Commentary / World Sep 24, 2018
Space junk presents a clear and present danger
Pollution generated by human activity isn't limited to the Earth and its climate.
Mark Buchanan
For Mark Buchanan's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Commentary / World Jun 15, 2018
Why de-nuking the North is so difficult
Full denuclearization may not even be possible.
Commentary / World May 27, 2018
Canada's cautionary tale for all fishing nations
The rise and fall of a Canadian province's cod supplies points to the danger of industrial-scale fishing.
Commentary / World Jul 10, 2017
China's electric cars are actually pretty dirty
Electric-vehicle technology is only as clean as its sources of power.
Commentary / World Oct 31, 2016
Magical thinking won't stop climate change
Despite the Paris Agreement on climate change, the gap between what needs to happen and what is happening remains large, and is even growing.
Commentary / World Oct 18, 2016
A Nobel that helps explain the hole in a bagel
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics rewarded work that is merely one more step in the study of ordinary matter that has been going on for centuries.
Commentary / World Jul 28, 2016
How Trump could start a war with Russia
In his determination to "make America great again," Donald Trump should not turn away decisively from the things that have made America great in the past, including steady and unwavering support for its allies.
Commentary / World May 19, 2015
Is the world getting more peaceful? Maybe not
While some academics believe the world is getting more peaceful, new research suggests they might be getting their math wrong.
Commentary / World Dec 1, 2014
Is the European Union too rigid to survive?
Uncompromising attempts to bind Europe together may instead hasten its abrupt and unmanageable dissolution, with unknown consequences.
Commentary / World Nov 17, 2014
The trouble with the genetically modified future
Scientists are being irresponsible if they judge the safety of GMOs based on the scattered experience of the past couple decades.