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| To save the earth we need to revolutionize our civilization |
Revolutions result in radical changes to political, economic and social structures. Past revolutions include the French revolution, Russian revolution and Industrial Revolution, but what the human race requires now in this century is a revolution in human civilization throughout the world. I believe this because we will not enable us to save the global environment and humankind by reforming only parts of our society. Revolutionary change is the only way to overcome the following unprecedented crises which are threatening the very existence of the earth.
- Sea level rises -
Global warming is expected to result in the melting of the world’s two great ice shelves, in Greenland and in Antarctica, causing major sea level rises before the end of this century.
- Water shortages -
In a worst case scenario, climate change and irrigation for agriculture is expected to result in up to 7 billion people in 60 countries facing water shortages by the middle of this century. Even in a best case scenario, 2 billion people in 40 countries may be affected. Water shortages also have a serious effect on agriculture and may lead to food shortages. This is a critical issue for Japan as we import 60% of our food.
- Water contamination -
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reports that every year 5 million people die from diseases caused by poor quality water supplies and that 2.2 million people die annually from disease caused by contaminated water and poor sewage facilities.
- New strains of influenza -
There is a significant possibility that in the near future avian influenza will mutate into a new type of influenza that can be transmitted among human beings. A pandemic could result in hundreds of millions of deaths worldwide.
- Financial crisis -
The impact of the financial crisis that began in the US is proving even more severe than expected. In many countries including Japan, numerous firms have gone bankrupt and many laborers many lost their jobs. A great depression is already starting to take hold.
From the examples above, we can clearly see that we cannot overcome the various crises we face using only existing methods and reforms. That is why I believe that there is no future for us unless we are able to implement revolutionary change.
However, I am pleased that there is some light shining in this dark crisis. In the US a revolution is beginning to address the problems that began in that same country. The leader of this revolution is of course Barack Obama, the President-Elect of the United States. The Obama administration is to launch a Green New Deal that will overcome economic, climate change and energy problems through major investment in environmental and energy technology.
The Obama administration plans to invest the equivalent of 15 trillion yen over the next decade in promoting green energy. Such a program would have been unthinkable under the Bush administration. It is ironic that the environmental destruction and financial crises that were allowed to occur in the US by the Bush administration will now being addressed by the revolutionary change advocated by the subsequent administration.
In all countries, not only the US, it seems clear that such revolutionary change can only occur through a change of government. Of course, ‘Green Policies’ are not sufficient to address all of the crises I listed at the start of this article. We will require other structural reforms that revolutionize society as a whole. Even if all of humankind works together to address global warming it may be impossible for us to prevent it, but we should at least try to delay its onset.
Another ironic situation is that while the US, for better or worse, leads the world, Japan faithfully follows the US. Whether in the Iraq War, or in the ‘War on Terror’, Japan consistently acts according to US demands. Furthermore, the US-led market fundamentalism pursued under the Koizumi administration has resulted in increased levels of inequality in Japan, creating a society increasingly polarized into rich and poor. The result of these polices can now be seen in the extremely deep nature of the current recession.
We in the DPJ must also reflect on our conduct. It is true that we had moved further than the ruling coalition in developing global warming countermeasures even before President-Elect Obama began to do likewise. I also did what I could to advance these efforts. However, our proposed measures did not go as far as those proposed by Mr. Obama. It was only when Mr. Obama published his green energy measures (New Energy for America) that the DPJ finally began work on a Japanese version of the Green New Deal policies. With reference to Mr. Obama’s aim of creating 5 million new jobs, we are working to revise our proposals. We need deeper debate over the possibility of creating, for example, 2.5 million jobs in Japan. As a lawmaker responsible for the DPJ’s global warming policies, I am pained because this is one area where Japan should be able to take the lead and implement action ahead of the United States.
Despite this, there is of course nothing wrong with trying to learn from precedents in the US and we are forced to concede that Japan is unfortunately far too conservative to lead a global revolution. In order to tackle these crises, particularly food crises, I will, with your support, increasingly dedicate myself to revitalizing Japan’s agricultural industry and addressing environmental issues.
Marutei TSURUNEN
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| Tsurunen Marutei official
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