My entry to the town newsletter.... (I apologize for the length!)

Tons of Typhoons

This year Kochi-ken has had so many typhoons. The weather is becoming so strange. Someone told me that 30 years ago Kochi had so much rain that crops (rice and fruit) could not grow. Last summer was cooler than usual and this spring’s rainy season was only slightly rainy. Now, during typhoon season, the typhoons don’t seem to stop coming.

Saskatchewan, Canada is in the same situation. Usually in the spring and summer there is so little rain that the farmers are constantly worrying about their crops. Summer has been, for as long as I can remember, hot and very dry. However, this summer, it was cool and there was a lot of rain. The weather everywhere is changing. Perhaps, the change in weather is only part of a cycle and someday it will return to normal. Or it is global warming that is melting glaciers and just generally warming up the entire earth? Maybe it is due to the deterioration of the O-zone layer particularly over Antarctica?

Some people believe it is the environment getting angry for the way we treat it. Typhoons and other storms is the environment fighting back. Perhaps the earth is tired of being abused by car exhaust, garbage, sewage, pavement, etc. Maybe it is time that we start looking at ways to conserve energy and be less wasteful by walking or carpooling instead of driving alone everywhere and using less paper and plastic. I realize that this may seem like an impossible task but just think of a trip to the grocery store. When you buy a bottle of hairspray, dish soap, and 2 peaches, you end up with about 3 or 4 bags. One bag for the hairspray that is already covered in plastic, one for the dish soap, and another for the peaches if they aren’t already wrapped in plastic. Then, all of these items in separate bags are placed into another bag. I have noticed that Sun Plaza has started a reward system where if you ask for no bag, you can get a stamp. After collecting 20 stamps, you get a 500-yen coupon. A store in Canada has charges customers for plastic bags. This encourages people to reuse their plastic bags, or to buy a canvas bag for groceries. The hardest part is remembering to bring your bags with you to the store.

Typhoons are tropical storms that only occur in tropical or sub-tropical countries. Canada does not have typhoons. The closest thing to a typhoon in Canada is a blizzard. Blizzards occur in winter and involve snow, instead of rain, and winds of at least 40 mph. Blizzards are so severe that a person can only see less than 1 KM and they last for at least 4 hours. Driving a car can become impossible or very dangerous. Power outages can also occur. One of the most dangerous aspects of a blizzard is the low temperature (below –7 degrees). About 100 people die in Canada each year from blizzards or other snowstorms.