Mar 28 Azby Brown @ Good Books: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan
Mar 11th, 2010
Information
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Azby Brown, the author of Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan will be speaking at Good Day Books at 6:30pm on Sunday March, 28th 2010. Just Enough is a book of stories, depictions of vanished ways of life told from the point of view of a contemporary observer. The stories tell how people lived in Japan some two hundred years ago, during the late Edo Period, when traditional technology and culture were at the peak of development and realization, just before the country opened itself to the West and joined the ranks of the industrialized nations.
They tell of people overcoming many of the identical problems that confront us today–issues of energy, water, materials, food and population–and forging a society that was conservation-minded, waste-free, well-housed, well-fed and economically robust.
From these stories, readers will gain insight into what it is like to live in a sustainable society, not so much in terms of specific technical approaches, but rather, in terms of how larger concerns can guide daily decisions and how social and environmental contexts shape our courses of action. These stories are intended to illustrate the environmentally-related problems that the people in both rural and urban areas faced, the conceptual frameworks in which they viewed these problems, and how they went about finding solutions. Included at the end of each section are a number of lessons in which the author elaborates on what Edo Period life has to offer us in the global battle to reverse environmental degradation. Topics covered include everything from transportation, interconnected systems, and waste reduction to the need for spiritual centers in the home.
Just Enough, more than anything else, is about a mentality that pervaded traditional Japanese society and which can serve as a beacon for our own efforts to achieve sustainability now.
To attend Brown’s BookNotes presentation just purchase a copy of Just Enough at Good Day Books.
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Thu Mar 11 green drinks Tokyo: Sustainable workstyles
Mar 10th, 2010
green drinks Tokyo Thu March 11, 2010
Creating sustainable workstyles with less than 10 employees
green drinks Tokyo is a casual drinking party held on the second Thursday of every month. March’s topic is “Creating sustainable workstyles with less than 10 employees”
There are multiple choices in styles of working. There should be a variety of human interaction and storytelling in the process of forming each organization, in deciding a style of work, and working within a team of small numbers!
This month, we’re going to have guests from companies which have 10 or less employee just as Biopio, which organizes this event and greenz.jp. Our main guests will be Mr. Kunihiro Mishima, who is from Mishima-sha company, which has been brought to attention for its role as a “Jovial publisher in Jiyuga Oka” and as a “Publisher which goes back to the starting point”, Mr. Kenta Nakamura from Tokyo Shigoto Hyakka company, which introduces a “Job search for people who are looking for a way of life” and Nao Suzuki, who launched Biopio, will be the main person in this event. They will be talking about their experiences and happenings that they noticed along the process of launching their companies including the style of working at the present moment.
Our creative director Yoshihiro Kanematsu will be a moderator in this event.
Don’t miss out on this special talk session by these four unique individuals.
NOTE: No reservation is needed. But we do have a limited number of spaces so we suggest booking in advance.
Presentations and discussions are usually conducted in Japanese only. However, if you wish to have language assistance, please inquire at the door and whisper translation will be provided by greenz staff.
TOPICS: 10 or less employees! Our method: How to make an organization and How to work within an organization
MAIN GUEST: Kunihiro Mishima, Kenta Nakamura Nao Suzuki,
DATE/TIME: Thursday March 11, 2010 from 7 pm to 10:30 pm
COST: 2,000 yen w/ 1 drink (food and drink available at the bar)
LOCATION: Ark Hills Cafe (1-3-40 Roppongi, Minato-ku,Tokyo 106-0032. 4 min walk from Tameikesanno Station, Gate#13 or Roppongi Icchome, Gate#3)SCHEDULE:
19:00 Doors Open
19:20 Opening remarks; Introduction to greenz.jp and green drinks
19:25 Discussion: Featuring Nao Suzuki and other guests19:55 Questions and answers
20:10 Networking and drinks
21:30 Open Mic
22:00 Last order for drinks
22:30 Doors closeGUEST PROFILE:
Mr. Kunihiro Mishima/ President of Michima-sha Co., Ltd.
He was born in Kyoto in 1975. He joined PHP Kenkyu-sha after graduating from college in 1999. He became an editor of independent books. After he leaving PHP Kenkyu-sha in 2003, he traveled around eastern Europe. In October of the same year, he started working with another publisher as an editor. In October of 2006, he launched Mishima-sha Co., Ltd. by himself. He adopted “A publisher which goes back to the starting point” as the company’s slogan. Everyday he strives to incorporate his idea that “Publishing is a full body workout” and “See no sectional boundaries between teams of editorial, sales, and trend setter”.
