Australia is burning, glaciers are melting, we're only a couple of weeks into the new year but it feels like the end of the world. In Japan, however, the media seems more interested in everything Ghosn than anything green.

Perhaps language has something to do with it. News outlets were quick to make the switch from 地球温暖化 (chikyū ondanka, global warming) to 気候変動 (kikō hendō, climate change) a few years back, but they have been less willing to deploy 気候危機 (kikō kiki, climate crisis), a term that is now used in The Japan Times and some publications in the West.

The word 環境 (kankyō, environment) is one that everyone knows, but the extent of most people's 環境保護 (kankyō hogo, environmental protection) is often the purchase of a マイバッグ (mai baggu), which literally translates as "my bag" and is used for reusable bags that you take with you when shopping. The "my" prefix is currently in vogue, some of my friends are also using マイ箸 (mai hashi, reusable chopsticks), マイボトル (mai botoru, a reusable bottle) and マイストロー (mai sutorō, a reusable straw). And while using your own reusable bottles and straws may not seem like much, I like to think that it gets people into a more environmentally friendly mindset.