Says Sugawara to CNN, “I knew if I didn’t save my boat, my island would be isolated and in trouble.”

As he passed the fishermaen’s abalone boats, Sugawara waved good-bye, apologizing that he couldn’t save them all, though he had no way of knowing if he’d even be able to save himself from nature’s devastating fury.

When the first wave rolled towards him, Sugawara was stunned by the magnitude of this wave. Many times he’d encountered 16 foot waves but this one was at least four times that size.

“My feeling at this moment is indescribable,” he told CNN. “I talked to my boat and said you’ve been with me 42 years. If we live or die, then we’ll be together. Then I pushed on full throttle.”

Sugawara described what happened next: “The wave was like a mountain. I started climbing and when I got to the top, the wave started breaking. Time and time again I knew I had to break free. Finally I closed my eyes and felt dizzy. When I opened them, I could see the horizon again, so I knew I’d made it.”

Others from Oshima attempted the same incredible feat in their boats, but none are known to have survived. Eventually Sugawara found himself carefully navigating back to his devastated island in total darkness with the fires raging in the town of Kesunnuma three miles away as his only guide.

From that day on and for twenty days, Sugawara and Sunflower made hourly trips to the mainland. According to CNN, the pair were the only salvation to the mainland for the first two weeks following the catastrophe. Without them, Oshima would have been completely cut off. Sugawara doesn’t ask his passengers for money if they have none. For those who can afford to chip in, he only asked for $3.50 for fuel.

Tadaomi Sasahara, owner of Oshima’s supermarket, told CNN that he gave away all the food in his store. Islanders, he said, shared what food they had in their homes with each other. Sasahara now makes runs to the mainland with Sugawara and Sunflower.

“Everyone used to look out for themselves on this island,” he told CNN. “But after this, the whole community is now helping each other.”

From great tragedy often comes great heroism, and Sugawara and Sunflower will certainly be remembered among the heroes of what was one of Japan’s darkest hours.

How do you face unexpected tragedy when it strikes? Will you face it head on and help others, or will you complain or run away? Let’s all be inspired by this brave and selfless fisherman to think of the common good instead of ourselves!

This video is from CNN, broadcast Sunday, April 3, 2011.

Below is a special message from renowned Japanese scientist, Dr. Masaru Emoto, who brought attention to the power of thought/prayer on water crystals. He has a special request for assistance tomorrow noon (March 31, 2011).

If this message resonates with you, please lend your intentions also. Remember to center and ground and set the intention for the highest good.

To All People Around the World,

Please send your prayers of love and gratitude to water at the nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan!

By the massive earthquakes of magnitude 9 and surreal massive tsunamis, more than 10,000 people are still missing…even now… It has been 16 days already since the disaster happened. What makes it worse is that water at the reactors of Fukushima nuclear plants started to leak, and it’s contaminating the ocean, air and water molecules of the surrounding areas.

Human wisdom has not been able to do much to solve the problem, but we are only trying to cool down the anger of radioactive materials in the reactors by discharging water to them.

Is there really nothing else to do?

I think there is. During over twenty year research of hado measuring and water crystal photographic technology, I have been witnessing that water can turn positive when it receives pure vibration of human prayer no matter how far away it is.

Energy formula of Albert Einstein, E=MC2 really means that Energy = number of people and the square of people’s consciousness.

Now is the time to understand the true meaning. Let us all join the prayer ceremony as fellow citizens of the planet earth.

I would like to ask all people, not just in Japan, but all around the world to please help us to find a way out the crisis of this planet.

The prayer procedure is as follows…

Name of ceremony: “Let’s send our thoughts of love and gratitude to all water in the nuclear plants in Fukushima.”

Day and Time:
March 31st, 2011 (Thursday)
12:00 noon in each time zone

Please say the following phrase:
“The water of Fukushima Nuclear Plant, we are sorry to make you suffer.  Please forgive us.  We thank you, and we love you.”

Please say it aloud or in your mind.

Repeat it three times as you put your hands together in a prayer position.

Please offer your sincere prayer.

Thank you!

Dr. Emoto (author of The Masaru Emoto: The Hidden Messages in Water)

PS: Here is Dr. Emoto’s message in Japanese: YouTube video

On Monday, March 21 – join Deepak as he guides us in a powerful meditation, sending our collective love and healing energy to those affected by the recent and ongoing tragic events in Japan. The meditation will begin at 8:30 p.m. (Eastern), 7:30 p.m. (Central), and 5:30 p.m. (Pacific).

To join in this global healing meditation broadcasted live, click here.

