Wednesday, June 15, 2011

We still can make the different.

By reduce, reuse and recycle properly, we all together can slow down and stop unnecessary pollution, conserve natural resources, and help slow down global warming.

From papers, PET bottles to cans and batteries, CD, paints, glasses, plastic caps, wire, Styrofoam, electronic appliances, cell phones, computers and cartridges, they are all recyclable.

In Japan, Recyclable wastes are further divided in several subcategories. I have 4 different of garbage collection days and 3 different recycling centers. And it may sound ridiculous to you. But in Japan, there are not way we can dump any home appliances without paying it. That’s one of the reasons why everything looks in so new in Japan. Because if that is still in good shape, you can sell it to the second hand shop; otherwise you have to pay to dump it.

By the way, they best way to drop you used light bulbs and batteries are Ikea. For you cell phone, give it back to your carriers. Honestly, do you really need a new phone? And have not ever thought about where the old one go and I am not going to argue with you they are toxic or not because it is.

Papers

PET bottles

Aluminum cans

Batteries, the funny fact is 50 times more energy is needed to make batteries compared to the amount of energy the batteries can give out.


CD/ DVD -> it can turns into polycarbonate regrind

Paints


Metals

Glass

Fluorescent lights 


Wire

Styrofoam

Home appliances

Cell phones that I used for the last 6 years, I feel sorry that so far I had about 10 cells since it was born. I wish I could keep using my for another 2 years. 

Computer and electronics devices

Toner and cartridge

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

balanced nutrition

People require energy and since it is measured in Calories and is obtained from the body stores or the food we eat. So everyone needs balanced nutrition to maintain their body. And here they are:

Carbohydrates:
Good list: raw or lightly cooked vegetables, fresh or frozen fruits, beans, nuts and seeds.

Bad list: candies, jams, sodas, fruit juices, pudding, custards, processed refined grains, bread, pasta made with any refined flour, cakes, cookies and other sweet bakery products.

Protein:
peanuts, cashews, almonds, eggs, chicken breast, yogurt, turkey, peanut butter, tuna, salmon, cottage cheese,  and milk

Minerals:
Iron list: beet, chicken, clams, dates, dried apricots, dried beans or peas, dried peaches, dried prunes, prune juice, eggs, enriched breads, ham, iron,-fortified cereal, liver, sausage, meat, especially lean beef and pork, molasses (blackstrap), organ meats such as kidney and liver, oysters, raisins, sardines, scallops, shrimp, spinach, tuna, turkey, veal, whole-grain breads

Calcium list: non-fat milk, reduced fat milk, nonfat yogurt, swiss cheese, mozzarella, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, pudding, frozen yogurt, ice cream, black beans, navy beans, fortified cereal, soybeans, spinach, bok choy, kale, corn, mustard green, fortified orange juice, canned salmon, fortified cereal, waffle, soy milk, tofu, almonds and oysters

Fiber: 
apples with skin, fresh and dried apricot, banana, blueberries, cantaloupe, dried figs, grapefruit, orange, fresh and dried peach, pear, plum, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, almonds, black beans, bran cereal, whole wheat bread, brown rice, cashews, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, oats, whole wheat pasta, peanuts, pistachio nuts, pumpkin seeds, soybeans, sunflower seeds, walnuts, avocado, beets, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, cole slaw, collard greens, corn, green beans, celery, kale, onions, peas, sweet peppers, pop corn, potato, spinach, summer squash, sweet potato, swiss chard, tomato, winter squash and zucchini

Fats:
olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, avocados, olives, nuts (almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews), peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines), soymilk and tofu
  
Vitamins and Water:

I hope everyone of you can still health and now you all know what to eat in case you lack of anything. 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

