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Todd Woody
For Todd Woody's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Drivers in California’s Marin County rely on a single hydrogen fueling station.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 6, 2024
Few stations and $200 to fill up: Life on California’s ‘hydrogen highway’
Fuel shortages and soaring prices have stalled the adoption of hydrogen cars — but proponents aren’t throwing in the towel.
Fishers sort scallops aboard a French fishing trawler in the English Channel in 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Jan 18, 2024
Trawling the bottom of the ocean is kicking up tons of carbon dioxide
Many have opposed the practice for the damage it inflicts on seabed ecosystems, but new research shows that the climate also suffers.
Scientists discovered what they described as widespread and dangerous levels of toxic chromium in areas of Northern California severely burned by wildfires in 2019 and 2020.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Dec 15, 2023
Wildfires are unleashing dangerous metals from soil, study shows
Firefighters and anyone living downwind of a wildfire would be at most immediate risk if chromium 6 becomes airborne.
Fort Myers Beach during a high tide in Florida
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 2, 2023
A hidden climate danger threatens coastal communities
Rising sea levels could push contaminated groundwater to the surface, releasing toxic chemicals from contaminated areas nearby.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 19, 2023
Explorer Victor Vescovo says deep sea mining numbers don’t add up
Vescovo said the technological and financial uncertainties of mining metals far from shore and deep below the ocean surface have been grossly underestimated.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 13, 2023
A showdown in Jamaica is deciding the fate of the deep ocean
Seabed mining has the potential to become a trillion-dollar industry as the transition to electric vehicles spurs demand for metals like cobalt and nickel.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 9, 2023
How wildfire smoke impacts human health
Wildfire exposure is bad for the human body no matter how healthy a person is or how long they’re exposed to it.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 8, 2022
Tide turns as more governments oppose rush to mine deep sea for valuable metals
A U.N.-affiliated authority is convening in Jamaica to fast track regulations that could allow the mining of fragile and biodiverse deep sea ecosystems for valuable metals as soon as 2024.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 24, 2022
U.N. warns of 57% increase in risk of cataclysmic wildfires by 2100
'Wildfires need to be placed in the same category of global humanitarian response as major earthquakes and floods,” the U.N. wrote in a new report.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2022
Deep-ocean creatures previously unknown to science may be fighting climate change
Plankton that fall to the ocean floor regulate the global climate by transferring carbon from the atmosphere to the seafloor, where it can remain entombed for millions of years.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Dec 9, 2021
Meet the new climate refugee in town: coyotes
Drought and heat waves are not only fueling catastrophic wildfires in California, they're also driving wildlife into the streets in search of food and water.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2021
A mining startup’s rush for underwater metals comes with deep risks
DeepGreen Metals has successfully sold itself to investors as a game-changing source of minerals to make electric car batteries that can be obtained in abundance-and at great profit.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree