energy

Recently, the Japan Electric Vehicle Club set a record for an electric vehicle (EV) by driving over 1,000 km on a single charge. The English version of the Asahi reported it as thus:

The Japan Electric Vehicle Club drove its test car 1,003.184 kilometers, far outstripping its own previous world record of 555.6 km.

The group will apply to register the new record with Guinness World Records.

The eco-point program is now officially underway with the government accepting applications:

Under the Eco-point system, those who buy designated energy-saving appliances between May 15 and March 31 will be eligible for the points, with one Eco-point worth roughly ¥1.

While I'm on the subject of TV, Japan for Sustainability has this interesting bit:

As a special one-day environmental event, Japan's public broadcaster, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), shortened the airtime of its educational TV channel on December 29, 2008, to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and save electricity.

Sort of. They are testing what happens when you put biofuel in one engine:

Triple-digit oil prices are doing their damage across the world. With airlines strugglin to survive, the Business Travel Coalition issued a stark press release warning of bankruptcies by the end of the year.

High oil prices are a serious problem when it comes to food. Peak oil is peak food.

One of the nice things about living and working in Japan is that it's a convenient base for traveling to other parts of Asia. However, with oil hitting $135 a barrel last week, the days of cheap and easy travel look to be at an end.

In the wake of the earthquake in Niigata, Japan's nuclear power program is once again in the spotlight for its failures. After initial reports of a fire and a small leak at the Kashiwazaki power plant, we find out later that things were actually worse: Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) had the facts but waited 12 hours before letting the public know, the fire burned for several hours, radioactive waste spilled from collection pools, and some radiation was released into the ocean and into the atmosphere. Oh, and the reactor appears to have been built on a fault line. But we're told not to worry.

More evidence of the biofuel craze affecting the food supply:

TOKYO, May 14 (Reuters) - Japanese food and service prices are creeping up, a possible sign that companies are finally starting to pass on higher raw material costs to customers despite overall tame consumer inflation, analysts say.

Yet again, another example of the food for fuel problem. Mayonnaise maker Kewpie announced yesterday [in Japanese] that the price of mayonnaise will increase by 10% as of June. As you know, mayonnaise is its own food group in Japan, so this is serious news. The reports on TV made a point of noting how the price of mayonnaise hasn't changed in 17 years.