Stephen Hesse - The Japan Times

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Stephen Hesse

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Stephen Hesse

Stephen Hesse is an educator and writer living in Tokyo. He graduated from Vermont Law School, where he received a JD and an LLM, and is now a professor in the Law Faculty of Chuo University, Tokyo, as well as Associate Director of the Chuo International Center.

For Stephen Hesse's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT

Apr 21, 2005

Matters of survival in a 'shattered world'

One of the best things about writing a newspaper column is that I get a chance to meet people whose paths I might otherwise never cross. Last weekend, at the Odaiba waterfront launch of Earth Day Tokyo 2005, I had the rare pleasure of meeting and interviewing two environmentalists I have long admired,...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Apr 21, 2005

Time to honor the planet, every day

'If the environment is a fad, then it's going to be our last fad," warned Denis Hayes at the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, having given up his own graduate studies at Harvard only months before to organize this historic event.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Mar 24, 2005

Power answers blowing in the wind

There is no doubt our dependence on fossil fuels will end. We will wean ourselves off oil and coal because they pose unacceptable environmental and security risks, or we will be forced to stop using them as reserves dwindle and climate change intensifies.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Feb 24, 2005

'Win-win' tie-up sets sights on sustainable seafood stocks

At the New England Aquarium in Boston, Mass., Heather Tausig is leading a project that, until recently, was unimaginable.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jan 27, 2005

'Sobering study' spells out the global crisis

After more than 30 years of work in national and international environmental policymaking, James Gustave Speth has written an extraordinary book. Even better, it's now out in Japanese, published by Chuohoki.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Dec 23, 2004

Spending the planet into eco-bankruptcy

When I was a teenager, my uncle would joke, "When all else fails, read the instructions." About the same time I also learned that the most important things don't come with directions for use. Our planet is a good example.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Nov 25, 2004

Now may be the time to finesse U.S. 'bully'

Beneath the buzz of news last week, it was easy to overlook one important story -- as much of the media did. On Thursday, the Russian Federation submitted to the United Nations its ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, beginning a 90-day countdown to the protocol's entry into force. As a result, on Feb....

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Oct 28, 2004

Where the candidates stand on your environment

When it comes to politics, I'm a one-issue voter, and the environment is my litmus test. More often than not, if a politician is responsive to environmental concerns, then he or she is likely to support other policies I care about.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Sep 23, 2004

Good stuff, people and advice on how to tailor your consumption

It's back-to-school time again, and whether you are going back, sending your child off, or just getting swept up in the streams of backpack-wielding kids, change is in the air. Time for new books, new people and new gossip, and time to clear the desk even if only for a place to rest your head.

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

Sep 12, 2004

Exploring a cautionary tale

MINAMATA DISEASE, by Masazumi Harada (1971), translated by Sachie Tsushima and Timothy S. George, edited by Timothy S. George. Kumamoto Nichinichi Shinbun Culture & Information Center, 2004, 215 pp., 2,500 yen (cloth). Across Japan and throughout much of the world, the name Minamata is synonymous...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Aug 12, 2004

Environment groups who do it in the streets

Hester Van Hooven Ward is pretty hard to miss when she greets you on the street with a wave and a big smile, then launches into her "rap": "Hi! How are you? Do you have a minute for the environment today?" she calls out to strangers.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jul 8, 2004

Renewable energy sources offer global chance to shed fossil fuels

As the leading national consumer of fossil fuels, the United States churns out almost a quarter of all the industrial carbon dioxide worldwide. Apologists say this is the price that must be paid in exchange for driving the global economy. Realists see such hubris as eventually undermining human viability...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jun 10, 2004

Kicking up a storm over climate change

For those who cannot decide whether to see "The Day After Tomorrow," I sympathize. This recent Hollywood thriller that offers an apocalyptic portrayal of global climate change has me at odds with myself. I am torn between the desire to wallow in mindless hyperbole, and the fear of seeing an audience...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

May 13, 2004

Confessions of a schizo environmentalist

I have a confession to make. For the past month I've been suffering from a strange affliction: I can't seem to buy and dispose of plastic bottles without being overcome by a mild case of environmental schizophrenia.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Apr 8, 2004

Report condemns Bush's corruption of science

Kurt Gottfried, professor emeritus of physics at Cornell University and Chairman of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), is very concerned about the Bush administration.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Mar 11, 2004

Bush majors in suppression of science

It comes as no surprise that U.S. President George W. Bush is calling for a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. He is simply using the age-old tactic of picking on others to save his own hide.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Feb 12, 2004

The road to pinpointing corporations that care

When it comes to sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, the media never tire of airing dirty laundry.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT

Jan 15, 2004

'Miyake man' leaves a legacy of inspiration

Last week, the environmental community lost a beacon of wisdom and inspiration, a gentle and passionate man who dedicated his career to raising awareness of the oceans' unique ecosystems and Japan's in particular. On Friday, at the age of 74, Jack Thomson Moyer is believed to have taken his own life,...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jan 8, 2004

Corporate America's attack on common sense

Common sense may keep us out of harm's way and save us from terminally bad deciEsions, but a recently leaked chemical-industry memo inEsists that common sense is bad for business. Elsewhere in the corporate sector, too, common sense is increasingly seen as a dogged nuisance that hinders mindless conEsumption...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Dec 11, 2003

Guiding U.S. corporations to the greener side

Elizabeth Sturcken could easily have passed for a hotshot IT executive, dressed for the part in a business suit and low heels. Instead, the 37-year-old resident of San Francisco is a major player in the drive for environmental change.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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