Recently I watched a Netflix documentary ‘David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.’ Following that, I read his book as well. I love that he sites lots of examples of human impacts on Earth as well as success stories of cities and countries in achieving bewildering their lands and seas.

The author introduces policies, concepts and frameworks that can help the sustainability revolution. Particularly, the Doughnut Model by an Oxford economist Kate Raworth was intriguing. She published a book about it (‘Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist’) which I would love to read. I watched her TED talk which was very inspiring. I wish I had such a lecture when I was studying economics in Okayama!

TED talk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BHOflzxPjI

Coincidentally, I learnt from the internet search that Amsterdam has become the first city to use the model as a guide to rebuild the city that is suffering from the COVID-19. It is very exciting to see such a big city to take a bold action! I hope they will deliver good results and will be followed by others.

The Guardian article on Amsterdam: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/amsterdam-doughnut-model-mend-post-coronavirus-economy?CMP=share_btn_tw

I’m currently into reading about parenting as well as how young children learn. In the book I recently finished, I learnt about the Theory of Multiple Intelligence, first proposed by an American developmental psychologist Howard Gardner in 1983. According to him, human beings have eight different types of intelligences that reflect different ways of interacting with the world (some claim there are nine or more). The theory is a critique of the standard intelligence theory as well as traditional measures like IQ tests. Each individual possess all the types to some degree.

Here are the summary of eight intelligences (copied from https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-are-multiple-intelligences-4002039).

1.Spatial（視覚・空間的知能）: Visualizing, creating, and manipulating something in a space, such as what an airplane pilot, architect, or chess player may do.

2.Bodily/Kinesthetic（身体・運動的知能）: Using one’s gross motor skills or fine motor skills to express oneself or to create, learn, or solve problems; involves coordination and dexterity and the use of one’s whole body or parts of the body, such as the hands.

3.Musical（音楽・リズム的知能）: Expressing oneself and understanding and creating through music⁠—by singing, playing musical instruments, composing, conducting, etc. Involves musical abilities such as sensitivity to rhythm, pitch, tone, and timbre.

4.Linguistic（言語・語学的知能）: Being attuned to the meaning of words and the sound, rhythms, inflections, and meter of words, the way a poet might. May involve reading, writing, speaking, an affinity for foreign languages.

5.Mathematical/Logical（論理・数学的知能）: Understanding and recognizing the patterns and relationships between numbers and actions or symbols; possessing computing skills; having the ability to solve various problems through logic.

6.Interpersonal（対人的知能）: Being attuned to other people’s feelings, emotions, and temperament. Individuals with high interpersonal intelligence are often associated with leadership and tend to be good at communicating with and understanding other people and are good at working with others. Sometimes referred to as social intelligence.

7.Intrapersonal（内省的知能）: Awareness of one’s own feelings, thoughts, anxieties, and traits, and the ability to use that understanding of oneself to control one’s own impulses and behavior and make plans and decisions.

8.Naturalist（博物的知能）: Understanding nature⁠—plants, animals, the environment, etc.⁠—and identifying, observing, categorizing, and understanding distinguishing features. This intelligence helps us use elements and patterns in the natural world to create products or solve problems.

Out of curiosity, I did an online assessment that contains 63 questions to find out about my intelligences. I scored high in the interpersonal and naturalist intelligences (4.29/5 in both) with the mathematical/logical intelligence being the lowest (2/5), which was not surprising at all.

The theory is widely applied in educational settings and by parents. Here are the things we parents can do at home (copied from https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-are-multiple-intelligences-4002039).

• Spend time with kids and see what they like: do ordinary things like having dinner or playing games.

• Value strengths instead of what kids can’t do: build your child’s sense of pride in things they are good at.

• Engage your child in different ways: if a child is struggling with something, suggest different approaches to it.

• Consider the expectations we have today: do not put additional social pressure on your child.

• Know that intelligence is a snapshot: expose your child to a variety of experiences as their MI profile is not static.

• Look at the value of all the intelligences: educations tend to focus on linguistic and math but all the intelligences should be valued equally.

I find that, while the theory has received criticisms in the relevant academic world, it gives a good guidance for parents to raise children. It gives ideas for the ways we communicate, play and study, and depth to activities and experiences in everyday life.

