Tag - environment

 
 

ENVIRONMENT

Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 3, 2016
Earth's 'annual physical' finds El Nino, warming left land, sea warmest-ever in 2015
Last year was the warmest year on record for land and sea, partly because seasonal El Nino climate patterns prevailed year-round, and melting ice pushed sea levels to the highest ever, a study based on the work of more than 450 scientists worldwide confirmed on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2016
Plastic waste turning seas toxic
The government and consumers alike must do everything they can to stop polluting the world's oceans with plastic waste.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2016
Global warming and the death of World Heritage sites
As climate change grows worse, influential institutions like the World Heritage Committee must take a stand against the toxic legacy of dependence on coal and other fossil fuels.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2016
Trump looking to pick top fracking mogul Hamm as energy secretary
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is considering nominating Oklahoma oil and gas mogul Harold Hamm as energy secretary if elected to the White House on Nov. 8, according to four sources close to Trump's campaign.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 19, 2016
Plastic debris in oceans a growing hazard as toxins climb the food chain
Plastic is part of the fabric of everyday life, from bags to bottles to synthetic clothing. In 2014, global production amounted to 311 million tons, up from 225 million tons in 2004, according to manufacturers group Plastics Europe.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2016
An environmental victory (and cautionary tale)
The infamous ozone hole over Antarctica is starting to heal.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 4, 2016
China detains 21 after hundreds protest against garbage incinerator
Police in southern China have detained 21 people involved in a protest against a planned garbage incinerator, the latest incident of environment-related unrest in the country.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2016
Crab traps pose growing threat to whales along U.S. West Coast
A blue whale found tangled in plastic rope off California has become a symbol for a little-known but growing hazard faced by the ocean's largest creatures along the U.S. Pacific Coast: commercial crab traps dotting the sea floor and drifting astray by the thousands.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2016
Japan unswayed by pressure to end support for coal power
Faced with increasing calls from environmentalists to phase out coal, Japan is standing by its support of the fossil fuel, saying it will help developing countries adopt the best available technologies for coal-fired power plants.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 3, 2016
Satellites find 39 unreported sources of major pollution
Researchers in the United States and Canada have located 39 unreported sources of major pollution using a new satellite-based method, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
May 30, 2016
Cool Biz energy-saving campaign kicks off
The government has kicked off its annual Cool Biz campaign, during which workers are encouraged to dress more casually to help reduce energy use.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 19, 2016
California ends mandatory water conservation rules as drought eases
California moved on Wednesday to dramatically roll back strict mandatory water conservation rules imposed at the height of a multiyear drought, after a wet winter eased conditions in parts of the state.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 4, 2016
Water crunch could sink economies, especially in Mideast, by midcentury: World Bank
Economies across large swaths of the globe could shrink dramatically by midcentury as fresh water grows scarce due to climate change, the World Bank reported on Tuesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 30, 2016
Hailing the benefits of raising a stink
In the 1980s, when I was living in northern Nagano Prefecture and hiking the mountains with members of the local Hunters Association, I was always making a lot of fuss about the depredation of ancient forests being instigated by the Forestry Agency — a branch of the national government that, at the...
JAPAN / Society
Apr 26, 2016
Alien red-ear sliders greatly outnumber Japan's own turtles
Invasive red-ear slider turtles now vastly outnumber endemic Japanese turtles and are causing significant stress to the ecosystem, the Environment Ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 15, 2016
El Salvador declares a drought emergency for the first time ever
El Salvador declared a water shortage emergency for the first time in its history on Thursday, citing the effects of climate change and the El Nino phenomenon, the country's president said.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 5, 2016
Climate change threatens hearts, lungs but also brains: U.S. study
Climate change can be expected to boost the number of annual premature U.S. deaths from heat waves in coming decades and to increase mental health problems from extreme weather like hurricanes and floods, a U.S. study said Monday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 24, 2016
U.N. expects record first-day signatures for Paris climate deal
The United Nations expects the number of countries that will sign the Paris climate change agreement at an April 22 ceremony in New York to exceed the record for the number signing up to an international accord on the day it opens, a U.N. official said on Wednesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 4, 2016
Obama-led EPA rule to curb mercury air pollution stands: Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Obama administration on Thursday in rebuffing a bid by 20 states to halt an Environmental Protection Agency rule to curb emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from power plants.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 2, 2016
China's green push seeks to counter unfettered growth
An affable academic who cracks jokes and cycles to work, Chen Jining is the face of China's cleanup, turning his environment ministry from "most embarrassing" to a powerhouse that has taken on those driving growth at all costs.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers