The setsuden (power-saving) campaign is now in full force, as residents all over Japan are being encouraged to conserve electricity so there is enough to get through the high-use summer months. Even on my small island of 609 people, each household received a list of suggestions on how we can help Japan save energy.
It covered points such as not leaving the lights on during the day and cleaning out the filters in your air conditioner to help them run more efficiently — things any environmentally conscious person already does. In addition, more extreme measures were suggested, such as unplugging appliances so that the LED stand-by light stays off. Even though the LED uses an infinitesimally small amount of energy, among a population of 120 million people, it all adds up.
While I agree that we can all use a gentle reminder now and then, there are others who could use a good kick in the butt. The others I'm talking about are the real energy sappers: the electronic bells and whistles of businesses. While businesses have been asked to cut back from 5 to 15 percent on energy expenditure, they could easily do a lot more. Japan must be the loudest, most electronically deafening country in the world.