While reading アフリカの奇跡 by Yoshiyuki Sato, I came across with the term Triple Bottom Line (TBL). It was briefly explained in the book and I found it interesting, so I decided to do a little research on it.

The term was coined by John Elkington, who is often described as “Godfather of Sustainability,” in 1994. The TBL is an accounting framework that measures performance in business in three dimensions: finance (profits), social (people) and environmental (planet). The TBL dimensions are often called the three Ps.

There is no universally accepted method for calculating the three dimensions of the TBL (some advocate a monetary unit, other suggest an index). Collecting applicable data for calculation is also challenging.

While measuring the three Ps is challenging, the concept in return leaves a flexibility for those who have the stomach to use the concept to gauge sustainability as they can apply the concept according to their specific needs and priorities. Particularly, the flexibility allows local projects and communities to encourage economic development growth in a sustainable manner.

I am intrigued to learn more how small businesses and small communities may apply the TBL framework. Also, books by John Elkington, some of which are available in the UoE library, seem interesting.

Reference:

Slaper, Timothy F, & Hall, Tanya J. (2011). The triple bottom line: What is it and how does it work? Indiana Business Review, 86(1), 4.

I read a picture book called えんとつ町のプペル (The Poupelle of Chimney Town) by Akihiro Nishino. What an inspiring story..

The book is not cheap. In fact, it costs more than 2,000 yen and that is very expensive for a picture book. However, the story is available for free in Japanese and English for anyone who can access the internet (https://poupelle.com/book.php). Nishino’s decision on this is really bold, considering the fact that it took four years to finish up the book involving more than 30 artists (you will notice the high quality of the graphics as soon as you see its front cover). Here is my rough translation of a segment of his interview regarding this marketing strategy:

If a picture book author sells more then 5,000 copies of their book, it is regarded as a real hit. But I wondered why picture books don’t sell as much as other books, so I asked myself, who buys picture books? Mostly, mothers. Then I asked, how do they decide which picture books to buy? Then I thought, well, they are too busy to browse books in book stores.. their budgets are probably limited, too, and they may be afraid of accidentally buying books that are not good.. perhaps they buy books that they had read as a kid themselves because they know the stories are good? This is way I decided to release the book for free on the internet. I want people to read my book and judge if it is worth buying before buying it.

That itself is very impressive, but the story is also inspiring and heart-warming. It gives someone the push they need when they feel like nobody but themselves believe they can achieve their dream.

I definitely would love to read this to Islay in the future.

While reading the chapter 6 in How to Give Up Plastic by Will McCallum, I learnt that plastic enters the ocean as a result of us washing our clothes. Shockingly, a fleece jacket could be responsible for releasing as many as 250,000 microfibres.. the author advises that we buy less clothes, wash them less, buy non-synthetic clothes like organic cotton and wool where possible, and consider using a wash bag that can catch the microfibres inside and a washing machines with a microfibre filter.

In the chapter 7, I came across with the Zero-Waste Chef, Anne Marie. She published a book and blog that includes recipes specifically featuring ingredients that can be sourced from plastic-free packaging. The recipes even include ones for cleaner. How inspiring!

Zero Waste Chef https://zerowastechef.com/

Here is a summary of Step 1-5 in Part 1 of ホントにゼロからの簿記3級.

★Key points

最初に覚えるべき5つの概念、そしてその覚え方：『資産＝負債＋純資産、そしてあとは費用と収益』

★簿記単語帳　Glossary of bookkeeping

I’m currently reading How to Give Up Plastic by Will McCallum on Libby. Along with shocking statistics around plastic usage and waste, the book provides how to cut back on plastic in household and suggests eco-friendly (and often vegan friendly) brands. Here is a table from the chapter 5 and our progress to plastic-free bathroom/cosmetic items.

McGivney, A. (2020, January 29). Almonds are out. Dairy is a disaster. So what milk should we drink? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/28/what-plant-milk-should-i-drink-almond-killing-bees-aoe?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1606824595

Plant-based milk produces less greenhouse gas than dairy milk, but it has its drawbacks e.g. bee deaths, land and water consumptions, unsustainable practices for farmers etc. According to the article, among several types of milk alternatives, oat and soy milk perform well on sustainability metrics. Hazelnuts, hemp and flax are also good. I shall try them.