The minivan has a generator-powered electric motor and a rotary engine. (And, the Mazda goes ummm…). Emissions are water vapor only. Lease costs will be Y420K ($3800)/month! I think, I’ll take a his and hers.

BMW AG is Germany’s attempt to develop a fuel-cell system. Electricity is generated through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. Honda’s Clarity will be available for lease in the US next month. Both cars have zero-emissions.

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.

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.

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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Those living in New York should be really happy this summer, because the Department of Transportation is planning a 6.9-mile car-free path from the Brooklyn Bridge to the 72nd street entrance of Central Park.

Three Saturday mornings in August (the 9th, 16th, and 23rd) for six hours the streets will belong to those that want to “Play. Run. Walk. Bike. Breathe.” The experiment is called “Summer Streets”.

The “Summer Streets” campaign which was inspired by the Ciclovia festival in Bogota, Columbia, is a full-fledged summer activity program, with dance, fitness, and yoga classes on tap.

“The length of Summer Streets is what makes it amazing. This connects communities who don’t have parks to those who do. It also connects people from Prospect Park to Central Park,” said Wiley Norvell, of Transportation Alternatives. “I want to make sure to help New Yorkers make the most of the opportunity.”

There are already people griping about the campaign, saying it will affect their business negatively: “They’ve got to be kidding,” manager and owner of the League of Mutual Taxi Owners Vincent Capone told The Sun. We need these kinds of campaigns guys. Forget about your personal interests for a couple of days, it’s not that big a deal, eh?

Good initiative New York, we want more!

This kind of initiatives really get us rolling on the floor and wagging our tails.

The Brazilian Câmara dos Deputados is preparing a bill that will actually ask people to plant trees when they have fees to pay. The law is trying to recover the rainforest and offset the country’s carbon emissions.

We’re talking about fees concerning marriage, divorce, buying a new car or real estate transactions.

• getting married is 10 trees (additional 25 trees if you are divorcing later)
• buying a new car is 20 trees (light-duty van goes for 40 trees while a heavy duty is 60 trees)
• selling a house is 10 trees
• selling a business is 20 trees

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics estimated that about 65 million trees would be planted per year under the proposed rules.

Apparently everything we do, harms the environment and though I do not agree with this concept, planting trees - no matter the reason - is a great solution to living a healthier life with a cleaner environment. Don’t you think?

[Source: Globo] (Image by Craig Jewell)