Hiroko's Hitokoto

You see many people wearing "White Band" these days. I think it's a good way to PR those younger generation thru fashion and celebrities posing wearing these, to make them aware that there are lots of people who can't even eat for days and die from starvation. One day, I saw an elementary school student, probably at 3rd or 4th grade at a famous private school (I can tell from his uniform and hat which school he goes to), wearing one. That scene somehow made me puzzled. Does he really understand "poverty"? Did his parents give it to him to wear because everyone has it, or because it's the latest cool item he must wear to school to show to his friends? "White Band" are made well to appeal, not just to public, but to well to do, too. But does it really contribute to donation to those starving people? Not in Japan somehow. The system of "White Band" is not structured to collect money for donation to help those people needs real attention.

At what price people will stop driving cars? We discuss this frequently because the price of gas goes up literally every day. It's not hard to imagine that this situation is hurting many businesses. Take taxis for example. New York's Taxi and Limousine Association recently approved the use of hybrid cars for taxis -- something they'd been resisting previously. Cab drivers can now chose from 6 different kinds of vehicles, including the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape. The Association members number 12,760 taxi drivers. The discussion on how to maintain a vehicle-oriented culture without the gasoline costs has been going on for a while. A survey conducted by CAST (Coalition Advocating for Smart Transportation) in the US shows that 7 out of 10 people are in favor of shifting taxis to low exhaust emission systems and fuels, such as the Prius and Honda Civic. I bet the Detroit-based Big 3 will not be happy about this change, as they are likely to lose a bigger share of the marke