Mr. Kenta Nakamura/ President of Shigotohito Co., Ltd.
He born in Tokyo in 1979. He entered an architectural course because he wanted to create a pleasurable space for people and himself. He desired to create entire projects rather than simply designing. So, he joined a real-estate company. The work in the company was fun enough, but he really started to think about what he really wanted to do. One day, while pondering the reason why he frequents a particular bar, he realized that “Their interior, drinks and meals are all good, but I think I go there mainly to see the bartender!” He started Tokyo Shigoto Hyakka with the concept of “People are the crucial item for great projects and spaces”. His recent new project ”Tokyo Shigoto Sankan” is gaining a good reputation.
Still Have Questions?
Just drop us a line → event [at] greenz.jp
green drinks Tokyo is a monthly social event for environmental professionals, social entrepreneurs, NGO activists, journalists, designers and anyone who is interested in “green and sustainability”. If you want to find out more about green projects happening in Tokyo or want to make friends, socialize and get connected, then come and join us! green drinks is an international gathering held in over 600 cities around the world. In the past, we have had visitors from London, Paris, Toronto, San Francisco, Chicago, Mexico, Hamburg, Hong Kong and more.
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Pink Cow Connections: PCC – #71 – “Escape the Rat Race” – Live the Life of Your Dreams
When: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 7:00 PM
Where:
The Pink Cow
1-3-18 Shibuya-ku
Tokyo
3406-5597PCC – Pink Cow Connections – #71
Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Doors open: 19:00
Presentation starts 19:30
Location: The Pink Cow http://thepinkcow.com—————————————————————————-
Topic: “Escape the Rat Race” – Live the Life of Your Dreams,
by Brad Hall.
—————————————————————————-Have you ever thought of dropping out of the rat race; escaping to a tropical island; or simply living a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle?
For our next PCC event on March 9 Brad Hall will survey “Options for dropping Out of the Rat Race” – Live the Life of Your Dreams. Currently, there is a net migration from almost every prefecture of Japan, into the metropolitan areas of Tokyo and Osaka. Yet, these are the places with the lowest life expectancies in the country. Must we rush to our deaths? Isn’t there a better way to live?
Brad will discuss various options for better living such as Homesteading, Eco-villages, the ‘New Farmer’ Boom in Japan as well as just plain ‘dropping out’.
It was just a few short years ago that Brad himself ‘dropped out’ by leaving his Wall Street career and escaping to Maui, Hawaii, to live off the land and restore degraded farm land. More recently he has been working on restoring traditional farmhouses in a vanishing village in Yamanashi along with other projects related to healthy and sustainable living.
Brad will point the way to some real avenues available today for you to start transforming yourself and inventing your future self. He will explain why he did it, how he did it, and how you can too. “Change Your Story, Change Your World”.
More details on Brad’s work here: http://www.earthembassy.org
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Entry: ¥2,000 includes light food. Doors open at 7:00pm. Program starts at 7:30pm with open networking after.
Registration is requested of all guests and members.
For RSVP or questions please contact:
Anthony at ajblick@consult-bc.com, or Traci at cowmail@thepinkcow.com.You can also join us on Meet Up at:
http://www.meetup.com/pinkcowconnections/For more info please check www.pinkcowconnections.com.
There is also a live webcast of all the events as well as archives at: http://www.ustream.tv/thepinkcow
====== SPONSORS ======
The Pink Cow – cool place, yummy food!
http://www.thepinkcow.comBC Consulting – Marketing & Communications consultancy http://www.consult-bc.com
CVP http://hq.andrewshuttleworth.com/
======Supported by POKEN ======
This is a “Poken Friendly” event, so bring your Poken or get one from the Pink Cow.
Poken is your ’social business card.’ It’s the easy way to share your
contact details and online social networks in the real world.
Meet. Connect. Stay in touch!Learn more here:
http://www.meetup.com/pinkcowconnections/calendar/12618014/ -
Mar 15 Green Leaders Forum: Green Media & Web2.eco
Mar 3rd, 2010
The British Council and eQualC Sustainability Communications Present:
Green Leaders Forum: Green Media & Web2.eco
Mon March 15, 2010 @ British Council
The Green Leaders Forum @ British Council is a free monthly learning and networking event for leaders in Green Business, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability.
