(LinkAsia: March 22, 2013)
Thuy Vu:
And finally, on a lighter note, it's springtime in Japan. Cherry blossom season, a big event in Japan, is just about over. But there's another rite of spring. This one is in Kyoto, the old capital. It involves a lot of heavy lifting. Here's Japan's national broadcaster, NHK.

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NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: March 21, 2013

 

Reporter:

It doesn't get any busier than this in the Old Daigoji Temple. Contestants try to lift a giant rice cake, or mochi. The women's weight is 90 kilograms. The men's: 150 kilograms. They hold it for as long as possible, making an offering to the gods with their physical strength. Serious challengers can train at a mochilifting center. They stopped by on their way from work. Tires are used instead of cakes. Mieko Tanaka manages the center. Twenty-five years ago, business troubles were getting her down. So she entered the event for the first time. On her third attempt a few years later, she came in first.

Mieko Tanaka, mochi-lifting center:
You learn not to be discouraged. That's what attracts people to this event.

 

Reporter:
Mika Kitagishi is entering the event for the first time, to cheer up her sick father. The event demands not only upper body strength, but also balance. The trick is to lift the tray at least 85 centimeters and hold it at just the right angle. In the end, it comes down to mental strength, to bear pain and numb leg.

Mika Kitagishi, participant:
I hope when my father sees me pushing myself to the limit, it will cheer him up.

Reporter:
This is the second year Nobuaki Kanaoka has trained here. He is an interior decorator, and his business is suffering. But he enters the contest to get the strength to face the economic slump. The day of the contest arrives. Kitagishi, wishing for her father•s good health. She mustered all her strength, but not her balance.

Mika Kitagishi:
I did my best, but it wasn't enough. Still, I'll tell my father I want him to be healthy this year.

Reporter:
Now it's Kanaoka's turn.

Announcer:
One minute, two minutes...

Kanaoka:
I might collapse tomorrow, but I will hold on a little longer. We're challenging our limits, right?

Announcer:
Two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. Kanaoka finishes second.

Kanaoka:
Second place gives me a completely positive outlook. The training for this contest will give me the energy to face challenges at work.

Reporter:
They make an offering of physical strength. They're granted inner strength. That, plus the satisfaction of challenging themselves to the limit.

 

--

Thuy Vu:
Who gets to eat all that mochi after they are done lifting? I love mochi! That's our show for this week. I'm Thuy Vu. See you again.

(LinkAsia: May 4, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
Over in Japan, power company officials are looking ahead to the summer, and they're already sweating. If this summer is anything like the record one from 2010, they say electricity shortages will be inevitable unless they can restart a number of nuclear reactors that have been shut down for maintenance this past year. NHK explains what's going on.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: May 1, 2012

Reporter:
They are currently 50 nuclear reactors in Japan. Over the last year, those that were still in service were taken offline for inspections one after another. The only one still in operation is Hokkaido Electric's Tomari plant, but it too will be shut down for regular inspection this coming Saturday. Japan's nine power companies have released their estimates for supply and demand this summer. They assume temperatures this year would reach the record highs of 2010. The estimates suggest Hokkaido, Kansai and Kyushu electric power companies will all face shortages. The situation is especially serious for Kansai Electric, which is the most dependent on nuclear power.

Kansai Electric Power Company Official:
A summer as hot as in 2010 will generate a power demand of 30.3 kilowatts, but we will be 16.3 percent short.

Reporter:
The analysts predicted corporations and consumers would contribute to efforts to save power, including the Cool Biz campaign. Demand could exceed supply if the summer turns out to be hotter than expected, resulting in blackouts. Utilities imposed planned blackouts last year to prevent such a situation. That forced many factories to curb production and had a significant impact on peoples' lives.

Yul Kwon:
Now in an effort to produce more energy, Japanese government officials are planning to restart two nuclear reactors at the Ohi plant in central Japan. But ever since last year's nuclear disaster in Fukushima-Daiichi, Japanese consumers have been concerned about nuclear safety, and so are local officials, who are pushing back on the national government's plan to restart the reactors.

Reporter:
Kiyoshi Yamada heads Tokyo's crisis management team. He met with Tetsui Yamamoto, a senior representative of the government's nuclear and industrial safety agency. Yamamoto explained that the government is dedicated to putting new safety standards in place following the accident at Fukushima-Daiichi. That explanation wasn't enough for Yamada.

