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Two festivals in a single day
Wow! Talk about sensory overload. Here is how this reviewer's day went Saturday: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Japan Festival in Saginaw, at the Japanese Tea House & Garden, where we found a centrally located tree stump with a built-in back rest. Seated there we listened to the awesome Nagata Shachu drum group from Toronto, the elegant Miyabi Japanese harp and bamboo flute ensemble, and the fun-loving (they jumped up and down during one number) White Pine Glee Club of Japanese businessman from Detroit -- all of whom were performing in an area down a slope from that tree stump, on a stage overlooking the water and Ojibway Island. A glance to the left while the music played on revealed Jim Bush and his followers practicing the balletic and peaceful tai chi.
New SPV to get carbon credits for green cover
The Central government will form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and design a structural mechanism to claim carbon credits for plantations and forests, union minister for commerce and industries Kamal Nath said. He was inaugurating the 114th annual conference of UPASI here on Monday. "The world must compensate us for conserving forests and plantations. It is our rightful claim," Kamal Nath said. He said that it was difficult to claim carbon credits for existing plantations and forests, as under the Kyoto Protocol credit is given only for planting new trees. The various trade boards will be asked to form a common vehicle to make claims for maintaining the flora and fauna, he said. Nath also announced the formation of special committee to study the concept of providing a minimum support price for small tea growers.
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