Our individual intentions truly do make a difference. Collectively, we can make a world of difference. Join us in uniting our intentions for our friends in Japan . . .

Himin Group's Sun-Moon Mansion

This rabbit recently hopped over to the city of Dezhou, in Shandong Province, to partake in some Earth Day festivities with a few friends. While there, I learned more about the greening of China and the significant role Dezhou plays in this cleantech movement. The future certainly looks bright for 德州!

Did you know that Dezhou is one of the leading global players in solar technology today? The city boasts a thriving research and development, manufacturing, and tourism center and those in the renewable industry often refer to Dezhou as China’s Solar Valley. The Chinese government has supported the cleantech movement in this region through preferential tax benefits and other various policies that helped attract top firms to Dezhou. In just a few short years, China has become the leading manufacturer of wind turbines and solar panels around the world. It appears China has really stepped up in a significant way to promote sustainable technology.

According to the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (CREIA), there were 1.12 million renewable energy jobs in China, as of 2008; the association believes more than 100,000 new jobs will be added each year in China going forward. The solar industry in China is very robust and is currently experiencing a growth rate of nearly 30 percent a year. It is China’s stated goal to have 8 percent of their electricity generation come from solar, biomass, and wind by the year 2020. The government plans to subsidize renewables to the tune of $450 billion over the next five years to help meet this goal.

– China’s Solar Valley in Dezhou (Promotional Video) – [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY8t8QBONHY[/youtube]

The 4^th International Solar Cities Congress (ISCC) will take place in Dezhou this fall. Since the city is a world leader in solar panel manufacturing, it only seems appropriate that the world’s largest solar building will be hosting the event. The Sun-Moon Mansion, headquarters of Himin Group, houses research and development facilities, exhibition space, offices, and even a luxury hotel. The solar panels meet 95 percent of the building’s energy needs. The iconic sundial structure is meant to symbolize the contribution the local citizens are making toward greening their country.

Do you think China’s environment or economy benefits more from renewable energy? What is your city doing to position itself as a leader in renewable energy? It’s comforting to know that this rabbit’s hometown is striving to become a world leader in the clean technology economy.

• Earth Day with Alash from the Tuva Republic
• EURth Day
• Earth Day message for all mankind
• Earth Day message for preserving White Desert and Bahariya Oasis
• Earth Day pictures to Cold Play
• Earth Day message showcasing environmental and conservation issues
• Earth Day Remix

Do something for the Earth today! Recycle, turn off lights, carpool, … – every little bit counts!

What have you done for the Earth lately?

The project wrapped up just in time for the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Visitors will surely experience a more functional Bund as they marvel at the aesthetic buildings built in the early 20th century. This certainly is not a cheap venture either; the restoration is part of Shanghai’s overall RMB 300 billion World Expo investment.

Han Zheng, the mayor of Shanghai, pointed out some of the more notable changes to the riverfront:

• Area for public activities increased by roughly 40 percent; the Bund can now accommodate up to 800,000 visitors on peak days.
• Six-lane tunnel built beneath the Bund to mitigate traffic congestion on surface streets.
• Improvements to the public transport network and the flood-control infrastructure.
• Tree plantings along the banks of the river and installation of 2,000 park benches.

Video: Revamped Shanghai Bund open to public—CCTV

This rabbit is not too keen on ripping out a lot of the original greenery. However, the large open spaces makes the Bund seem more unified and accessible. The Bund is an iconic symbol of Shanghai, and the project will preserve and promote the city’s cultural heritage while improving urban infrastructure for the city. In fact, you can even say it is grander than it used to be.

So, what do you think? Is this Shanghai’s answer to Paris’ Champs-Elysees? Shanghai is the “Paris of the East” after all.

PS: Stay tuned for future posts from Rabbit and other animals from the world of the Chinese horoscope. If you’d like to be one of those animals, leave us a comment. All animals welcome!

Join this dragon as it celebrates Earth Hour with the rest of the world!

World-famous landmarks, including Egypt’s pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and Beijing’s Forbidden City, will go dark Saturday at 8:30pm local time, as millions turn out the lights for “Earth Hour”, a rolling grassroots movement aimed at tackling climate change.

Now in its fourth year, the campaign promises to be the biggest ever with thousands of cities and towns in 125 countries, 37 more than last year, pledging to take part.

Sydney’s iconic Harbor Bridge and Opera House will kick off the energy-saving marathon, with Egypt’s Pyramids and Sphinx, Italy’s Trevi Fountain and Tower of Pisa and all major landmarks in Paris to follow, led by a five-minute blackout of the Eiffel Tower.

