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Brad Plumer
For Brad Plumer's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Steam rises from the Roosevelt Hot Springs, near the FORGE and Fervo geothermal sites outside of Milford, Utah, on July 31. FORGE and Fervo are drilling a few miles from the Roosevelt Hot Springs, which are created by underground heated rocks relatively near the Earth's surface.
WORLD
Aug 31, 2023
The race is on to tap a source of clean energy beneath our feet
The growing interest in geothermal is driven by the fact that the United States has gotten extraordinarily good at drilling since the 2000s.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 7, 2023
Heat records are broken around the globe as Earth warms — and fast
The spike comes as forecasters warn of a multiyear period of exceptional warmth driven by two main factors: emissions of heat-trapping gases; and the return of El Nino.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 21, 2023
World has less than a decade to stop catastrophic warming, U.N. panel says
A new U.N. report says it is still possible to hold global warming to relatively safe levels, but doing so will require global cooperation, billions of dollars and big changes.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 11, 2022
As war rages, a struggle to balance energy crunch and climate crisis
Nations remain extraordinarily dependent on fossil fuels and are struggling to shore up supplies precisely at a moment when scientists say the world must slash its use.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 11, 2021
China and the United States agree to work together to tackle climate change
The United States and China announced a joint agreement Wednesday to "enhance ambition” on climate change, saying they would work together to do more to cut emissions this decade while China committed for the first time to reduce methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2021
Six automakers and 31 countries say they’ll phase out gasoline car sales
Toyota, Volkswagen and the Nissan-Renault alliance did not join the pledge, and the governments of Japan, the United States and China — three of the largest car markets — also abstained.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2021
A glimpse of the future in Texas: Climate change means trouble for power grids
Huge winter storms have plunged large parts of the central and southern United States into an energy crisis this week as frigid blasts of Arctic weather crippled electric grids and left millions of Americans without power amid dangerously cold temperatures.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 17, 2013
Engine economics limit biofuels in U.S.
When it comes to ethanol, the United States may have reached its limit — at least for now.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Oct 25, 2013
Space trash tax eyed
Space is getting awfully messy. The amount of debris in Earth's orbit keeps multiplying each year, damaging satellites and putting astronauts in harm's way. If the problem gets severe enough, it could eventually make low-Earth orbit unusable.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2013
How Great Recession turned middle-class jobs into low-wage jobs
The U.S. job market is slowly improving, and most economists expect that gradual recovery to continue this year. Yet one of the most disturbing trends of the Great Recession is still very far from being reversed. America's middle-class jobs have been decimated since 2007, replaced largely by low-wage jobs.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?