I’d like to introduce my country, the Republic of Ireland. Ireland is very homogenous, like Japan – until recently, almost everybody was white and Irish. Recently, for the first time in history we’ve had immigration into Ireland. Now we have quite a few people from Poland and China, for example, but the country is still mainly very homogenous. The population is quite small at about 5 million people.

Ireland is very small. You can go from the east of the country to the west of the country in maybe three hours. And you can go from the south of the country to the north of the country in maybe four or five hours. So, Irish people feel very local. If we meet somebody, we kind of know where they're from, or we think we have a connection to every place in the country because it's so small. Because of this, it feels local, it feels familiar; it almost feels like everybody is a neighbour.

The people are famous for being very friendly and generous. So we give a lot to charity, including to charity internationally. Statistically, they are the third or fourth most generous country in the world. We're famous for things like Irish whiskey and Irish beer, like Guinness, which is a black beer.

We're also famous for Irish music and Irish dancing, which are popular around the world. Irish music has some specific instruments and the music is quite nice. It's very popular with tourists. Irish dancing is unusual because the dancers keep their arms straight by their sides, and don't move them. The legs are very quick, almost like tap dancing, but very, very, old and more traditional than that. Again, it's quite popular with tourists. There's a famous Irish dance show called Riverdance, and it goes all around the world and has even been to Japan a few times.

Photo Credit: Kelly L@Pexels

Quiz

Q1. What is the population of Ireland?

Q2. What is special about Guinness?

Q3. What is one special feature of Irish dancing?

Scroll down for the answers

A1. 5 million

A2. It’s black beer

A3. The dancers don’t move their arms while dancing

On April 23, 2021, Bill Gates was one of the speakers at the Leaders Summit on Climate, ahead of the United Nations conference on climate change (COP26) that took place in November in Glasgow, Scotland. Key figures from around the world gathered online to talk about some of the most important challenges in climate change, including reducing emissions, financing new ideas, and creating jobs during the transition to a clean-energy economy.

Most people want to continue to be provided with all the benefits of the modern lifestyle, and many others in poverty want to attain a modern lifestyle. However, continuing to use today’s technologies will prevent us from meeting the goal of achieving what Gates calls ‘a Green Premium of zero’.

These days, there are an increasing variety of zero-carbon technologies available, but most of them are more expensive than their fossil-fuel counterparts. Gates explained that we need new zero-carbon products that are just as affordable. Unfortunately, creating such products is difficult, but it can be done more easily by governments and corporations investing in innovation and building the infrastructure for the transition to a clean economy.

To do this, Gates has proposed three steps to achieve these goals, all requiring international cooperation:

First is the development and distribution of breakthrough technologies that allow us to eliminate carbon emissions.

Second is to use the power of markets to fund and deploy these innovations, such as new ways to finance technologies. This will make it easier for new technologies to have greater appeal to corporations and customers instead of continuing to use fossil fuels.

Third is for governments and corporations to begin using policies and programs such as ‘Mission Innovation’ and ‘Breakthrough Energy Catalyst’ that will make it faster and cheaper to make this transition. This requires leaders to reward those who take difficult steps to choose progress over profits.

So, what can YOU do as an individual in society? Are you reading this article because you are also a climate activist? This doesn’t mean only recycling pet bottles and switching off lights. A climate activist is someone who brings attention to problems by demanding action and change from governments and corporations. If you are old enough to vote, choose a politician who really cares about these issues. You can ‘vote’ with your money too, by supporting companies who are already taking actions to reach zero-emissions.

Photo credit: Pixabay

Quiz

Q1. In which Scottish city was the COP26 held?

Q2. What does Bill Gates call new and affordable zero-carbon products?

Q3. What are the names of the examples of policies/programs that will make it faster and cheaper to make the transition to a clean economy?

Scroll down for the answers

A1. Glasgow

A2. Green Premium products

A3. ‘Mission Innovation’ and ‘Breakthrough Energy Catalyst’

My father died last January. He was 90 years old and suffered from sudden pneumonia during my visit to my hometown, Fukuoka. I can’t say he was a diligent, tidy, and reliable person, but he was good at creating a cheerful atmosphere everywhere. He was born into a high social and financial standing. However, when he was in his twenties, he dropped out of university and eloped with an older woman of lower social and financial status. The marriage lasted only one year. After he got married to my mother and started his own company, he would lend his money without hesitation to others and often never got it back. My mother regretted marrying him.

Partly because I was raised hearing my mother’s complaints about him, I thought he was far from an ideal father, although I liked his cheerfulness. However, his last ten days at the hospital made me reconsider how I will spend the rest of my life. Are high social status or money determining factors when it comes to enjoying the final stages of our life?

Shortly after he was carried to the hospital at the end of last December, the doctor told our family he was dying. As my hometown is located in the countryside in Fukuoka, and at the time had only counted a small number of Covid-19 patients, only fifteen minutes were allowed per visitation. We immediately called his siblings and learned that most of his friends had passed away already, so we were only able to find one of his friends.

Even though he was dying and was kept alive by a ventilator, he was friendly and talked to everyone. However, sadly, most of his words were inaudible due to the apparatus. One of his grandchildren, who is a doctor, said in general it was very difficult for patients like him to talk because the blood oxygenation level was extremely low. During the last ten days of his life, his nine grandchildren, some of whom lived in Tokyo and some in Kyoto, returned to Fukuoka, so someone could visit him every day. They all loved the dying old man who was still joking with gestures on the bed.

According to the doctor, and due in part to Covid-19, this hospital had become a place for the dying, and patients rarely encountered visitors. Only my father’s bed was lively, and this created an atmosphere unusually cheerful for the hospital.

Through these ten days at the hospital, I realized that how we die is the same as how we live. Though he might have been sloppy, lazy, and gullible, my father treated everyone equally, regardless of their social and financial status. He never got angry at others, and tried to make everyone happy all the time, even at the end. Now I respect him so much and feel I want to spend my last days like him.

I believe how we die doesn’t depend on our financial condition or social status, but after all how we have treated people throughout our life. To this end, I renovated my house this summer and made a small corner where people can get together and have social gatherings. I hope I can cherish people and the time I spend with them for the rest of my life, and hopefully, die like my father.

Quiz.

Q1. Where is the author from?

a)    Kyoto

b)   Tokyo

c)    Fukuoka

Q2. What did the author’s mother think about her husband?

a)    He was not kind

b)   He was not talkative

c)    He was not a good husband

Q3. According to the essay, what makes our final days great?

a)    Money

b)   Jobs

c)    How we treat people

Scroll down for the answers

A1. c

A2. c

A3. c