Tenri Environmental Forum 2001

On April 1, Tenri Environmental Forum 2001 was held under the joint auspices of Oyasato Institute for the Study of Religion, Tenri Board of Education, and a non-governmental organization called Tenri Environmental Citizens’ Network. The forum took place at Tenri Cultural Center, attracting about 100 people including environmentalists. The forum had three sessions. The first session was a panel discussion on research results obtained by nine students from four elementary schools in Tenri City. The students serving as panelists presented measurements of the carbon dioxide concentration in their local school districts’ atmosphere, as well as reports on the quality of water in the Furu River. The second session featured a gagaku performance by Tenri University Gagaku Music Society. The primary instruments used in gagaku are, significantly, made of bamboo, which is drawing considerable attention due to its ecological value. The third session, entitled “ecology of fire-water-wind,” focused on energy and the living environment. Mr. Etsuzo Uchimura (former professor at Osaka City University) gave a keynote lecture on “bamboo and the environment,” which was followed by a panel discussion. Between March 29 and April 1, various environmental posters and objects were displayed at the cultural center in support of the forum.