#2337 Global warning danger zone ：地球温暖化危険域へ突入 Jun. 22, 2013

  6月20日付ジャパンタイムズ社説を紹介する。ハワイのマウナロア観測所の観測データによれば、CO2の大気濃度が5月中旬に400ppmを超えた、「過去300万年間でCO2濃度が最大値」を記録し、「歴史的な閾値を超えて新たな危険ゾーンに突入した」と書いている。

(5)  Japanese politicians must pay serious attention to what is happening, and what will happen, to Earth. In mid-May, the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii reported that levels of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, topped 400 parts per million (ppm), marking the highest level in the past 3 million years.

(6)  “With 400 ppm CO₂ in the atmosphere, we have crossed a historic threshold and entered a new danger zone,” United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres warned.

  このまま努力がなされなければ、平均気温が3.6度～5.3度上昇すると書いてあるが、2度とされてきたのがこれまでの推計値だったから、驚きだ。別海町の酪農地帯が水田に変わり、平均200町歩もある農家の年収は10倍にもなるだろう。
　根室のマチの中心街の緑町や弥生町、本庁の海岸部、汐見町などが海になる。その頃には根室の人口は1万人程度だから、高台へ次第に移住していけばなんともない。人口減少は悪いことばかりではない。まるで違った自然風景が現出する。
　たぶん、漁業は壊滅状態になるだろう。北極からの深層海流が止まってしまうからだ。北極で冷やされ沈み込んで北方領土の辺りで表層へ吹き上がるプランクトンの豊かな深層海流がとまるのだから、豊かな漁場はなくなってしまう。
　根室の漁師、漁業組合のなんとのんびりしていることよ。地球温暖化など自分たちに関係なしと思っていたらとんでもない。安倍政権の温暖化無策にクレームを言うべき利害関係人の一つが根室で漁業関係の仕事に携わっている人たちだ。
　そういう意味でも、この記事は弊ブログ#2336とあわせて根室の高校生にぜひ読んで考えてもらいたい記事なのである。

　日本政府は京都議定書以降、CO2削減にほとんど努力をしていない、まるで電力会社の僕に成り下がったようだ。国民とは反対の方向を向いている。それを"kowtowing"という言葉で表している。"叩頭"という中国語が英語になったのだろうが、日本語と発音が同じようだ。

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ネット辞書「英辞郎」より
http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=kowtow&ref=sp
kowtow

【名】

1. 叩頭｛こうとう｝、叩首｛こうしゅ｝◆膝をつき、額を地面に付けるおじぎ。深い尊敬や従属の意を表す、かつて中国で行われていたおじぎの仕方。◆【語源】中国語のkou（叩）tou（頭）から。
2. こびへつらい、卑屈｛ひくつ｝な態度｛たいど｝

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　めずらしく英文は簡単である。いくつかの単語を辞書で引けば内容をとらえるのはそうむずかしくないはずだ。高校の教科書にそのまま使えるような分かりやすい英文になっているので、解説の必要もないだろう。

power station:発電所

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/06/20/editorials/global-warming-danger-zone/
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Editorials

Global warming danger zone

(1)  Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases remains a vital issue that the international community has yet to tackle. Failure to adequately respond to the threat of global warming will bring devastating results to human beings.

(2)  Developed countries especially have a great responsibility to take sufficient measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases because their industrial activities have emitted huge amounts of such gases over many decades.

(3)  Regrettably the Japanese general public’s interest in the issue appears to be low these days, and very few political leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party government are ready to take the initiative to deal with global warming. The Abe administration must drop its indifferent attitude toward the issue and accelerate efforts to mitigate global warming.

(4)  The Democratic Party of Japan introduced the goal of reducing Japan’s emissions of greenhouse gases 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered a review of the goal, suggesting that Japan will slacken its efforts to reduce emissions. In fact, Mr. Abe has said little about the problem of global warming and has not shown any leadership in tackling it.

(5)  Japanese politicians must pay serious attention to what is happening, and what will happen, to Earth. In mid-May, the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii reported that levels of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, topped 400 parts per million (ppm), marking the highest level in the past 3 million years.

(6)  “With 400 ppm CO₂ in the atmosphere, we have crossed a historic threshold and entered a new danger zone,” United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres warned.

(7)  The International Energy Agency said that if countries take appropriate measures to substantially cut emissions between now and 2020, they will be able to, at least in principle, eventually limit global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius over the long term from the pre-Industrial Revolution level. But it warned that if they “continue business as usual,” the temperature will rise 3.6 to 5.3 degrees Celsius.

(8)  It is clear that compared with the DPJ government, the Abe administration is not making aggressive efforts to increase renewable energy sources. In the absence of regulation reform designed to promote green energy sources, the LDP government has loosened regulations for constructing coal-burning power plants. In short, it is kowtowing to power companies.

(9)  Another sign of such kowtowing is its attempt to restart nuclear power plants despite the fact that no safe technology to store radioactive waste has been established.

(10)  Japan has refused to make an emissions reduction commitment for the second commitment period, 2013-2020, under the Kyoto Protocol. Thus Japan lacks both a legally binding emission-reduction goal and a concrete plan to reduce emissions.

(11)  Since 1992, greenhouse gas emissions from Japan’s industrial activities, including emissions from office buildings and power stations, have barely declined. As a result, Japan can no longer boast that it is a leading nation in its efforts to reduce global warming gas emissions. The government should end its complacency and take necessary actions to reverse this tread.

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