Early to bed and early to rise

The Japanese government has launched a campaign encouraging people to go to bed and get up early. The Morning Challenge campaign, unveiled by the Environment Ministry, is based on the premise that swapping late night electricity for an extra hour of morning sunlight could significantly cut the nation's carbon footprint. A typical family can reduce its carbon dioxide footprint by 85kg a year if everyone goes to bed and gets up one hour earlier. It is the latest initiative tackling climate change to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25 per cent from 1990 levels within the next decade.