The tale of the stone tablet warning the village of Aneyoshi, Japan, to not build below. It implies the forced necessary actions to prevent a tsunami catastrophe, which did occur in 1896 and 1933 (Fackler, 2011).
The strong relevant theme presented in the article is the relationship between the past, present and future societies. The past, due to two experiences, warn future societies to not build below a certain point. And it is the future and present societies that must question: should they follow this old tablet? Obviously without protection the Aneyoshi should not build, but there is nothing actually stopping them. Like the old elephant who knows that he is too weak to break a measly thin chain, that his previous, much younger self could not break. Although, a Tsunami is not a measly thin chain and can cause total annihilation. At this point in time it most safe to build above the boundary and designed Tsuami barriers to be classified as risky, but as mentioned in the prior reading reflection video by Michio Kaku: What stops future civilizations from controling planetary forces, such as continental drift?
In the midst of the perception of the future visions is the strong issue of sustainability. The term has been used to aware people of the necessity of green everything, but not always actually green or ecologically friendly. Motavalli (2011) list several examples of corporate companies manipulating mindless consumers into buying their so called “green” products. There is already a crack down on such claims, such as false energy star labeling (Mcmasters, 2010). These do generate positive perception in a safer and cleaner environment, but at what ecological cost?
References
Barton, H., 2000. Urban form and locality. In H. Barton, ed. Sustainable communities: the potential for eco-neighbourhoods. London: Earthscan, pp. 105-122.
Fackler, M., 2011. Tsunami Warnings, Written in Stone. Accessed 20 July 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/asia/21stones.html
Mcmasters, N., 2010. That Energy Star Label might Be Lying. Accessed 3 August 2012. www.newser.com/story/103870/that-energy-star-label-might-be-lying.html
Motavalli, J., 2011. A History of Greenwashing: How Dirty Towels Impacted the Green Movement. Accessed 28 July 2012.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/12/the-history-of-greenwashing-how-dirty-towels-impacted-the-green/
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