Stephen Hesse - The Japan Times

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Stephen Hesse

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Stephen Hesse

Stephen Hesse is an educator and writer living in Tokyo. He graduated from Vermont Law School, where he received a JD and an LLM, and is now a professor in the Law Faculty of Chuo University, Tokyo, as well as Associate Director of the Chuo International Center.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Nov 28, 2002

From oil-dependent past to hydrogen future

Making a global transition from fossil fuels to clean hydrogen-energy systems seems like pure science fiction -- until you meet Amory Lovins.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Nov 14, 2002

Thinking outside the box on fuel

First of two parts Part professor, part engineer and part philosopher, Amory Lovins is perfectly suited for the role of alternative-energy guru. A Lovins presentation is a seamless tapestry of economics, physics and mechanical engineering, sprinkled with corny one-liners, startling insights and revealing...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Oct 24, 2002

Getting up close and personal with global issues

While studying and researching in England several years ago, Eno Nakamura was surprised to find that Japanese and English children had strikingly different views of the future. That contrast convinced her of a critical need for Japanese schools to put more emphasis on "the future," and to get their students...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Oct 10, 2002

Women are the key to conserving Mother Earth

Danielle Nierenberg may work in the shadow of the White House, but she is clearly more enlightened than the man who lives there. At the end of April, the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute released a policy brief written by Nierenberg, a staff researcher. The title of her paper is a succinct statement...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Sep 26, 2002

Ozone hole? Soon it could be . . . 'what hole?'

Despite the international set-to over Iraq and caustic reviews for the recent U.N. Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, there is still some good news on cooperation and the environment.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Sep 12, 2002

Agreeing to disagree makes no sense at all

The deluge of posters, pamphlets and platitudes that roared out of Johannesburg during the 2002 Earth Summit has ended, though to no one's surprise this summit's conclusions were much the same as those of the first Earth Summit in Rio a decade ago.

ENVIRONMENT

Aug 25, 2002

Your planet needs you!

From the depths of our oceans to our atmosphere's ozone layer, there is little doubt that the global environment is taking a beating. Even so, most of us are still waiting for someone else to take action, which is why the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development starting this week in Johannesburg,...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Aug 22, 2002

Time to change, or find another planet

First of two parts Next week, tens of thousands of politicians, bureaucrats, activists and policy analysts will descend on Johannesburg, South Africa, for the largest conference in human history: the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Aug 8, 2002

UNEP envoy strikes the right eco-chord

Tokiko Kato has been popular in Japan for decades as a singer and songwriter who is passionate about people and the planet. Two years ago, when the Environment Ministry asked her to act as a Special Envoy to the United Nations Environment Program it was a natural fit. Since then she has established herself...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jul 25, 2002

Drive to halt pork 'n' ride tide

The rivers of Nagano Prefecture still flowing as nature intended may yet survive. If they do, it will be largely due to former (and perhaps soon to be re-elected) Gov. Yasuo Tanaka, whose "no more dams" policy directly challenges pork-barrel politicians who for decades appear to have put construction-industry...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jul 11, 2002

Diving and biking to eco-awareness

Excuse me for a moment if I boast, but I am delighted with the progress my backyard is making in its quest for biological diversity. No doubt my neighbors view my garden as unruly and overgrown, but as it's no bigger than a parking space, I let it have its way.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jun 27, 2002

Swimming against the tide of marine good sense

Several years back, the Fisheries Agency of Japan began claiming that whaling is necessary to protect valuable fisheries. The agency argues that if we do not kill whales, they will eat millions of tons of fish that are rightfully destined for human consumption. Since some whale populations are increasing,...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jun 13, 2002

'Dark Side' proved a lightning rod for readers' ire

Being a columnist can be lonely. Apart from doing interviews, researching and writing are pretty solitary activities and feedback is limited. Getting a handful of e-mails, be they cranky, critical or supportive, marks a successful column.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

May 23, 2002

Scientists petition Japan to lay down harpoons

Early this week, readers of the New York Times may have been surprised to find among its pages a full-page petition, in English and Japanese, signed by 21 eminent scientists, including Richard Dawkins, E.O. Wilson and Jane Lubchenco, and the Nobel prize-winners Roger Guillemin, Sir Aaron Klug and Alan...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

May 9, 2002

Crafting public opinion to fit fisheries policy

Kind and gentle reader, I have a confession to make that may shock you. It is necessary to tell you this because, unlike many politicians and bureaucrats, I believe truth and transparency are essential. So here it is: I have eaten whale.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Apr 25, 2002

Japan: A land gone to the dogs?

Alex Kerr loves Japan as much as anyone, but he knows much more about it than most. With the publication April 25 of "Inu to Oni" (Kodansha) -- a translation of his book "Dogs and Demons" (Hill and Wang, 2001) -- Japanese, too, will be able to share his insight. As it says on the cover of "Dogs and Demons,"...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Apr 11, 2002

NGOs and odd bedfellows point the way

Back in the 1960s, plastics were the future. As a result, a significant part of that future will be spent cleaning up after the past. So here is a tip for those of you making plans to help save the Earth: Consider a career in environmental economics. And if you're already working as an environmentalist,...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Mar 28, 2002

Insights from alumni are just one perk of the job

As a university professor, March ought to be a pleasure. There are no classes and few meetings. It is, though, a bittersweet month. Students who have become an integral part of the fabric and rhythm of my life are graduating. Most of the names and faces will fade, but many will be remembered, and a few...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Mar 14, 2002

You win some and you lose some . . .

Ten years ago, on March 12, 1992, this column began its life on these pages. Though it's still "green," when compared with colleagues who have graced The Japan Times for several decades, Our Planet Earth has now appeared more than 245 times.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Feb 28, 2002

Bush fiddles figures as the globe warms up

Last June, in the Rose Garden of the White House, President George W. Bush declared the Kyoto Protocol "fatally flawed in fundamental ways," and dubyaed it "unrealistic, arbitrary and not based on science."

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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