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23 May 2008

Laurie in Kyoto

Posted by: Laurie Bennett

Laurie in Kyoto

I'm in Kyoto at the moment, home of the (in)famous protocol. Although Kyoto doesn't seem to have gone to town as such on tackling climate change (for every bicycle there still exists a hectare of neon), I have discovered one interesting princple of Japanese philosophy, which is coming back into its own these days.

It is 'mottanai' - the philosophy of avoiding waste.

I learnt it from a 16 year-old Japanese 'Climate Champion' whilst facilitating a workshop in Kobe in the run up to the G8 Youth Summit. Since then, it's popped up not just in Japan but elsewhere in international green current affairs.

I've even seen it in practice. The place I'm staying at has a wash basin built into the top of the toilet cistern. So when you flush the toilet, it refills the cistern via the basin. Ingenious. Youtube video to follow I promise!

Comments (3)
  1. doug said on 23 May 2008 16:53:09

    I would love to see a video of your toilet. Is that weired? I'd even be interested in a sketch.
  2. ed Gillespie said on 23 May 2008 16:57:58

    That's great Laurie - but have you tried all the different functions on a techno toilet yet?; )
  3. laurie bennett said on 24 May 2008 00:15:15

    Yes. I will remember (probably less than fondly) various encounters with invasive jets of water for some time to come. On a more positive note, if we can replicate the self-heating toilet seat in an eco-friendly way (and not simply by using the loo immediately after spomeone else), there's money to be made!

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