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Adams

Environmental Relationships between Japan, the United States, and Germany

A culture’s relationship with their environment is an important characteristic that can be

used to evaluate, compare, and contrast different cultures. As each culture began its historical

journey through the ages, different beliefs and events affected how their views developed. Why

does a culture’s relationship with nature matter? While all cultures have a relationship with the

environment, these relationships are similar and different across the three cultures of Japan,

Germany, and the United States. This is largely due to the fact that they have similar

environmental regulations, different technologies and differing views with regards to uncertainty

avoidance. Kluckhohn researched and presented the World Orientation, which describes a

country’s relationship with its environment. Do they seek to control the earth’s natural resources

or do they try to live harmoniously with nature?

The United States has a controlling relationship with nature, in that they seek to

industrialize and use the natural resources that are available to produce products and maximize

profit. Germany differs in comparison with the United States, in that they are a top industrial

country with a majority of government policies requiring firms to operate in a sustainable

manner. Germans tend to do things according to an environmental tradition, which posits that life

is better in the long term if you live symbiotically with nature. Japan is one of the most energy

efficient countries in the world, which is hard to believe given that they are an island nation that

is not endowed with natural resources such as coal or oil. The Japanese teach their children to

conserve energy and materials so that future generations may have the opportunity to live as they

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Adamsdo. These differing views posit a question; do organizations exist in these countries that regulate

environmental policy?

The answer is yes, the United States, Germany, and Japan all have agencies that regulate

environmental activities. The United States reacted to public concern regarding the pollution of

the environment by businesses and other institutions with the Environmental Protection Agency.

“The Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1970 to protect human health and the

environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress”.1 The

E.P.A. has put forth many regulations that benefit the United States’ air, water, land, animal

species, and hazardous waste removal.

It took Japan additional time to pass environmental policies, after a series of pollution

related disasters warranted change. The Japanese government created an agency that passed the

Basic Environment Law in 1993 to restrict industrial pollution, harmful products, and wastes in

an effort to improve energy conservation. The Environment Agency became the Ministry of the

Environment in 2001, to address additional environmental issues such as those created by other

countries. Germany created The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation,

Building and Nuclear Safety in response to the Chernobyl disaster that affected Ukraine in 1986.

The functions of this agency are similar to that of the E.P.A. and the Ministry of the

Environment. These agencies play an important role in protecting the human species from

harming the environment and themselves. As each of these countries progressed into the 21st

century, we have seen new technological breakthroughs that help to conserve energy, reduce

pollution, and reduce our dependence on nonrenewable resources.

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AdamsThe United States manufactures a majority of the green products that are designed to

reduce energy usage and waste. Yet our dependence on oil and coal has caused us to be slower at

adapting to more renewable energy sources. With the emergence of the electric car that is

powered by solar panel recharging stations, I believe the United States will see more renewable

industries in the near future. However the U.S. is resistant due to political disagreements and as a

result is slow at moving away from its dependence on nonrenewable resources to other

alternatives. Germany is ahead of the United States in that they have significant investments in

wind powered turbines and solar plants in Africa that export power. “Germany is accelerating its

efforts to become the world's first industrial power to use 100 percent renewable energy -- and

given current momentum, it could reach that green goal by 2050”.2 The plan boils down to

constructing a large amount of wind turbines on the coasts of Germany and redirecting that

power into a reengineered electrical grid that would distribute power efficiently to all of

Germany.

Japan was mostly dependent on its nuclear facilities to provide power, but has recently

made the switch to turn off the reactors ever since the Fukushima nuclear disaster endangered

Japanese citizens. The Japanese conserved energy by switching out inefficient fluorescent lights

with LEDs that use a fraction of the electricity. Japanese businesses installed solar panels on the

roofs of their skyscrapers to produce more energy. Although they have increased their imports of

electricity from nonrenewable resources, there have been breakthroughs in wind power and solar

technology that Japan is currently investing in. Technology plays an important role in allowing

us to make use of alternative energy sources, thus lessening our manipulation of the earth. The

green movement has affected many countries, in that it challenges countries who seek to exploit

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Adamsthe earth. An important dimension that should be acknowledged between these countries is the

Uncertainty Avoidance dimension.

The United States is below average on uncertainty avoidance which means that they are

fairly open to new ideas, innovation, and new technologies. However, the United States is also

very individualistic, which causes problems in trying to switch from fossil fuels to renewable

energy sources when special interest groups are pursuing their own agendas. Many businessmen

are focused on making a profit and if it is at the expense of the environment than they don’t seem

to care. Change is difficult for Japan given that they are one of the highest uncertainty avoidant

cultures in the world. A series of natural disasters have caused them to be resistant to uncertainty.

I believe that this motivates Japan to improve their environmental policy given that they have a

history with disaster and are known for planning and preparing certain activities in order to

benefit future generations.

Germany is high in uncertainty avoidance, in that they rely strongly on the expertise and

skill of professionals to make decisions. This is evidenced by their fast implementation of wind

powered energy and their ever increasing energy conservation policies that maximize the

utilization of renewable energy. In some cities, underground chasms under buildings store heat

for the winter and cold air for the summer. These innovations are prominent in Germany given

their relationship with nature. These 3 cultures vary in their relationship with the environment

but as a human species we must realize the importance of the earth on which we live.

A culture’s relationship with nature is important for many reasons. As modern developed

countries industrialized, environmental policies were nonexistent meaning that pollution of all

sorts was unregulated. We must make an effort to repair the damage we have already caused to

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Adamsthe environment. If we continue down the path of exploiting the earth for monetary gain and

material production, than the next generation will be at a significant disadvantage and will have

to deal with the problems that our cultures have created. I am hopeful that more cultures will

realize the importance of finding alternative sources of energy so that we can lessen our

destruction of the earth. Culturally, I believe the United States, Germany, and Japan can learn

from one another with regards to each of their world orientations. I wonder, have we truly

learned from our past mistakes with regards to manipulating the environment? Many disasters

could have been prevented by simply regulating business and putting protective measures in

place. Is history doomed to repeat itself, given the resistance and disagreement between

politicians in certain cultures against environmentalism?

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Adams

BibliographyUnited States Environmental Protection Agency. (2014, February 11). Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency

Environmental issues in Japan. (2014, March 11). Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Japan

Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. (2014, January 11). Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Ministry_for_the_Environment,_Nature_Conservation,_Building_and_Nuclear_Safety

Burgermeister, J. (2009, April 3). Germany: The World's First Major Renewable Energy Economy. Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/04/germany-the-worlds-first-major-renewable-energy-economy

Fitzpatrick, M. (2013, September 23). Japan’s green energy evolution. Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://fortune.com/2013/09/23/japans-green-energy-evolution/

THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html