Reason 26: Solar roofs on campus provide energy when it is most needed (summer air conditioning peak).

The table shows mean daily global solar radiation (important for solar electricity output) for Tokyo averaged of 30 years (1951-1990). The first graph shows average weekly temperatures in Tokyo.

We observe the natural agreement of high solar radiation and high temperatures from May to September. Therefore, high temperatures in Tokyo occur at times of high solar power output of solar panels.

Stat. Descr.	Unit	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Mean Daily Value

MJ/m2

8.5

9.9

11.7

14.3

16.0

13.6

13.9

14.6

10.4

9.4

7.6

7.4

Source: UNData of Global Solar Radiation for Tokyo, avg. 1961-1990

Source: here.

As an example the graph to the left shows the 24h temperature curve of 11th August 2020. The peak temperatures occur between approx. 9am and 6pm. 

Comparison with the average 24 hour solar irradiance per hour (generates solar electricity) during a day in August shows, that it is maximal between 9am and 5pm.

This shows that even on the scale of hours, high temperatures and high solar irradiance (-> high solar electricity output) agree.

Solar rooftop electricity therefore does not need to be stored expensively, it can be immediately used for air conditioning when it is most needed.

O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.

Psalm 104:24, NKJV

Average annual solar irradiance during every hour of each 24-h day during August (black solid line, overall maximum; black dashed line, overall average; the other lines, daily values) Source: here.

Reason 5: Build democracy: Majority of Japanese want an end to nuclear power in Japan.

The Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞) in Japan, with a circulation of over three million daily reported in a survey of March 13, 2017 that in Japan

• 55% oppose restarting nuclear reactors
• 26% in favor

That means the clear majority of Japanese citizens continues to oppose nuclear energy even more than 5 years after the 3.11 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, and only one quarter is in favor of nuclear energy.

After 3.11 a strong civilian protest movement with regular mass demonstrations in Tokyo against nuclear energy arose.

Protest in Tokyo against nuclear energy (19 Sep. 2011) with 60000 participants changing: Sayonara nuclear power.

Japanese Lawyer Hideki Kawai decided to elucidate the complex issues surrounding nuclear power in Japan in the documentary Movie Nuclear Japan, released in 2014. He says:

… in a democracy, a fair legal process is obviously important to protect our rights, especially for minority issues. Lawsuits in a democracy function as safety valves. Justice is justice. I shall stand up to protect life and Japan in courts, even if I would be alone. But to share the idea of nuclear zero nationwide, we need a movie.

Hiroyuki Kawai

ICU is proud to declare about itself: ICU’s educational mission is based on Christian and democratic principles.

Can an institution like ICU “based on democratic principles” rightfully ignore the manifest will of the majority of Japanese citizens and continue to buy electricity from power generation companies that have a history of operating nuclear power plants and the declared will (*) to continue to do so? Does this way of electricity procurement not mean to support the nuclear energy industry in Japan – against the democratic will of Japanese citzens?

(*) TEPCO: … nuclear power is an indispensable energy source for ensuring a stable supply of energy … (last accessed: 07 July 2020)

Reason 4: Stop financing war, e.g. the war between oil exporting nations Saudi Arabia and Iran in Yemen.

UNICEF 2018: 2200 dead war children in Yemen. 11M children in Yemen need help getting food, treatment, education, water and sanitation, UNICEF executive director says.

Yemeni civilian carrying a shirt of child killed by Saudi airstrike

World top arms importer 2018 was Saudi Arabia: 3.81 billion USD!

The 10 commandments say: Thou shalt not kill. (The Bible, Exodus 20:13, KJV)

Do we really want to continue to buy oil and gas for fossil fuel power stations (their use increased greatly in Japan after 3.11) and send billions of USD to countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran to enable them to buy unimaginable amounts of arms and continue to kill innocent civilians, yes even thousands of children every year? Would you call this the right ethical use of our financial resources and ethical consumption of energy?

Share of various energy sources in Japan (2019)

The graph shows that 73 % of Japan’s national energy supply in 2019 was from liquid natural gas (LNG), coal, oil and uranium. Thus as much as 73% of electricity International Christian University buys from the grid may come from fossil fuel or uranium.

By reducing LNG and oil imports, Japan can obviously stop financing war, reduce the funds for buying arms and thus make the lives of civilians and children in particular safer. Ultimately every individual and every institution bears the full ethical responsibility for where its money goes, how it is used, and how it affects the lives of other people on the planet.

Buy supplying itself 100% with renewable energy, ICU can stop buying fossil based electricity, and therefore reduce the income of oil exporting and massively arms purchasing nations like Saudi Arabia and Iran. This is a very direct and tangible contribution to world peace and for saving the lives of countless innocent civilians and children. Knowledge of these facts means we have responsibility for what we do.

Reason 3: Agreement with ICU’s international Christian core values.

Christian values in full generality measure by what the Bible says in the Old and New Testament:

Sun rise

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1, NKJV) •

“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15, KJV)

Rice paddy

… that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:21, ESV)

Freedom

God is the creator. God has created the world, the environment, humans and delegated responsibility to us. Even after man rejected God’s good and perfect will and had to leave the Garden of Eden, God decided to set us free by the sacrifice of Jesus. This freedom is not only for humans but for creation itself to become free from corruption.

In turning to 100% renewable energy ICU would make a bold statement against the corruption of nature caused by uranium mining, processing, reprocessing, nuclear waste storage and nuclear reactor disasters. ICU would help free the world from environmental damage and pollution caused by oil exploration, oil wells, oil spills, and fracking.

