Final Remarks :Quality of the Environment in Japan 1997

Final Remarks

The Environment is the life-support base of all the living things on the Earth. However, this irreplaceable environment is being threatened. Globally, the biodiversity of the Earth is decreasing rapidly. In addition, forests such as the tropical forests are in decline. The ozone hole and the deserts are expanding each year and serious environmental pollution cases are all too apparent in developing nations. Domestically, various problems, such as air pollution caused by automobile exhaust, water contamination caused by household effluent, and loss of natural zones in and around urban areas are observable. It is the task of the world, the nation and each and every one of us, to solve those problems that are generated by the continued expansion of human activities, and to protect the environment. Japan, in the past, experienced instances of several industrial pollution which resulted in afflictions such as Minamata disease and Yokkaichi asthma. In order to overcome the problem of pollution, Japan formulated the Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control and established the Environment Agency, and has made positive achievements in this regard. However, whether we can succeed in conserving our environment will depend on the actions that we take now and into the future. The present environmental issues we face are like a chronic disease. The symptoms advance quietly and deeply, and when they are discovered, it is already too late. There is no medicine to cure the disease once it has reached its terminal stage, but by improving our every day lifestyles or improving our constitution we have the opportunity to prevent calamity. Changing the shape of our current society and altering our current lifestyle which is so dependent upon a paradigm of mass-production, mass-consumption and mass-disposal, is an undertaking that may entail pain. Nonetheless, only by sharing the pain and joining forces to overcome it, can we leave the irreplaceable environment that we have inherited, to the future generations that are to inherit it from us. Whether we can pass on a rich and bountiful environment to the next and future generations is up to the way our society responds to the challenge and depends upon the actions that each one of us takes. The achievements that result from the actions of an individual might appear to be small, likewise the results that occur when we make small changes in the way our social system works. But each small action echoes another, each empowers and supports another, and, because of these countless, small changes, the sharp of our society will change in a way that is truly dramatic!