Do you think curtailing convenience store hours would be good for the environment?

Saturday 05th July, 05:36 PM JST

Latest 15 of 25 Total Comments Show All

usaexpat at 06:05 AM JST - 8th July

another stupid plan to "combat global warming" which it will do nothing for. You want to combat global warming tell me why most of the soy beans consumed in Japan come from the US while most of the soy beans consumed in the US come from China. The globalization of food supplies causes much more carbon emissions than keeping the lights on at the conbini. Beyond all that when I want something late at night it makes a lot more sense for me to take the elevator down 7 floors and walk across the street to Family Mart than to drive downtown because they are closed combatting global warming. rtrhead1 is spot on in the comments about cool biz and the government's desire to be seen as doing something about global warming. While we're at it let's just adapt daylight savings time since that is 1 less hour of electric light used by the whole country.
thundercat at 11:43 AM JST - 8th July

As for convenient stores, wouldn't a good start be to put doors on all the refrigeration units?
Hughgarse at 02:38 PM JST - 8th July

Pulling their heads with unnecessary construction would be 1000 times more effective than looking into convenience store hours.. another daft and useless idea that probably took a panel of 30 people to decide..
Hughgarse at 02:38 PM JST - 8th July

Pulling their heads with unnecessary construction would be 1000 times more effective than looking into convenience store hours.. another daft and useless idea that probably took a panel of 30 people to decide..
DoctorTofu at 03:52 PM JST - 8th July

Well, the wave of unemployment caused by that move would certainly cause some suicides, thus reducing the CO2 that all those newly unemployed and freshly deceased people would emit to the atmosphere if they lived longer. Executing some government members would decrease CO2 emissions even further.
keshii at 09:29 AM JST - 9th July

To me, the issue isn't whether it's good for the environment or not. The issue is whether people's convenience and economic payoffs are 'more good' than any good that would be done for the environment.
Ah_so at 04:38 PM JST - 9th July

If Japan wanted to reduce the damage it does to the environment, it should introduce a summer-time/daylight saving system. One hour a day less of electric lighting all over the country for four months would make a significant difference.

This may be the only way Japan has to meet its Kyoto targets.

Restricting convenience store openings really would be negligible.
serindipity at 11:11 AM JST - 10th July

Doctor Tofu! Shame! That is a very cold statement, albeit possibly true.

This decision is a total crock. It will do nothing to curtail the CFC emissions nor will it have any effect on the photochemical smog within the heat island known as Tokyo. Day light saving would have a direct effect as it would effectively reduce electricity consumption on a daily basis. Another point to consider is, if the convenience stores were not open 24/7 we would have to start calling them inconvenience stores. No more 24 hour beer! That's bad!
Mato99 at 07:36 AM JST - 11th July

Stores hours have nothing to do with its environmental friendliness. The major factors of energy waste in these stores are the excessive use of AC, cooler costs, and excessive lighting. I can very well see them changing their closing hours, but not turning off their AC or even dimming their lights. Dim lights mean more possibility of break-in or vandalism, and I’m sure no store owner wants that. My god, what would that do to their image. Family mart suddenly isn’t so family friendly. Personally I’m not worried about an increase in business vandalism, but I think that the threat would be enough to worry the owners so that they would leave their lights on. There has got to be a better way. Building more environmentally friendly buildings is my suggestion .
Zen_Builder at 07:42 AM JST - 11th July

As for convenient stores, wouldn't a good start be to put doors on all the refrigeration units?

Some　ｓtores use such a system, my local 7-11 the drink coolers are actually part/front of the refrigerated store-room. They restock the shelfs from behind/inside of the store-room.
Blue_Tiger at 08:11 PM JST - 11th July

Personally, all this talk of man-made global warming is a crock. I'd sooner blame the sun or volcanoes for the rise in temperatures, rather than people. At any rate, convenience stores cuttign their hours will do little good....
lipscombe at 12:17 AM JST - 12th July

Personally, all this talk of man-made global warming is a crock. I'd sooner blame the sun or volcanoes for the rise in temperatures

hmmmm, errr, okay....
Loki520 at 09:32 AM JST - 12th July

Lipscombe, don't laugh too hard. A recent study by the New Scientist states that it is POSSIBLE that the cutbacks that occured in the last 25 years, or so, in freon usage and aerosols MAY be at least partially responsible for the "global warming" that the Goreacle is screaming about. It goes on further to state, using their particular climate models, that any ACTUAL "global warming" is not only natural, but negligible in the amount of warming actually occuring. Of course, ALL studys are offset by other studies, and they all tend to achive the result desired by the sponsers paying for it...

Seems that the aerosols blocked the suns radiation and heat from getting thru the clouds, thus preventing the build up of heat, etc..

So... according to this study.... our early attempts to alleviate our mandmade and natural contributions to the ecology may have possible actually made it worse.

Now... THAT is something to go hmmmm... about.
lipscombe at 10:08 AM JST - 12th July

I was laughing about the volcano part, but you carry on
Blue_Tiger at 11:05 PM JST - 15th July

interesting that libscombe fails to understand that in 2005, sun activity was so severe that communications sattelites were heavily affected, insomuch that AFN Radio was forced to blackout U.S. Transmitted programming, and run music loops only. But, I guess the sun would have less effect on the earth than people would....