Uranium and fossil fuel extraction even corrupts international finance: Corruption risks exist across all business sectors, but some are more prone to corruption than others. The extractive industries are among the highest risk areas of business, accounting for one in five cases of transnational bribery according to the OECD. (Transparency International)

Father Tetsuro Honda

During ICU’s Christianity Week 2014 (20th of May 2014) catholic Father Tetsuro Honda shared how home less day laborers in Japan are engaged for nuclear clean up operations in Fukushima by way of (often Mafia related) chain contracts. The people who arrange the contracts take part of the wages, so that in the end the workers have just enough money to pay for accommodation and food during their limited working days in high radiation health risk environment. Afterwards they are as poor as before with the increased risk of radiation induced health damage. By switching to 100% RE, ICU would stop buying nuclear electricity from the power grid, ICU would thus stop supporting the nuclear business in Japan.

Finally, remember that Jesus taught: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Mat. 22:39, The Bible, ESV) Do we identify ourselves with exploited day laborers?

Reason 2: Acts are more powerful than words.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (The Bible, James 1:22, NIV)

James in his letter encourages Christians to go beyond listening to the word of God, that is to begin doing what they understand.

Moreover, the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans: For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith. (The Bible, Romans 1:17, NIV)

Related to that James writes: As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (The Bible, James 2:26, NIV) Certainly, as Christians we do not want to have a dead faith, but a living faith that practically expresses the gift of righteousness in Christ in what we do as well.

Even if people in individualistic post modern, post truth society may pay little attention to what we say as Christians, they will see what we do.

Asian Rural Institute in Tochigi, Japan

For example the ecologic farming servant leadership education by Asian Rural Institute in Tochigi Prefecture in Japan is a powerful action to change rural societies across the globe for the better: … the aim of the program is to invite and train local grassroots leaders to more effectively serve in their communities as they work for the poor, the hungry, and the marginalized. ... The training focuses on sustainable agriculture through integrated organic farming techniques, community building, and servant leadership. It is community based and hands-on learning is emphasized in all areas. Working together we grow and share our own food. [here]

Benedictine Mission Abbey of Muensterschwarzach in Germany

Another practical testimony is the Benedictine Mission Abbey of Muensterschwarzach in Germany. Already in the 12th century they began to use hydropower, in 2000 the Abbot decided: We will make a courageous step towards using alternative energy – based on the foundation of our Benedictine tradition. They argue that even the history of creation calls for a careful treatment (of nature): “fill the earth and subdue it” (The Bible, Gen. 1:28, NIV) means to sustainably deal with the available resources. Benedict of Nursia himself taught to treat everything carefully and regard it like holy altar utensils (Rule of St. Benedict 31,10). That includes the sustainable treatment of creation. They successively began to use hydropower, solar PV, solar collectors, biogas, wood chip boilers, and wind energy, achieving net-zero CO2 emissions (2008) and negative emissions since 2011. [here]

A Christian university like ICU can follow in these footsteps and aim at 100% renewable energy supply as a powerful act of preserving creation, following the creators own instructions. It may well make outside observers ask: And who is this creator?

Reason 1: Practical Christian testimony of preserving God’s creation.

Florence Nightingale

Jean Henri Dunant said, “Though I’m known as the founder of the Red Cross … it is to an Englishwoman that all the honor is due. What inspired me … was the work of Florence Nightingale.”

A champion of preserving God’s creation is Tony Rinaudo of the Christian Charity World Vision:

World Vision Austrailia: Tony Rnaudo

“Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) is a low-cost land restoration technique used to combat poverty and hunger amongst poor subsistence farmers by increasing food and timber production and resilience to climate extremes. In practice, FMNR involves the systematic regrowth and management of trees and shrubs from felled tree stumps, sprouting root systems or seeds. The regrown trees and shrubs – integrated into crops and grazing pastures – help restore soil structure and fertility, inhibit erosion and soil moisture evaporation, rehabilitate springs and the water table, and increase biodiversity. Some tree species also impart nutrients such as nitrogen into the soil. As a result, FMNR can double crop yields, provide building timber and firewood, fodder and shade for livestock, wild foods for nutrition and medication, and increased incomes and living standards for farming families and their communities.” [here]

Prof. em. Dr. Izumi Ushiyama

Another very practical example is for me Dr. Izumi Ushiyama, Chair of BOT and Prof. em. Ashikaga University, who researches renewable energy, especially wind power, since over 40 years in Japan and worldwide. You may learn about this from his lectures video| PDF or video | PDF. He writes:

“Two thousand years ago, Jesus came into a gray, chaotic world. At Christmas time, he came into the world as a savior, for those in any difficulty or suffering. Renewable energy investment around the world has increased by a factor of 15 in the last decade and is currently worth 25 trillion yen. There is no doubt that a huge industry as large as the automobile industry will soon be formed. Since nuclear power generation is an industry within a few trillion yen at most, renewable energy has become a much larger industry, and this is a big Christmas present. You should not miss this opportunity.” [here]

See also his book Renewable energy saves the earth. Realistic scenario for “nuclear power generation exit”.

Finally let me quote from World Vision’s Mission Statement: World Vision is an international partnership of Christians whose mission is to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice, and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God. ... [here]

International Christian University transforming itself to a 100% renewable energy reliant university would be a great Christian testimony of preserving God’s creation.