- For the March Green Leaders Forum, we are delighted to have Setsu Mori, President, Alterna Magazine, kick off the evening with a presentation on Alterna’s role in establishing the Green Media Alliance in Tokyo and how Alterna is taking advantage of Web2.eco tools to reach a wider audience (Japanese with English interpretation).
- Mori-san’s presentation will be followed by discussion groups with around 5-10 people each. The groups will be led by a Green Leader (GL) in Green Media and/or Web2.eco (see Green Leaders below). Groups will focus on a specific theme selected by that GL, with a short (5 min) introduction speech by the GL. The group will then report back with one key point on the most useful thing they came up with in that area. (Note: Each discussion group will speak primarily in English OR Japanese, as selected by the Green Leader.)
- Location: British Council, Kagurazaka (Iidabashi Station)
- Map: http://www.britishcouncil.org/japan-about-us-tokyo-centre-contact-details.htm
- Date/Time: Monday March 15, 2010 from 7pm to 9pm
- Cost: FREE!! Includes wine, soft drinks and finger food
GREEN LEADERS
Discussion Group Primary Language: [J] = Japanese; [E] = English
- [J] Setsu Mori, Alterna; Topic: The Launch of Alterna S, a new platform
for green youth - [J] Nao Suzuki, biopio/greenz.jp; Topic: Green Streams, How to
live-stream green events with UStream and Twitter - [J] Eriko Nakata, Sotoko Magazine; Topic: International team building and
management at a leading Green Magazine - [E] Luke Poliszcuk, eQualC; Topic: Finding Your Audience, or how to
engage blog readers by learning to listen; How I established a
community of 20,000 people in two months for free with Mixi - [E] Camilla Lie Jenssen, Naked Communications; Topic: The Science of
“Buzz”, or how to monitor what people are saying online about your
company
To reserve a space, please send an email to info@equalc.com with the subject line “Green Leaders Forum” and the following details today!
- Name:
- Job Title:
- Company:
- Tel:
- Where you heard about the workshops:
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About the Green Leaders Forum @ British Council
The Green Leaders Forum @ British Council is a free monthly learning and networking event for leaders in Green Business, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability.
These events provide a forum for leading thinkers and practitioners from business, NGOs, NPOs and government, as well as entrepreneurs, media and those with a general interest to discuss areas such as CleanTech and Alternative Energy, the Environment and Climate Change, and Green Business, CSR and Sustainability.
The last GLF was an amazing event with over 70 people attending despite the rain! A huge thank you to all of our guests and speakers and to the British Council for providing such a great venue.
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About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. The British Council was established in the UK in 1934 and has been in Japan since 1953. It operates in over 100 countries worldwide and welcomes over 8.5 million visitors every year.
- British Council, 1-2 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0825
- T +81 (0)3 3235 8031 / F +81 (0)3 3235 8040
- Iidabashi Station, 6 mins (Sobu, Yurakucho, Namboku, Tozai and Oedo lines)
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PV Expo Starts This Week In Tokyo
Mar 1st, 2010
PV Expo 2010, arguably the most important photovoltaic technology exhibition in Asia, kicks off at Tokyo Big Sight this week. If you are interested in solar energy, it’s a can’t-miss event. Although not widely known, Japan has some of the world’s largest eco and green festivals in the world… and from our expose on the washing machine that knows how smelly you are at the Eco Products Expo at Tokyo Big Site (attendance around 170,000 people!) to the “Go Ethical” food promotion for locavores and other ecovores at Earth Day in Yoyogi Park (attendance over 150,000!), you can bet greenz will be there to cover them all!
At PV Expo 2010 there will be more than 570 solar technology companies and organizations participating, including major Japanese manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Electric. Just a few weeks ago, the company revealed that it had achieved a new efficiency record in its thin-film solar cells, so it is likely to draw huge crowds to its PV Expo booth this week.
PV Expo 2009 had over 60,000 visitors!
A number of foreign manufacturers are also scheduled to display their latest products at the show, including Chinese photovoltaic-module producer Trina Solar and panel maker Canadian Solar, which is aggressively expanding its presence in the Japanese market.
I’m looking forward to some of the seminars that will be held in conjunction with the exhibition, including discussions on the latest efforts to commercialize the production of organic solar cells and an overview of smart grid systems.
PV Expo runs from Wednesday, March 3 to Friday, March 5. Sign up for tickets here.