China will see its Forbidden City go dark, along with the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing. In Thailand, Bangkok’s Wat Arun Buddhist temple will also go dark.

In Singapore, where 3.3 million people have registered to take part, the world’s biggest observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer, will extinguish its main lights.

In Indonesia around 200 buildings will take part in Jakarta, while official buildings will be blacked out in Seoul.

Many cities in India are expected to participate, including the massive urban centers of Delhi and Mumbai, as well as the country’s thriving Bollywood film studios.

And in Dubai, the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa tower, will also dim its lights.

For the first time, residents of Norway’s Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost town, are set to brave an influx of curious polar bears normally deterred by lights after voting to participate in the campaign.

Japan’s heritage-listed Hiroshima Peace Memorial, one of few buildings to survive America’s 1945 atomic bomb attack, will take go dark, while major companies, including Sony Corporation, Sharp Corporation, and Asahi Breweries Ltd.  will switch off across Tokyo.

Multinational companies including Google Inc. (GOOG), Coca-Cola Co. (CO), Hilton, McDonald’s Corp. (MCD), Canon Inc. (CAJ), HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC)and IKEA have pledged to darken their offices worldwide in support. (Also, planning to go dark are Google’s home page and Cola-Cola’s famous billboard in Times Square.)

In the United States,  30 states and municipalities will mark Earth Hour with darkness falling on sites, including the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Rushmore, and Seattle’s Space Needle.

“Earth Hour is meant to cross geographic, economic, country boundaries,” said Ridley, founder of Earth Hour, admitting that it was mostly a symbolic act.

“It’s one hour, one day, one year. We’re not saving the planet by turning the lights off for one hour.”

But he added: “What you are doing is adding your voice to a global call for action.”

So set your alarms for 8:30pm local time on Saturday and join the world in by participating in this 24-hour wave of hope and action!

As it continues to develop more and more into a super world power, China’s impact on the world is growing, effecting everything from the stock market, Internet, international business, to the value of the dollar. Chinese culture continues to submerge with other cultures worldwide, especially in America, where we are so very connected by the Internet and world trade. (See our earlier post, The Asian Hot Pot That is America.)

This dragon figures it’s time to brush up on the home country so began digging on the Internet in America (where the Internet remains mostly uncensored, even to dragons)!

Though written for college students, check out this great resource on China: 50 Lectures to Learn about the Past, Present, and Future of China. Got a greater understanding about what makes China tick! Even this Chinese dragon learned a lot from this resource!

So what’s your favorite resource for news on Asia? And how do you feel about Google getting out of China? How do you feel this decision will impact the Internet world?

“We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all,” the world’s leading search engine posted on its official blog yesterday. “We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.”

This dragon is especially shocked by the possibility that the Chinese government might have been hacked into Google to monitor the email accounts of human-rights activists.

What would it truly be telling the world if the Chinese government resists Google’s demands for an impartial search engine, or if the implied accusations against the government that it hacked into Google are true?

Even the White House on Thursday backed Google’s decision to no longer submit to China’s Internet censorship:

“We will be issuing a formal demarche to the Chinese government in Beijing on this issue in the coming days, probably early this week. It will express our concern for this incident and request information from China as to an explanation of how it happened and what they plan to do about it,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters.

And from China (not very meaningful in my opinion):

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday at a regular press conference that “China welcomes international Internet companies to conduct business within the country according to law.”

Google is in a tough place. It knows that bad things are happening to its service in China (such as hacking and censorship), and it thinks it may have to pull out of China. But is that the right thing to do? What do you think?

This dragon has often envied the ability of my distant chameleon cousins to camouflage themselves. (Check out this amazing cousin in camo… If I’m extra good in this life, perhaps I’ll come back with that camo skill in my next life. This could a really useful skill for a big dragon!)

Speaking of camouflage, while surfing the net today I discovered an amazing Chinese Da Vinci named Liu Bolin. Some call him the “Invisible Man” and for a really good reason! (Yes, dragons do surf the net, despite our difficulties in using a mouse.)

This very talented dude’s photos have people painted to appear to be invisible or disappearing. It’s his way of showing how he feels Chinese citizens are being treated by the Chinese government.

“It is not so much the body that is concealed in the environment,” says the Invisible Man, “as the surrounding world that swallows up human beings, without giving them any option.” What a cool and a unique way to make a political statement!

See if you can find the invisible people in following pictures! Kudos to the artist and the patient people in these pictures!

For more pictures and info on The Man, go to the Intermedias blog, Galerie Bertin-Toublanc, and DesignBoom.