Pictureology - A Picture Book for Living Lightly on the Earth

by High Moon (trans. by Anne Hill)

Japan Environmental Exchange, Kyoto (1990)

Here is the answer to every environmentally concerned "manga" fan's dreams! This book is published by the Japan Environmental Exchange (JEE), a group based in Kyoto. It is filled with witty and ironic cartoons addressing the wastefulness of our modern lifestyle, cleverly drawn by High Moon (who is actually Takatsuki Hiroshi, at professor at the Environmental Protection Centre of Kyoto University).

The language level is somewhat advanced, mainly because it was not written as a text book as such, although its use as one is clearly obvious considering the widespread fascination cartoons prevalent throughout all age groups here in Japan.

Pictureology covers such issues as Waste, Energy, Food Safety, and Nature Conservation. It also incorporates a number of clear and effective graphs obtained from various Japanese sources showing such statistics as the production of disposable paper products, the number of vending machines (nearly five million!), and the contents of household garbage here in Japan. Each chapter also concludes with at least ten suggestions on "How to Live Lightly on the Earth".

Whether for personal information, selective use (the cartoons and diagrams can easily be understood from junior high school level up) or as a complete reading text, this is an excellent work and is certain to engage the attention of anybody who opens its covers.

(Reviewed by J. Summerville)

Famine and Chronic Persistent Hunger: A Life and Death Distinction

by The Leland Company, Inc.

The Hunger Project (1989)

This 11-minute video puts the hunger problem in perspective, with surprising facts and paths to a solution. Produced recently for general educational purposes by The Hunger Project, many EFL here have used it successfully in the classroom. There is an English version and a Japanese version, and a set of class support materials (true-false; main idea; cloze; dictation; vocabulary sheet) prepared by Julian Bamford, Sister Jean Schmid, and Mary Noguchi.

*****

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Kip A. Cates, Tottori University, Koyama, Tottori City, JAPAN 680-8551
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