Green Polar Bears in Nagoya Zoo!

"Green-colored polar bears shocking Nagoya zoo visitors" is definitely one of the better newspaper headlines I've seen in awhile. Apparently, due to algal overgrowth in the bear's pool over the summer at the central Japan zoo, the polar bears' coats have turned green! Perhaps green polar bear diplomacy will be Japan's next step in relations with China?

In other "green" news in Japan, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington has replaced the former USS Kitty Hawk (of Gulf War fame) in Yokosuka Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture. Although anything nuclear draws some debate in Japan, the carrier's entrance was preceded by reports last month of an American nuclear submarine leaking radioaction as well as a fire aboard the USS George Washington just weeks ago. According to the Japan Times, 450 people gathered to protest the carrier's arrival.

Sailors aboard USS George Washington form "hajimemashite" in Japanese, meaning "nice to meet you". From Japan Times.

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As the Fall begins for me here in Sapporo, I've found myself unable to find a meaningful job in the environmental sector (which may not exist) and so have taken various part-time jobs to pay the bills. My main gig is at a fancy-schmancy "juku", or cram school, where my duties are split between teaching English literature and writing and the standardized TOEFL (test). The students are college and high school age and most intend to attend 4-year American or Canadian universities. I'm constantly impressed by their language ability but am also shocked at how much yen they're putting out for the service. Many of the reading passages from the TOEFL are taken from science textbooks and often hit on environmental issues. Just last week I found myself drawing explanations of the rain-shadow effect, the greenhouse effect, and a moraine on the wipeboard. Who knows -- perhaps I'm grooming the future of the Nicholas School!

Although there are numerous local citizens' organizations that sponsor frequent volunteer events such as trash pick-ups and invasive species removals (removing wild hemp being the most common), there are few full-on NPOs devoted to solving environmental problems -- and of course hiring idle MEMs. I can't help but compare the case to that of the United States, where environmental job postings abound with several clicks of the mouse. I suppose the difference must be superior private and public funding sources available in the US, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know? I heard from a former MEM living in Tokyo working in the development sector that most big NGOs with offices in Japan (Tokyo of course) devote nearly all of their time to fund-raising for projects elsewhere in Asia. From my perspective, the big NGOs in the US spend at least PART of their time working on domestic projects. If Sapporo wasn't such a clean and beautiful city, perhaps a "Friends of Sapporo" could be launched?!