2 months after Fukushima

The Fukushima incident indeed has changed our life of living and thinking that we are safe. You can build a stronger structure to prepare for the earthquake, and you can built a taller tsunami gate to prepare for the tsunami, but we almost can do nothing for this kind of catastrophe or potential future biochemical attack. Anyway, this to months I have used more bottles of water, reserved extra tap water, and spent more money on dried and canned food. It is time to review and go back to my style of living. Let's see how many pledges of 2011 I have been done so far:

My new pledges from 2011:
• Not dump my used cooking oil down the drain (ABLE TO)
• Place a filled water bottle in my toilet tank (ABLE TO)
• Buy and use vegetable-based dishwashing detergent
• Use the least amount of energy when drying my dishes (ABLE TO)
• Use biodegradable, “green" cleaning products
• Use natural hair products
• Replace on hour of television or one hour of computer use per week with something not requiring electricity, like playing with the kids" (ABLE TO)
• Wrap presents creatively without using wrapping paper (GOING TO)
• Purchase and begin brewing with reusable filters with my next trip to the store
• Replace one meat-based meal a week with a non-meat alternative (ABLE TO)
• Ask my local chopstick-supplying restaurants to use reusable ones
• Use solar powered lamp and charger (ABLE TO)
• Decrease the amount of junk & frozen foods and carton drinks
• Don’t buy from vending machine
• Bring you own handkerchief, don’t use the restaurant paper
• Use rechargeable heater instead of the disposable pocket warmer
• Recycle kitchen waste (DON'T KNOW HWO TO)
• Use tube-free toilet papers
• Save the bathtub water for watering and washing
• Take shorter showers and install a low-flow / low pressure shower head
• Buy organic food
• Grow some of my own food
• Buy fresh and prepare myself instead of buying prepackaged and processed foods
• Plant a tree
• Seal my home. Caulk and weather strip my doorways and windows.
• Switch to double pane windows that keep more heat inside my home
• Don’t use electronic hot water pot (PLAN TO)
• Pack light, natural and environmentally friendly products when travel (ABLE TO)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Brand new life

4 new socks, 2 underwear tops, 2 shirts, and a spring coat, along with my existing 4 shirts 4 pants, 5 ties, 2 set of suits, 1 winter coat and the only pair of shoe, I think I am ready for my brand new life in Japan. I will be heading to the Kaihimmakuhari of Chiba for my new job. Starting from a part time kitchen helper to replenish logistic worker, and a IT customer support to full time server support team, it didn’t come easily. It took me 25 months of hard work and unbeatable patient in this new country of mine. However, I don’t have any bits of overconfident because I know that I still have lots that I don’t know, that I will have to learn in the future. I can handle it. I will be able to handle it. I have to handle it. 

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A simple life

I am in the process of preparing my second candle flashlight dinner for tonight- I am actually hate to say that, do any of you realize that we, no longer can live on our own anymore? Everyday, we have to rely on someone on almost everything to survive or to keep us in a well being. That’s really suck. We, no longer can live without light for 3 hours at night; no longer can live without TV or computer for 3 hours; no longer can live without tab water or bottle water; no longer can cook without gas; no longer can live if for 2 weeks without sanitation workers collecting our trash; no longer can survive if all groceries closed for 2 weeks; no longer can go to work without the mass transportation; car become meaningless when gasoline is not in the picture; cell phone become unusable because of overloading, doctor and medicine are not available anymore.

I wish I can, we can, just live a simple lives, no TV and computer, drinking from well and stream, cooking without fire, producing zero trash, growing our own food, going to work by walk or bike, communicating back to way on 20 years ago, not rely on doctor and medicine anymore. Am I thinking too much or peoples are just not thinking? For sure, I don’t need nuclear power plant to my power supply. Do any?

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Iodine level

Radiactive iodine were found in the water supply, however the levels were way below the legal limit of 300 becquerels/kg, Gunma is 2.5 becquerels/kg, Tokyo is 1.5, Chiba is 0.79, Saitma is 0.62 and Niigata is 0.27. So we are all safe for now.

