Today is April 22, which means that if you have any sort of eco-conscious, you have already picked up on the Earth Day theme here at Gadling.
Truth be told, Japan isn’t always the first country that comes to mind when you think of the modern conservation movement. Sadly, the Japanese have something of a reputation for environmental insensitivity, particularly when it comes to their increasing whaling efforts despite mainstream international protest.
However, you don’t need to spend much time in Japan to realize that the people here are in fact becoming more and more eco-sensitive. Since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the country has taken an admirable self-assessment of its role in the global warming crisis.
In fact, Japan has since launched one of the world’s most extensive recycling programs, mandated a decreased dependence on air-conditioning during the hot and sticky summer months, and branded the word ‘eco’ as something trendy and fashionable.
So, in honor of this year’s Earth Day celebration, Big in Japan is happy to bring you the latest environmentally friendly news from the Land of the Rising Sun, namely that Japan has started shortening its baseball games in an effort to fight global warming.
How cool is that?
Although few Americans are aware of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), it has produced a number of major Major League Baseball (MLB) players including Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka among others. Known as the Puro Yakyū (プロ野球) in Japanese, the NPB has a long history dating back to 1934 when it was originally founded as the Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club (大日本東京野球倶楽部, Dai-nippon Tōkyō Yakyū Kurabu).
In an effort to make their baseball games more green, the NPB has implemented a plan to shorten its games, thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions at stadiums (as well as fighting boredom by speeding up the pace!). According to an official task force appointed by the NPB, staging baseball games results in huge amount of discharged carbon dioxide due to the movements of players and spectators, as well as the tremendous amount of energy needed to light up stadiums.
On average, game time will be cut by six percent, or about 12 minutes. Teams will be required to spend no more than two minutes and 15 seconds when they change from fielding to batting, and pitchers will be asked to throw within 15 seconds of receiving the ball from the catcher when no runners are on base.
This proposal to cut playing time was set in accordance with Japan’s pledge to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by six per cent from 1990 levels. Sadly however, Japan is struggling to meet its obligations under the Kyoto protocol, though there is hope that this will change in the years to come, especially since the Japanese public has taken on a greater interest in fighting global warming.
From all of us here at Gadling, think big this Earth Day, and remember to respect Mother Earth!
** All images were courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **