From:        sam_milton at harvard.edu
    Subject:     Fellowship announcement: Energy Technology Innovation Policy at Harvard University
Date:             November 20, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

The Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) research group in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School is soliciting applications for post-doctoral fellowships in the following areas:

1)       Carbon capture & storage technology and policy;
2)       Energy technology and policy in India;
3)       Energy technology and policy in China;
4)       U.S. transportation policy;
5)       Climate policy, and
6)       Energy-technology innovation policy

ETIP strives to determine and then seek to promote adoption of effective policies for accelerating the development and deployment of cleaner and more efficient energy technologies, primarily in China, India, and the United States.

Fellowship 1: Carbon Capture & Storage Technology and Policy

ETIP is seeking to fill a Research Fellowship or Visiting Scholarship with a focus on carbon capture and storage (CCS).  The Research Fellow or Visiting Scholar for CCS will contribute to ETIP’s efforts to identify and to promote policies that will enhance carbon capture and storage activities mainly in the United States.  The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director and may lead research efforts in one or more of the following subject areas: geological mapping for carbon storage areas, regulation and legislation affecting CCS, legal liability and insurance issues, international cooperation, and opportunities and challenges for CCS in China and/or India.  The Research Fellow or Visiting Scholar will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present her findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellow for CCS are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent degree.  University faculty members, and employees of government, military, international, humanitarian, and private research institutions may be considered for visiting scholarships. The ideal candidate will have academic and/or professional experience examining issues related to carbon capture and storage technologies, and what policies might be designed to incentivize their development.  Candidates will also have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 2: Energy Technology and Policy in India

ETIP is seeking to fill a Research Fellowship with a focus on energy technology and policy in India.  The Research Fellow will contribute to ETIP’s efforts to identify and to promote policies that will enhance India’s adoption of cleaner and less carbon-intensive energy technologies.  The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director and may lead research efforts in one or more of the following subject areas: identifying opportunities for enhanced efficiencies in Indian thermal power plants, better understanding of available energy resources, institutional development in the Indian energy sector, opportunities for carbon capture and storage in the Indian context, cleaner transportation, or climate policy.  The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present her findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings, which could include interactions with policymakers in both the United States and India.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellowship for Energy Technology and Policy in India are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent. He/she will have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences and will be able to take initiative in interacting with other researchers and policymakers. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 3: Energy Technology and Policy in China

ETIP is seeking to fill a Research Fellowship with a focus on energy technology and policy in China.  The Research Fellow will contribute to ETIP’s efforts to identify and to promote policies that will enhance China’s adoption of cleaner and less carbon-intensive energy technologies, especially cleaner coal or cleaner vehicle technologies.  The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director and may lead research efforts in one or more of the following subject areas: analyzing barriers to development or deployment of cleaner energy technologies, assessing costs of cleaner energy technologies in the Chinese context, identifying RD&D strategies for cleaner energy technologies in China, including for CCS, or other energy or climate policy topics.  The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present her findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings, including interacting with policymakers or other people of influence in the United States and China.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellowship for Energy Technology and Policy in China are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent.  The ideal candidate will have academic and/or professional experience of 3-5 years minimum.  Candidates will have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences and will be able to take initiative in interacting with other researchers and policymakers. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 4:  U.S. Transportation Policy

ETIP is seeking a Research Fellow to contribute to work related to assessing and promoting policy options for reducing oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the U.S. transportation sector.  The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director and may lead research efforts in one or more of the following subject areas: modeling economic, environmental and other impacts of policy options, examining regulatory scenarios related to various policy options, exploring the role of consumers in reducing the impact of transportation sector, and examining the role of biofuels.  The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present his findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellowship on U.S. Transportation Policy are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent. The ideal candidate will have academic and/or professional experience analyzing policy for the U.S. transportation sector; investigating specific transportation-related challenges, and/or developing strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Candidates will also have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences. Candidates will ideally hold a Ph.D. in public policy, economics, political science, or a related field. A clear focus on transportation will be a plus. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 5: Climate Policy

ETIP is seeking pre-and post-doctoral research fellows to work on domestic or international climate policy. The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director. Candidates interested in working on climate policy in China, India, or the United States are particularly encouraged to apply, as well as candidates with a special focus on the intersection between climate policy and energy technology development and deployment.  Technology transfer/cooperation for low-carbon technologies is of special interest. The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present his findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings. The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present his findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellowship on Climate Policy are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent degree. The ideal candidate will have academic and/or professional experience analyzing climate.  Candidates will also have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences. Candidates will ideally hold a Ph.D. in public policy, economics, political science, or a related field. A clear focus on transportation will be a plus. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 6: Energy Technology Innovation Policy

ETIP is seeking fellows to work on energy technology innovation (ETI) policy. The ETI fellows will be committed mainly to a three-year project with three related but distinct goals: 1) producing a comprehensive set of recommendations for the next U.S. administration for a greatly expanded federal energy innovation budget; 2) preparing annual budget commentaries and recommendations to policy makers on current ERD&D spending priorities ; 3) producing a report comparing energy-technology innovation activities in the public and private sectors in the United States and internationally. Fellows will work toward one or several of the above goals.

ETI fellows participate in Congressional briefings, meetings with relevant stakeholders in business, industry, academia, and elsewhere, and interviews with the media.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for ETI fellowships are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent degree. The ideal candidate will have professional experience analyzing policy for publicly-funded ERD&D; developing and analyzing federal budgets for ERD&D; or strategic planning for ETI. Candidates will also have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences. Candidates will ideally hold a Ph.D. in public policy, economics, political science, or a related field. A clear focus on ETI will be a plus. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Application procedures

Applications are due January 15, 2009. ETIP fellowships are for a one-year period, though they may be renewed.

Please visit http://belfercenter.org/fellowships/ for complete application information.

For more information about the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, please visit www.energytechnologypolicy.org.

We encourage applications from women, minorities, and citizens of all countries.  Although we are mainly interested in the above topics and regions, other applications will be considered.

_______________________________________________

Sam Milton, MALD
Project Coordinator, Energy Technology Innovation Policy
Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
79 JFK Street, Box 53, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
(617) 496-5584 phone, (617) 495-8963 fax
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“INNOVATION AFRICA”

The volume (405 pages) was edited by Pascal C.Sanginga, Ann Walter-Bayer, Susan Kaaria, Jemimah Njuki, and Chesha Wetlasinha.

Earthscan, is a publishing house for a sustainable future, based in Dunstan House, 14a St. Cross st., London EC1N 8XA, UK - with a branch at 22883 Quicksilver Derive, Sterling, VA, USA.

www.earthscan.co.uk

The project, meeting and book, were sponsored jointly by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation under the roof of the “Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The goal is tp promote African agricultural development through capacity-building, research and pilot testing of interventions.

At the Kampala meeting participated 140 practitioners and the best 24 articles appear in the 5 parts of this volume.

The conclusions led to five observations,  and I will mention here just the fifth - that says that real innovation emerges by encouraging creativity, and that is not achieved by over-engineering a multiple level of bureaucracy that poses the risk of stifling real discovery. So, it is better to create enabling conditions and incentive structures that encourage information exchange, cooperation and policy changes that unleash bottom-up or lateral innovation.

The first article is of 26 pages on “Conceptual and Methodological Developments in Innovation,” presented by Niels Roeling.

I found interesting his use of “innovation” as a noun - denoting a technology or even a product i.e. hybrid maize. Then he talks about the “diffusion curve” of introducing this innovation for gain by the users. That was the way the subject was taught in the American Mid-West. Eventually he mentions that his thinking was affected by the observation from Landcare in Australia, that “erosion, salination, desiccation and other environmental problems” resulted from the introduction of European farming practices to a continent to which they were not suited. Thus we reach out to grassroots innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the book presents many ways of organizing this sort of development of agricultural knowledge and information systems.

The book ends up presenting many conceptual and methodological developments in promoting innovation by showcasing on-the-ground experiences in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, South Africa, Nigeria.

The volume mentions the changes in global agriculture, the use of biofuels, the increase in meat consumption, droughts and extreme weather caused by climate change, and the resulting increase in the price of food, and asks if those events will make African smallholders competitive in African urban markets. The author is nevertheless not over optimistic. It is the global “treadmill” that prevents African farmers from contributing to global food security and African countries from gaining food sovereignty. The imports of food haveinterfered with the marketting of the local produce beyond the subsistence level.

November 23, 2008

From: Jazz Promo Services
 http://www.chamber-music.org/

PRESENTS   FIRST TUESDAYS

Using New Technology
A FREE WORKSHOP WITH JIM EIGO
President/Jazz Promo Services

December 2, 2008, 3:00-5:00 P.M.
Saint Peter’s Church
619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street
New York, NY

 http://www.jazzpromoservices.com/

Back by popular demand, Jim Eigo broadens his PR workshop to speak about the ins and outs of the music business, with an emphasis on artists who self-produce. He will discuss promotion, marketing, using the Internet, and making the transition from sideperson to bandleader.

Seating is limited; reservations preferred.
R.S.V.P by Wednesday, November 26
 MGIOSI at CHAMBER-MUSIC.ORG  <mailto:  mgiosi at chamber-music.org>

FIRST TUESDAYS is a joint project with Midtown Arts Common and Saint Peter’s Church. It is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Seminar recordings are available at www.chamber-music.org through the support of the MetLife Foundation.

President Bush is now in Peru, telling the leaders of the large Asia-Pacific region how to manage the world economy that his Administration destroyed.

Robert Reich posts that Obama is on track for starting rescue activities on day one of his Presidency, January 20, 2009. http://www.truthout.org/112308Z

On the Fareed Zakaria www.CNN/GPS program Niall Ferguson, who just released “The Ascent of Money” said that in the British system you have elections and when you win you move in on day one. watching what goes on now in the US - the British system is much better. Watching the deliberations in Congress and the way the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Paulson, threw around money without clear attempt at seeking results, it seems  VACUUM is the order of the Washington day. The stock-market was nose diving and the mere hint of an Obama new man, January 20, 2008 at the helm, brought some relieve to the disoriented market.

Gail Collins, wrote in the New York Times: “Time for Him to Go” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/opinion/22collins.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Gail%20Collins&st=cse. We agree!

****

The Fareed Zakaria CNN/GPS second section today was titled GLOBAL MELTDOWN. His guests were Thomas Friedman, Niall Ferguson, and Anne-Marie Slaughter and they discussed the Present Economic Crises. He also had an exclusive interview with former VP Al  Gore.   http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/fareed.z…

Thomas Friedman started out with the question: ” Are we supposed to sit now for two months and do nothing? The bailout has not worked and 2 mo. we may be in a hole that next Administration is finished before it starts.”

We have a depression each century and this might be the one for the 21st century. He then proceeded by pointing at  four issues that converged on us now:

a. the degree of leverage,

b. the degree of globalization,

c. the degree of complexity,

d. it all started in America.

The last point means that we cannot escape from the consequences and we are the responsible factor at a time that globalization made things universal and the amount of leverage and the complexity of our mechanisms caused us to export our problems, even though others might be even more leveraged then we are. It is the derivatives that we put on the global market that became our version of weapons of mass destruction and the game has now forced a situation of MAD between the US and China. We buy their tennis shoes and they buy our derivatives.

But Anne-Marie, who worked last year in China, brought up the possibility of the evolution of a China market for China’s products. That is the internal huge market they can develop and which then makes them independent of us - then why should they continue to buy US treasuries? That will send the US running to the printing presses and it will create even a worse situation here.

***

In his interview with Al Gore, Zakaria wanted to know what he thinks about the post-Cheney Vice Presidency, and he answered that actually it was Walter Mondale who gave meaning to the job, and he himself modeled his office after Mondale. Now, about Cheney, it was not the powers but the way the authority was assumed by the VP that was the problem. This was a clear hint to the Bush insanity in letting in a self-recommended VP who was not going to even compete eventually for the Presidency. G.W. Bush did not do in only country and world, but even his own party.

On the automotive Industry Detroit debacle, Al Gore said it is tragic  that GM let deliberately Toyota have a 7 year head start on the hybrid drive train used in the Prius. Shifting to electric cars is the best way to make sure that the US does not continue to be dependent on the Persian/Arab Gulf which is above all a security problem. AL GORE LOVED WHAT HE HEARD FROM PRESIDENT ELECT OBAMA - THAT IN THE ENERGY AREA WE WENT “FROM SHOCK TO TRANS.” Above means that only a 4-dollar/gallon of gasoline gets us to work on alternatives, but as in the past, it will be all forgotten when the price of the gasoline falls.

Further he said that clean coal is an idea that was never proven in the US, and like in other cases, this might just be the same technic as used by Detroit when they were showing models of great vehicles that were never built - the clear slow-it-down technic that brought us down to our knees.

***

Prior to the GPS program, the regular Wolf Blitzer CNN program had Mr. Robert Reich, while Malcolm Forbes, and Joe Lieberman where on other programs.

Reich knew to tell us that the original Obama idea for a stimulus package amounted to $175 billion - now it will be between $500-700 billion. he longer we wait - the more it will cost as the economy gets worse.

***

The problem with the Lieberman approach is that he wants President Bush and Mr. Obama agree to an immediate joint approach to the size of the stimulus package - in short, he thinks that Bush should invite Obama to step in and coo-own the disaster with him. We think that would be crazy for Obama - we feel that Gail Collins has a much more sound view of the kind of cooperation that is feasible in a system that allows one President-at-a time and creates these insane waiting periods. If Bush Resigns, Obama could take over via an intermediary Pelosi Presidency.

Further, Lieberman brought to live the old joke of “the Operation was successful but the patient died.” He actually said that with the $700 billion the financial institutions were sound but no money was being made available for loans.

***

On another program, Mort Zuckerman said that the loss of wealth is close to 16 (sixteen) billion dollars. The CitiGroup might be in trouble also - nobody knows what are their losses from the credit-cards business. The reality is that nobody is spending money and nobody is now borrowing either. So, his conclusion is also that Obama not be allowed to stay on the sideline and wait out his time.

Pat Buchanan chipped in that the recession is already baked into the cake and will continue for 1-2-3 years and that the extreme spending that was started under Bush will continue under Obama.

***

Steve Forbes concluded that Paulson is the “worst Treasury Secretary we have ever had.” To which Robert Reich added - “I have no trust in his policies, he was not transparent and got the $700 billion under false pretenses.”

About the Auto Manufacturers, Steve Forbes said that they make smaller more efficient cars overseas, for the local markets there, but were never allowed to bring the to the US. So the blame is with the US labor unions we assume.

Regarding an explanation of the “Derivatives” Ponzi scheme - please see our third attachment. Why did nobody act on what Warren Buffett described as a time-bomb already in 2003? Those derivatives were an economic
weapon of mass destruction of self-destruction that is!

***

Following above interesting exchanges, it is crystal clear that only a policy revolution in the US governing philosophy will do - no hybrids please. When it comes to the empty debate if Obama’s appointees are from the left of center or the right of center - it is obvious that moving right or left will not do - it must be a move FORWARD. That is the only kind of move that will do and he must have the field to himself - so again - the patriotic thing for President Bush to do now is to have Cheney and himself resign, and let the Constitution take its course without delay. Ms. Pelosi could then take over nominally and let Obama’s cabinet start working without the insane delay.

—————————————-

How Obama Is Already Taking Charge
Saturday 22 November 2008
by: Robert Reich, Robert Reich’s Blog, as reported on truthout and also verified on Sunday’s TV programs.

Barack Obama with weeks left before he takes office faces a country involved in two wars and the US economy in crisis. (Photo: Alex Brandon / AP)

Obama’s immediate challenge is to fill the leadership vacuum created by a lame-duck president with historically-low approval ratings who seems to have lost interest in his job (at this writing, he’s out of the country) and who’s disappeared from the media, and a Treasury chief who has all but punted on coming up with any workable solution to the crisis. But Obama doesn’t become president until 12 noon eastern standard time on January 20 - and the national economy is imploding right now.

How does Obama manage this feat? Two ways: (1) appointing a highly-capable economic team, and (2) telling the nation what he plans to do starting the afternoon of January 20. Specifically:

(1) The members of Obama’s new economic team fit the bill. They’re reported (I have no inside knowledge) to include Tim Geithner at Treasury, Peter Orszag at the Office of Management and Budget, Jack Lew and Jason Furman at the National Economic Council, and Austan Goolsbee at the Council of Economic Advisors. All have several things in common. They’re relatively young, in their late 30s or 40s, representing a generational change and a fresh start. Despite their youth, they’re also experienced; almost all were up-and-comers in the Clinton Treasury, NEC, and OMB.

All are pragmatists. Some media have dubbed them “centrists” or “center-right,” but in truth they’re remarkably free of ideological preconception. All have well-earned reputations as hard workers, well-versed in the technical details of public and private finance. They are not visible veterans of the old battles over supply-side economics or deficit reduction, nor are they well-known to the public. They are not visionaries but we don’t need visionaries when the economic perils are clear and immediate. We need competence. Obama could not appoint a more competent group.

(2) The President-Elect has also signaled the country what he wants to do: enact an “Economic Recovery Plan” that will mean 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011. In his words (from Saturday’s radio address) a plan “big enough to meet the challenges we face … a two-year, nationwide effort to jumpstart job creation in America and lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy.” Again, I have no inside knowledge, but I’d expect it to be about $600 to $700 billion.

Its focus will be on infrastructure of a sort that will not only put people to work but also improve the productivity of the economy. His words: “We’ll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels; fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead.”

In short, Obama’s job-stimulus plan will be a down-payment on his larger plan to increase the nation’s public investment. “These aren’t just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis,” he says, “these are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long. And they represent an early down payment on the type of reform my Administration will bring to Washington.” He could not be more specific, at least while still President-Elect.

At a time when aggregate demand is shriveling because consumers aren’t spending and investors have stopped investing, and exports are shrinking, Obama recognizes that government must be the spender of last resort. He will combine old-fashioned Keynesian economics with newly-fashioned public investments to pull the economy out of its slump.

By putting his economic team in place barely three weeks after he was elected, and telling the nation what he plans to do immediately after he takes office, the President-Elect is asserting leadership at a time when the the Bush administration has all but abdicated.

————–

OP-ED COLUMNIST
Time for Him to Go: Thanksgiving is next week, and President Bush could make it a really special holiday by resigning.

By GAIL COLLINS
Published: November 22, 2008, The New York Times.

Seriously. We have an economy that’s crashing and a vacuum at the top. Bush — who is currently on a trip to Peru to meet with Asian leaders who no longer care what he thinks — hasn’t got the clout, or possibly even the energy, to do anything useful. His most recent contribution to resolving the fiscal crisis was lecturing representatives of the world’s most important economies on the glories of free-market capitalism.

Putting Barack Obama in charge immediately isn’t impossible. Dick Cheney, obviously, would have to quit as well as Bush. In fact, just to be on the safe side, the vice president ought to turn in his resignation first. (We’re desperate, but not crazy.) Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would become president until Jan. 20. Obviously, she’d defer to her party’s incoming chief executive, and Barack Obama could begin governing.

As a bonus, the Pelosi presidency would put a woman in the White House this year after all. On the downside, a few right-wing talk-show hosts might succumb to apoplexy. That would, of course, be terrible, but I’m afraid we might have to take the risk in the name of a greater good.

Can I see a show of hands? How many people want George W. out and Barack in?

A great many Americans have been counting the days all year on their 2008 George W. Bush Out of Office Countdown calendars. I know a lot of this has been going on because so many people congratulated me when the Feb. 1 Bush quote turned out to be from one of my old columns. (“I think we need not only to eliminate the tollbooth from the middle class, I think we should knock down the tollbooth.”)

This was not nearly as good as Feb. 5 (“We ought to make the pie higher”) or Feb. 21 (“I understand small business growth. I was one.”) But we do what we can.

In the past, presidents have not taken well to suggestions that they hand over the reins before the last possible minute. Senator J. William Fulbright suggested a plan along those lines when Harry Truman was coming to the end of a term in a state of deep unpopularity, and Truman called him “Halfbright” for the rest of his life. Bush might not love the idea of quitting before he has a chance to light the Christmas tree or commute the execution of one last presidential turkey. After all, he still has a couple more trips planned. And last-minute regulations to issue. (So many national parks to despoil, so many endangered species to exterminate … .) And then there’s all the packing.

On the other hand, he might want to consider his legacy, such as it is.

In happier days, Bush may have nurtured hopes of making it into the list of America’s mediocre presidents, but somewhere between Iraq and Katrina, that goal became a mountain too high. However, he might still have a chance to avoid the absolute bottom of the barrel, a spot currently occupied by James Buchanan, at least in my opinion. Buchanan nailed down The Worst President title in the days between Abraham Lincoln’s election and inauguration, when the Southern states began seceding and Buchanan, after a little flailing about, did absolutely nothing. “Doing nothing is almost the worst thing a president can do,” said the historian Michael Beschloss.

If Bush gives up doing nothing by giving up his job, it’s possible that someday history might elevate him to the ranks of the below average. Better than Franklin Pierce! Smarter than Warren Harding! And healthier than William Henry Harrison!

The person who would like this plan least probably would be Barack Obama. Who would want to be saddled with the auto industry’s problems ahead of schedule? The heads of America’s great carmaking corporations are so dim that they couldn’t even survive hearings run by members of Congress who actually wanted to help them. Really, when somebody asks you exactly how much money you need, the answer should not be something along the line of “a whole bunch.”

An instantaneous takeover would also ruin the Obama team’s plan to have the tidiest, best-organized presidential transition in history. Cutting it short and leaping into governing would turn their measured march toward power into a mad scramble. A lot of their Cabinet picks are still working on those 62-page questionnaires.

But while there’s been no drama with Obama, we’ve been living a Technicolor version of “The Perils of Pauline.” Detroit is tied to the railroad tracks and the train is coming! California’s state government is falling into the sea! The way we’re going now, by the time the inauguration rolls around, unemployment will be at 10 percent and the Dow will be at 10.

Time for a change.

Salaryman-turned-activist keeps island nation Tuvalu in the picture.

By NATSUKO FUKUE
Staff writer, Japan Times online, November 22, 2008

Tanned and relaxed, 42-year-old Shuichi Endo has set himself a monumental task: Photograph 10,000 residents of the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu, nearly the entire population.

Island girl: Fatogea Matagale eats fresh fish just caught in the sea of Funafuti Island in April 2007. She told photographer Shuichi Endo, “I am happy whenever I play a kick-the-can game with my friends. I wish to make more friends.” COURTESY OF SHUICHI ENDO

He started the project last year to draw attention to the impact global warming is having on the islanders. So far, he has taken pictures of 1,001 people on Nukulaelae and Niutao islands.

