Monday, July 18, 2011

Green Curtain


Today was Umi No Hi (海の日), or Marine Day, which is a national holiday that celebrates the blessings of the ocean and hopes for the prosperity of Japan, a island surround by the ocean.

For many students this holiday marks the start of their summer vacation. It's also around this time that the season for summer festivals start. Very exciting!

But this summer is also about conserving power, which started out as a necessity and sort of grew into a fashion. We love trends in Japan. And one of the things that people are doing to conserve power is to grow a "Green Curtain" outside their windows. This is suppose to bring down the temperature inside the house 3C.

How do you stay cool in the summer?

17 comments:

  1. Happy Marine day!

    Nice photos.
    I just came home and enjoying my coffee time in my mum's yard.

    Have a nice week ahead.

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  2. I checked out the weather page in my local newspaper and, sorry, our daytime hottest temperatures recently have been less that the temperatures during Tokyo nights. So, to answer your question as to what I do to stay cool, I’d have to say, “I merely exist.” And apart from those that have been winging their way from Japan, nary a radioactive cesium particle to be found.

    I love the green curtains. And for some time now I have felt that the savior of mankind will be bamboo.

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  3. That is a very good idea! I usually stay cool by sitting under a ceiling fan, especially this time of year.

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  4. What a cool (bad pun) idea, to grow greenery in front of your windows to lower the temps! Only problem is that it also blocks the light and the view (assuming one has one).

    In the Philippines, we have four seasons: hot, hotter, hottest and wet. So we are acclimatized to hot temps. Now in the wet period, the rains cool us down a bit, but otherwise I just stay in the shade and take showers.

    [Kaori, the three primary colours are red, blue and green... yellow is a mix of green and red... LOL!]

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  5. The same way Kaori, having plenty greenery around and ceiling fans, it works well.

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  6. A really pretty curtain! What I am liking about Canada is the evenings are usually cool. I like to sleep with the windows open and a fan. But when it gets too hot, I do what we all do... turn on the clim! :)

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  7. It's a good idea and it keeps people from looking in!

    I don't have to keep cool, it's COLD.

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  8. P.S.: fabulous = fabuleux ! :-)

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  9. I like the idea of this holiday. Being still in Paris we have no problems, as ciel already said, with keeping cold: it is almost winter here!

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  10. This is the first time hearing about "green curtains" and their benefits. What an ingenious concept. Thumbs up!

    On hot and muggy evenings, hehe, I escape to the local cinema (movie theatre) and catch a film and chill!

    Cheers from Montreal!

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  11. I wonder how far it would be possible to gradually coax an urban environment into one that is as sustainable as satoyama.

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  12. My friends want to hang around with me. They say I'm too cool.

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  13. Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the comments. Great advise, hilarious thoughts, and simple sweetness...I appreciate it all :D

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  14. belated Happy marine day! ^0^
    during summer... the heat here's unbearable, one that gives you intense migraine. ^0^
    oh! and drink lots of lemonade. ^-^

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  15. Interesting. They look very pretty.

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