Some Inspiration (I Hope) As Japanese TV (As We Know It) Is No Longer

Main stream television is going offline tonight here in Japan, so that the "waves" can be sold off to mobile phone providers, i e some large companies that want you to use your iPhone or cell phone or mobile phone, more, rather than actually talking to people. Sayonara, TV.

I expect more of us will be relying on the Internet, blogs, and so on for our daily basic advertising-free needs. Or not. It is up to us who blog to provide content and stories and support, if that is going to happen.

I still think "main stream media" will have an important role to play. But without bloggers, whistle-blowers, non-governmental organizations, volunteers, comments, suggestions, insights, friendly advice, "hints" (how can I trademark that term - just joking) and the occasional "tweets" the world would be a lot less interesting. Television in Japan has not been very interesting for a while, no big surprise there, as everyone knew it was going to be turned off anyway. Who'd invest in a dying dinosaur? They have known for 4-5 years that digital TV is the next new thing, and had no interest in providing quality programs. Of course, this country could actually save a lot of electricity if everyone just stopped watching TV.

But there are some signs that things will be getting better, in the long-term, which is what I am actually more interested in.

Shinji Fujino, head of the country studies division of the International Energy Agency and "in charge of reviewing energy policies of the IEA member countries" writes:

For the time being, electricity companies will have to bridge the gap between supply and demand by increasing capacity in thermal power plants, in particular plants fired by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Given the available facilities and supply risks of each fossil fuel, LNG will be expected to play a major role. However, greater use of LNG could result in higher electricity prices as well as higher CO2 emissions, which will make it more challenging to meet the Kyoto Protocol target (6% below 1990 levels for the first commitment period 2008-2012).

Japan has a relatively small share of renewables, which account for approximately 5% of its total primary energy supply. The current National Energy Plan has set a target of 10% by 2020. At the G8 summit in France this May, Mr Kan announced a plan to increase renewables to more than 20% of total electricity supply by the early 2020s. The government also plans to install 10 million rooftop photo-voltaic units (solar cells) by 2030. Owing to geographic and climatic conditions, the resource potential for renewable energy in Japan is relatively low when compared with other developed countries.

But necessity is the mother of invention. Tackling these challenges head-on could help Japan's economy to recover, and become more competitive in the long-term.

BBC: Fukushima crisis: Nuclear only part of Japan's problems

(Thanks Tom for the hat tip & finding that article)