“Tuvaluans are happy every day. I don’t know if we are happy every day. It would be horrible if Tuvalu sinks into the sea because of carbon dioxide emitted from our unhappy economic life,” said Endo, who runs the nonprofit organization Tuvalu Overview, which offers lectures and exhibitions on Tuvalu and organizes eco-tours there.

His photographs capture people in their ordinary activities, surrounded by nature. He believes Japanese people could change their lifestyle if only they could take a lesson from the simple, happy life led by the islanders.

His photographs are being displayed until Dec. 11 at Shinozaki Bunka Plaza in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, near the west exit of Shinozaki Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line.

Tuvalu, consisting of four low-lying reef islands and five atolls that lie about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, could disappear if the ocean continues to rise due to global warming.

According to a 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, the average sea level could go up as much as 59 cm in 2100 compared with 2000.

Endo said people in Tuvalu began to feel the environmental impact of rising sea levels about 10 years ago. There is more flooding at high tide, for example, which leaves groundwater and crops damaged by salt, he said.

Environment groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature warn global warming could have serious consequences, including frequent floods and storm surges, for low-lying Pacific islands, and the extreme weather could devastate the fishing and agriculture that dominates their economies.

Before starting the NPO, Endo was a typical salaryman, working long hours in a competitive environment.

After graduating from the architecture department of Osaka University of Arts, he landed a job at Taisei Corp., one of Japan’s most prominent general contractors.

He said he wanted to make environment-friendly buildings, as he had also studied environmental issues in school, but his colleagues told him there was no money in this.

He learned about Tuvalu a few years after joining Taisei.

In 1992, he read a newspaper article about the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, which described global warming and its influence on Tuvalu.

“I always loved nature, so I was sad to know such a beautiful country may disappear because of global warming,” he said.

Since then, he became deeply concerned about Tuvalu. In 1997, he quit his job because it conflicted with what he really wanted to do, which was to address environmental problems.

Hoping to help Tuvalu, which does not have a strong industry, raise revenues to protect its environment, Endo made a business proposal to the Tuvalu government in 1996, and he made his first trip there in 1998 to enter his bid.

Under the proposal, the Tuvalu government would charge companies, such as television stations, to use the country’s Internet domain name “.tv.”

During that first trip, he visited an uninhabited island with a Tuvaluan friend. While he had brought along two water bottles and a sandwich, his friend had only a hatchet.

“After my friend landed, he climbed up a palm tree and got us a coconut. Then he caught a fish from the sea, steamed it with palm leaves, washed the burned part off in the sea, and gave it to me. It was all simple and delicious.”

The quiet life: Shuichi Endo (left), photographer and representative of NPO Tuvalu Overview, hangs out with a local resident on Niutau Island in September. COURTESY OF SHUICHI ENDO

It was at that moment Endo realized he did not need a lot to enjoy life.

“I was working in a high-rise building in Shinjuku, wearing expensive suits. It was like a TV drama featuring trendy young people, and after the visit to Tuvalu I wondered what meaning there was to such a life.”

Though the Tuvalu government did not adopt his business proposal, Endo continued to care about the island nation.

He has traveled between Tuvalu and Japan numerous times, organizing events and activities to tell people in Japan about global warming and its impact on Tuvalu.

Although the situation for Tuvalu is grave, the people in Endo’s photographs are happy, with big smiles and shining eyes.

“They know how to enjoy life without depending on money,” he said.

Even time does not seem to matter for them.

From August to last month, Endo visited Niutao Island, 20 hours by boat from the main Funafuti Island. He said there is no set timetable for the vessels operating between the two islands, so he just had to wait until one showed up.

“I was lucky I could come back as scheduled,” he laughed. “When Tuvaluans on Niutao Island visit Funafuti, what matters to them is to arrive there, but not what time they arrive.”

It will take him a long time to photograph 10,000 islanders because he spends time with each one to get to know them first.

However, he said he will continue taking their pictures so he can show the Japanese people their simple and happy life coexisting with nature.

“I want more Japanese to realize that just living a life is already a beautiful thing,” he said.