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greening of Japan, The

ASEE Prism, Sep 2002

TOKYO-Desperate to get a handle on its billowing air pollution, Tokyo is trying a host of unusual remedies. In April, it commissioned a private joint venture to build a set of experimental windmills on reclaimed land overlooking Tokyo Bay. The pilot project, led by an affiliate of Toyota Motor

Corporation, calls for erecting a pair of 850-kilowatt windmills imported from Denmark this month. If all goes according to plan, the blades will start spinning in March of next year.

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Energy returns are expected to be trivial-a mere 2.5 million kilowatt-hours per year, or only enough to supply about 800 households-but hopes are high that the windmills will electrify interest in green energy. In an attempt to appeal to schoolchildren, the city has even ordered that the windmills be painted a fetching color. The private venture, which was selected from eight candidates, undoubtedly swayed the judges by predicting, with some hyperbole, that "neither New York nor London has an overall plan for renewable energy use, and with this project, Tokyo can become the world leader" in renewable power. Tokyo, like most of Japan, now depends on nuclear and thermal power for most of its energy needs. If the windmills meet performance expectations, the city plans to build more throughout the metropolitan area.

Tokyo has made progress in slashing carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide levels, but efforts to rein in suspended particulate matter, nitrogen dioxides, and photochemical oxidants have been thwarted, largely because of a surge in diesel-powered trucks creeping along the city's horrendously clogged roads.

Battling the so-called "heat island" phenomenon, where vehicle and industrial emissions exacerbate the city's ferociously simmering summer weather, the city and neighboring localities are clamping down. Starting next year, Tokyo and surrounding areas will require particulate filters for all diesel vehicles. Tokyo has also launched an offensive to expand green space from the current 29 percent of the metro area to 32 percent over the next 15 years. "Green space" is loosely defined to include not only forests but everything from rice paddies to rivers to shrubs around office buildings. Now, all new, expanded, or improved buildings of 3,000 square meters or more must cover at least 20 percent of their land and rooftops with plants, turf, trees, or other foliage.

A city environment department spokesman noted with regret that with a continued expansion in roads, the city's clean air initiatives can only hope to arrest the continued decline in local air quality, rather than substantially improve it. "But," he said, "we had to do something."

Copyright American Society for Engineering Education Sep 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

greening of Japan, The

ASEE Prism, Sep 2002

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