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Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Nov 9, 2005

Mystery snail Tanishi

By Rowan Hooper

* Japanese name: Tanishi * Scientific name: Cipangopaludina japonica * Description: A large snail, growing up to 60 mm long. It has two large "horns"; shell color is uniform, light to dark olive-green, but may have color bands. As in the photo, they are often muddy, and they are also known as mud snails. *...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK

Nov 2, 2005

Recalling fond memories of eiders

By C.W. Nicol

It's getting to that time of year when I air out my down-filled sleeping bag. No big field trips are planned for this year, but I do like to spend a few nights in the woods, a campfire going, with no phones (no, not even a cell phone), no television and no mosquitoes.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Oct 26, 2005

By Rowan Hooper

* Japanese name: Nekogigi * Scientific name: Pseudobagrus ichikawai * Description: Catfish have whiskers, making them easily recognizable. Of course, the whiskers are not made of hair, but they have the same function as a cat's whiskers: They are sensory organs, more correctly called barbels. The bagrid...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Oct 26, 2005

Amazon's best defense is its people

By Stephen Hesse

In 1989, two years after his first visit to the Amazon, singer/songwriter Sting co-authored a book called "Jungle Stories: The Fight for the Amazon" (Barrie & Jenkins). In the book he writes, "To visit the forest just once is to be haunted forever after by its mysterious beauty and to be made aware of...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Oct 19, 2005

Autumn sees predators in action

By Mark Brazil

The hunters are abroad! Every day, now, the sparrow hawks, goshawks, honey buzzards, ospreys and falcons that summer in Northeast Asia are migrating out of the region. As cooler weather approaches and prey numbers decline, these predators head south for the winter. Soon, almost on their heels, the larger...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Oct 12, 2005

Striped diving beetle

By Rowan Hooper

* Japanese name: Shima-gengorou * Scientific name: Hydaticus bowringii * Description: This beetle is small, some 15 mm long, but sturdy. Its elytra (wing cases) are black, with an almost lacquered quality. What makes this species unmistakable are the two golden stripes running down the length of each...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK

Oct 5, 2005

Sad drumbeats in the wilderness

By C.W. Nicol

I made several visits to the Aichi Expo this year and met a lot of interesting people. But one person above all left an indelible impression. Soft-spoken, modest, and wearing traditional northern buckskin, his name was Michael Cazon -- a Dene drummer, teacher and healer from Fort Simpson in the Northwest...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT

Sep 28, 2005

Multi-multiethnic Holland grows old together

By Eric Prideaux

Growing old can be difficult, especially if you are in an alien land.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Sep 21, 2005

Putting people back into ecology

By Stephen Hesse

Peter Berg is singularly passionate about his vision for a better world. He is convinced that towns and cities can move beyond the limitations of environmentalism and create vibrant communities that are economically and ecologically sustainable, and he believes bioregions are the key.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Sep 21, 2005

By Rowan Hooper

* Japanese name: Ayu * Scientific name: Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis * Description: Ayu are as Japanese as cherry blossom. Small fish in the salmon family, they grow to about 20 cm long, sometimes reaching 30 cm. Ayu are celebrated as being, when skewered and grilled over a fire, one of the tastiest...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Sep 14, 2005

Taking it slowly to savor eco-exploring

By Mark Brazil

These days, "eco" has become something like a random, loosely attached, brand name. Not associated with any particular company, nor with any particular product, eco -- which "Webster's" defines as a combining form meaning "environment or habitat" -- is applied seemingly indiscriminately.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Sep 8, 2005

Eight-map butterfly

By Rowan Hooper

* Japanese name: Sakahachichou * Scientific name: Araschnia burejana strigosa * Description: These are feisty butterflies, with a wingspan of about 5 cm and sharp, erratic flight. In terms of coloration, red, orange and brown usually predominate. The forelegs are merely "brushes," and are not used...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.

If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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