Kiyoshi Yamada, Kyoto Official:
Your explanations are inconsistent with our demands.

Reporter:
Government officials decided last month that the Ohi reactors need to be restarted to provide sufficient power to the region during the summer. The reactors are now offline for regular checkups.

With the close of week one of climate negotiations in Copenhagen, parties are beginning to come forth with proposals of what their countries are prepared to do...or not do, depending on who you ask. Japan's targets, for example, while ambitious, come with conditions. The Japanese Prime Minster has declared he would not sign an agreement extending the Kyoto Protocol that did not hold big emitters like the U.S. and China accountable. The EU, on the other hand, made what some call a bold leadership move by pledging 7.2 billion euros over the next three years in international adaptation funding. Developing countries, however, claim it's simply not enough.

 

Meanwhile, U.S. President Obama received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, which was partly awarded to him based on his work on climate change. In his acceptance speech, Obama identified climate change as an international security issue due to the threats of forced migration and further instability within already volatile areas that face diminishing natural resources, famine, and disease.

To wrap up the week, a "draft final text" was released, raising questions about nuclear power funding, global temperature targets, and plans for long term adaptation support. This was followed by yet another draft which appeared as a rebuttal to the controversial Danish Text leaked earlier in the week. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out next week!

In the meantime, keep following LIVE coverage of the events on Copenhagen 24/7 and check out this video on the effects of climate change on "Dead Zones" in American waterways. These are very real places!

 

 

Today, with the start of climate negotiations in Copehagen, Link TV has teamed up with OneClimate.net and Justin.tv to launch the pioneering Copenhagen 24/7, a live webstream of breaking news, press conferences, and pre-recorded crowd-sourced video, straight from the frontlines of the summit. Follow summit events as they unfold and participate in a live chat with the millions of other viewers expected to tune in December 7-19, 2009.

While up to 200 global leaders, officials, and ministers are expected to participate in the historic negotiations to determine parameters of the next phase of the Kyoto Protocol, many are skeptical that parties will actually be able to deliver a comprehensive international agreement, and protestors have already begun to mobilize. Many developing nations have even stated that they are prepared to walk out of negotiations if fair and binding terms, that address their needs specifically, are not reached. Adaptation funding, clean technology transfer, and emission reduction targets are just a few of the issues that will undoubtedly present challenges for both developed and developing countries to consent on.

Midway through negotiations, on December 12th, people all over the world will be taking action to ensure participating parties heading into the final days of negotiations are prepared to deliver a real deal that safeguards the future of citizens worldwide.

So be sure to tune in to Copenhagen 24/7 to follow these exciting events, and up-to-the-minute news straight from the source. And follow Link's Action Alerts on Twitter for more updates on Climate Change, and to find out what you can do!

 

It seems that more and more people are talking climate change these days, but why is it important? How will global warming really affect us? Moving the global warming conversation from the esoteric to one that requires everyone's immediate attention, Link TV's new series Climate Change Hits Home brings you weekly stories of climate change's direct effects on us. As we inch closer to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December, check out the facts, videos and action ideas for improving the adverse impact of climate change on our planet.

 

In a season of a high-profile Supreme Court nomination, economic stimulus, and early health care negotiations, why are we hearing so little about the Obama administration's environmental and energy policy?

 

The answer may lie in Obama's use of terms like "clean coal," "carbon capture and storage," and "cap and trade" that imply more a gesture of environmentalism rather than a full-scale energy revolution. In recent weeks, Obama has deferred to House Democrats to craft a climate change bill that creates the first carbon emissions trading system loosely modeled on EU energy policy. The plan though, in giving away 85% of carbon trade permits to industry for free, sets far more modest goals than the EU system for reducing carbon emissions.

 

Obama has been even more quiet about a $2.4 billion rollout this month of "clean coal" investments designed to reduce the environmental impact of coal-powered energy. Environmentalists like Al Gore mock the very idea of clean coal power, but similar programs are being implemented in the EU and China as economic stimulus measures.

 

Even as energy policy takes a back-seat to other administration priorities, there is still pressure to move quickly on new programs. Obama has promised to raise substantial revenue from carbon emissions trading to help pay for expenses like universal health care. Also, there is hope that Obama will sign on to global energy standards this December in Copenhagen to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which previous U.S. administrations never implemented.

 

Watch the Global Pulse episode on "clean coal" policy here.