????上周一，日本關停了最后一個核電站。它意味著曾經在日本能源供應體系中占據重要地位的50個核電站已經全部停止運營。盡管經歷了有史以來最熱的夏天之一，但日本今年并沒有限電，也沒有停電。他們是如何做到這一點的？簡單地說，日本人削減了電力消費。

????能源保護主義者凱文?邁耶森說：“日本的核反應堆已經基本上被災難后的能源使用效率增益所取代，用電效率的改善促使能源消耗減少了15-20%。比如，在日本各地的寫字樓中，新開發的低功率LED燈已經取代了能源消耗巨大的照明設備，寫字樓的用電量驟減了40%。”邁耶森是一位退休的美國商人，現居于日本。

????就目前而言，諸如此類的能源節約已經讓日本脆弱的核電廠成為累贅。根據政府提供的數據，日本全國的能源需求已減少了10%，從而根除了大約14個核反應堆存在的必要性。

????在這波能源節約浪潮中，打頭陣的是類似小松公司(Komatsu)這樣的大企業。這家世界第二大建筑設備制造商承諾，至2015年，它至少將削減一半的能源消耗。致力于節省能耗的不止小松公司。福島核泄漏災難之后，公共和私人部門的節約努力在很大程度上遏制了電力需求。

????當然，日本還沒有走上完全依賴清潔能源的道路。此外，這個國家也在很大程度上轉向了化石燃料。短短兩年內，污染性能源在日本能源消費的占比就從60%飆漲至85%。

????為了減少日本對外國能源的依賴(它90％的能源依靠進口)和二氧化碳污染，小松公司打算在2014年之前將電力消耗減少50%。這家制造商聲稱，過去3年，在不減產的情況下，它通過改變生產方式已經節省了40%的能源成本。

????比如，小松公司用電池驅動的工具代替了非常耗電的氣動裝置，還引進了其他節電技術。此外，這家公司在樓頂安裝了太陽能電池板，同時致力于尋找其他利用可再生能源的方式，比如使用地下水作為冷卻劑。小松公司還計劃在2020年之前投資300至400億日元重建老化的廠房，建造使用LED照明設施，從而能節約能源的工廠和辦公室。一個60瓦LED燈的耗電量大約是相同瓦數白熾燈的八分之一，這是一項每年都在成倍改善用電效率的技術。購置這種照明設備的開支只需兩年時間就可以通過節省下來的電費得到填補。

????供職于九州大學(Kyushu University)無碳能源國際研究所 (International Institute of Carbon Neutral Energy Research)的憲史教授稱，盡管出現了這么多變化，但日本的節能努力仍有改善空間。“許多地方依然在使用傳統燈泡和熒光燈。這種狀況亟需改變。使用LED照明燈是大勢所趨。我們需要更好地把這個信息傳遞出去。”

????日本政府正在積極鼓勵社會各界進一步節約能源，而且已為該國的家用電器設定了新的節能目標。超過20種電器現在需要滿足一定的節能標準，而這類標準將變得越來越嚴格。現在，日本空調的能效較1998年提高了68%。至2020年，空調的能效還需在目前基礎上提高一倍。

????Japan took the last of its 50 once-vital nuclear power stations offline last Monday. But despite having one of the hottest summers on record, Japan has had no power rationing or blackouts this year. How did they do it? Put simply, the country cut back.

????"Japan's nuclear reactors have mostly been replaced by post-catastrophe efficiency gains which reduced [energy] consumption by around 15-20%," says Kevin Meyerson, a retired American businessman and now an energy conservationist living in Japan. "For example, offices throughout Japan have replaced high-consumption lighting with newly developed-in-Japan low-power LED lights, cutting office electricity consumption up to 40%."

????Such conservation has made Japan's vulnerable nuclear power plants redundant for the time being. Cutting energy demand by 10% across the board in Japan has eliminated the need for about 14 nuclear reactors, according to government figures.

????Leading the charge to unplug are major corporations like Komatsu, the world's second-largest construction equipment manufacturer, which has pledged to cut its energy consumption by at least 50% by 2015. They are not alone. In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, public and private conservation efforts have helped keep power demand comfortably in check.

????To be sure, Japan hasn't gone entirely green. The nation has also turned to fossil fuels in a very big way. Dirty energy now accounts for 85% of Japan's energy consumption, up from 60% within just two years.

????In a bid to reduce Japan's dependence on foreign energy -- 90% of its energy resources are imported -- and CO2 pollution, Komatsu has aimed for a 50% cut in its electricity consumption by 2014. Without any reduction in production, the company claims it has already saved 40% over three years on energy costs by changing its manufacturing methods.

????Komatsu has replaced power-hungry pneumatics with battery-powered tools, for example -- and introduced other power-saving technology. The firm has also installed solar panels on the rooftops of its buildings and is working on finding ways of taking advantage of renewable energy, such as using underground water as a coolant. Komatsu also plans to invest 30-40 billion yen by 2020 to rebuild its aging plants and replace them with factories and offices that can save energy by employing LED lighting. A 60-watt type LED uses about one-eighth the power that a 60-watt incandescent bulb uses, and is a technology that is improving exponentially each year. Such lighting can pay for itself in lowered utility bills within two years.

????Despite all the changes, there is still room for improvement in Japan, says Kenshi Itaoka, a professor at the International Institute of Carbon Neutral Energy Research, Kyushu University. "Conventional light bulbs and fluorescent lights are still used in a lot of places. This needs to change. LEDs are the way forward. We need to get the message out better."

????Keen to encourage further energy savings, Japan's government has set new targets for the nation's domestic appliances. Energy efficiency is now required for over 20 different types of electronics. Such rules will get stricter. Air conditioners in Japan, which are 68% more energy-efficient today than they were in 1998, are now required to become twice as efficient by 2020.