Don't Panic

As yesterday, the radiation leak is not as bad as the media said. In Tokyo, there is about 0.045μSv/hour, which is 0.000045mSv/hour, Saitama prefecture is 0.058μSv/hour and Chiba prefecture is 0.033μSv/hour (today). Even those you are living in Fukushima (20km away from the plant), there is only about 10.80μSv/hour or 0.0108msv/hour. You have to expose for a total of 26 days to equal to one CT scan.

Supplies are back on shelves. Thought rice, dairy products, noodles, candles, flashlight, and batteries are still storage because of months long planned power outage. Yesterday we had our first candle/ flashlight dinner in Japan and 3 hours water-less lives. However, lives are back to normal. I will back to work on next Tuesday and I even have my dentist appointment on the following Wednesday. There is no more radiation crisis on TV all except news. People. Don’t panic! The world is not yet end.

How radiation harm our body (mSv)
Damage of central nervous system and death >10000
Internal bleeding and death 7000-10000
50% death 3000-6000
Unfertilized 4000
Hair lose 3000
Radiation sickness point >2000
Nausea and vomiting 1000
Reduction of white blood cells 500
No harm for human <200
Change in blood chemistry 50-100
Brazil 10.0
CAT scan 6.9
World average year expose 2.4
Stomach x-way 0.6
Roundtrip travel between Tokyo and New York 0.2
Chest x-way 0.05
Living near a power plant year expose 0.05/year

Converstion
1 millisievert (mSv) = 1000 microsievert (μSv)
1ミリシーベルト=1000マイクロ・シーベルト
1 microsievert = 0.001 millisievert
1 millisievert = 0.10000 rem

Thursday, March 17, 2011

I will have just still with them.

有緣生活在災難中的土地, 加倍佩服日本人的團結精神。When I first asked her to consider going back to Hong Kong, her first respond is how about those in Fukushima still left behind. Then, when I asked her how about going to the south for a weeks or two, her respond is people are coming from Fukushima to Saitama, which where I am living, to take shelter. If we are leaving, is that iconic? On top of that, kids still have school, and we can’t just walk away for our duties (jobs) either. Even tough Japan is suffering from the biggest hardship ever. The evacution is only among foreigners and foreign firms. There are very few of Japanese leaving. As now, although trains are in limited sevice, suppliers are limited, water and electronic might cutoff at any moment, but the fact is most Japanese are willing to stay with those still in need and suffering. The only things we can do are to live our life as normal. As you can see on TV, people are lining up in front of train stations for 3 hours in order to go to work. Japan is city like that; they want to keep to city running, not running away from it. A city is only able to function with peoples. If peoples are leaving, who are going to sell us groceries, who are going to operate the trains, and who are going to treat us with when we get sick. While I am still able to use electricity, water, and toilet, and sleep in a bed with a blanket, there are still million up there still living without water, electricity, gas and suppliers for 7 days already, and temperature has just dropped below zero. In this very moment, I will have just stay with them. 

Monday, March 14, 2011

Earthquake aftermath

Japan had the deepest and longest tsunami water gate in the world. But when it comes to Mother Nature, it proofed to be in vain. And now right behind the biggest earthquake ever happened in Japan and a 10 meters high tsunami, it came to an atomic reactor meltdown hazard. There about 18 of nuclear plants all around Japan. It looks like we have nowhere to hide as the fact that radiation travel thousand miles away after explosion.  Let's pray for our safety and the safety of the world.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Tokyo blackout

Please reduce the electricity usage by avoiding using unnecessary standy mode, remove your phone chargers from the outlet, use your banket, not a heater and sunlight, not light bulbs. And you don't need to keep your warmer toilet cover on. Please help out our fellow Japanese. Let's do our parts.

About

Misato, Tokyo, Japan
I was born in Hong Kong and lived in US for 12 years. And now I am living and working in Japan. I am an IT professional and environment protection activist. Yes, I am trilingual. So be WDOB!