Purpose

The economic development achieved by Japan in a 20th-century was supported by the mass consumption of energy from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, as well as from nuclear energy. Conversely, fears about the exhausting of natural resources and the pollution of the environment were already being expressed as early as the mid-19th century. However, even today, there is still insufficient social awareness of the severity of such problems. Furthermore, technologies for the efficient utilization of energy and energy-saving technologies are not only underdeveloped, at present, it is also very difficult to put the technologies that do exist into wide-spread application.
There is certainly no doubt of the fact that, in recent years, we have been faced with numerous irrevocable environmental changes, including acid rain that has destroyed massive amounts of vegetation, and the steady increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, which is causing climatic changes. On the other hand, although we are facing the impending depletion of several natural resources, today's society is also discarding massive amounts of materials, so much so that we are threatened with the imminent problem of insufficient space to handle all of the industrial and household waste being generated. Nuclear energy also requires the careful handling of radioactive materials as well as the processing and storage of radioactive waste. As such, the use of nuclear energy is plagued with conflicts stemming from differences in values and clashes of interests.
Looking at the conditions of the world today, Asia in particular, where countries with large populations are undergoing rapid economic and industrial development, it becomes exceedingly apparent that we must take a global standpoint in the consideration of solutions for such energy and environment related problems. In other words, while we aim to advance and spread technologies for the efficient utilization and conservation of energy, we must also conceive a society filled with vitality based on the exhaustive pursuit of energy conservation, and then work to spread this concept and take the lead in guiding the world to achieve similar efforts. One might say that this is an urgent obligation we have to future generations.
Looking back over the past, we see that through the 1200-year history of Kyoto, the city has developed an outstanding culture that can be held as a proud example to the world. It could also be said that Kyoto is ideally suited as the base for the formation of social activity that bravely faces these fundamental problems head-on, and works toward the radical resolution of these problems, the most grave and the most difficult problems ever faced by humankind.
Thus, we volunteers have established the Kyoto Energy-Environmental Research Association. This nonprofit organization is recruiting all types of technological specialists and supporters who are considering the needs of future generations. Our goal is to contribute to society through the promotion of technologies related to energy and the environment, the collection and analysis of data, and the education and spread of information about the concepts of sustainable social systems. Fundamentally, by functioning as a fair and impartial third-party organization, this research association, through its activities in Kyoto, shall aim to increase national and global awareness of today's environmental problems, achieve practical and realistic results, and make widespread contributions to the public good.

Written by Shingu : April 2, 2001 12:57 AM