Search - environment

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2015

California learns from Australia on coping with long-term drought

Australian farms and cities manage almost every drop of available water to make the most of supplies on the driest inhabited continent. No wonder California is looking Down Under for help with its record drought.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 8, 2015

Europe submits U.N. climate pledge, urges U.S., China to follow

The European Union has submitted its formal promise on how much it will cut greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations ahead of climate change talks starting in November, and called on the United States and China to follow its lead.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2015

Your toothpaste is destroying Asia's rainforests

You probably had some palm oil today, which is found in roughly half of the products sold in modern supermarkets. It is the cause of one of the world's biggest environmental catastrophes, the decimation of Southeast Asia's rainforests.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 16, 2015

Uniqlo vows reforms as NGO deplores factory conditions in China

Fast Retailing moves to improve poor working conditions at Uniqlo's clothing plants in China after being confronted by an NGO in Hong Kong.
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2015

Proactive emissions plan needed

Although Japan is the world's fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, there doesn't seem to be the prospect that Tokyo will submit its COP20 emissions cut plan before the March 31 deadline.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 5, 2014

Peru says Amazon deforestation on the rise

Destruction of the Peruvian Amazon is rising after expanding over more than 145,000 hectares (560 sq. miles) last year — an 80 percent jump from the start of the century, the government said on Tuesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 27, 2014

U.S. EPA seeks tighter ozone standards to cut pollution

The Obama administration on Wednesday proposed stricter curbs on ground-level ozone, a pollutant linked to several serious health conditions. Industry groups said the move would place a heavy burden on the U.S. economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 15, 2014

Eels face the slippery slope to extinction

Last week I was crossing the River Thames on the way to work in London, and I happened to see a cormorant emerge from the water with a thrashing eel in its mouth. The bird juggled the fish, skillfully managing to position it so it could swallow the wriggling animal headfirst.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2014

Republicans vow to fight EPA in Congress over China emissions breakthrough

Republican congressional leaders on Wednesday wasted no time in criticizing what they called President Barack Obama's "one-sided" climate deal with China, using the announcement to declare war on the administration's plan to use executive actions to combat carbon emissions.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 2, 2014

Ditch U.N. temperature target for global warming, study recommends

A temperature goal set by almost 200 governments as the limit for global warming is a poor guide to the planet's health and should be ditched, a study published in the journal Nature said on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 12, 2014

Warmer air caused ice shelf collapse off Antarctica

Warmer air triggered the collapse of a huge ice shelf off Antarctica in 2002, according to a report on Thursday that may help scientists predict future break-ups around the frozen continent.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 23, 2014

Tallying the environmental cost of meat

What are the costs of the meat we eat — the hamburgers, pork chops and chicken breasts?
EDITORIALS
Aug 21, 2014

The fair cost of recycling

Japan's environment ministry is reviewing whether appliance recycling fees — set by manufacturers and paid by consumers since 2001 — are too high.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2014

Government offers ¥230 billion over 30 years if Fukushima temporarily stores radioactive soil: NHK

The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has offered to pay the Fukushima Prefectural Government ¥230 billion over the next 30 years if the prefecture hosts temporary storage facilities for soil tainted by radiation from the March 2011 nuclear disaster, NHK reported Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 26, 2014

As species die, what valuable knowledge dies with them?

In mid-June, The New York Times reported that U.S. President Barack Obama intends to use his executive authority to create the world's largest marine protected area in the south-central Pacific.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 23, 2014

Orix plans to build as many as 15 geothermal plants in Japan

Orix Corp. plans to build as many as 15 geothermal power stations in Japan over the next five years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2014

Shale oil to push U.S. past Russia, Saudi Arabia

Four years into the shale revolution, the U.S. is on track to pass Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world's largest producer of crude oil, most analysts agree. When that happens and by how much, though, has produced disparate estimates that depend on uncertain factors ranging from progress in drilling...
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2014

Cold response to global warming

A new Environment Ministry report estimates damage from anticipated global warming. Unfortunately efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions do not appear high on the Abe administration's policy agenda.

Longform

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