Tag - environment

 
 

ENVIRONMENT

WORLD
Sep 5, 2014
BP 'grossly negligent' in 2010 U.S. spill, fines could be $18 billion
A U.S. judge has decided that BP Plc was "grossly negligent" and "reckless" in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill four years ago, a ruling that could add nearly $18 billion in fines to more than $42 billion in charges the company took for the worst offshore environmental disaster in U.S. history.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 30, 2014
Kiun-Kaku: a garden of elegant period taste
Despite the seasonal limitations for visiting, the Atami Baien, a plum garden, is a better-known sight that the Kiun-Kaku garden, which is an all-seasons landscape also found in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture. Perhaps it is the thirst for scale that has prioritized the plum trees in their large hillside...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2014
California ban on plastic bags is full of hot air
California legislators' efforts to impose America's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags smack of an easy way to demonstrate concern for the environment without requiring too much of their constituents or local businesses.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2014
U.S. seizes more than 1,200 illegal giant snails
The giant African snail damages buildings, destroys crops and can cause meningitis in humans. But some people still want to collect, and even eat, the slimy invaders.
WORLD
Aug 28, 2014
As roads expand fast worldwide, better planning is needed to aid agriculture and the environment: study
New roads long enough to girdle the Earth 600 times are expected to be built by 2050, and better planning is needed to protect the environment while also raising food production, a study said on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 23, 2014
Bear attack: Up close and way too personal
On Aug. 14, I was attacked by a black bear. It all happened suddenly and in a blur of fur, paws and gnashing teeth as the tsukiwaguma charged out of the trees 10 meters from me in a forested, hilly area in Gunma Prefecture in the Kamimoku district of Minakami.
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?
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 22, 2014
Hiatus in global warming is due to Atlantic currents, study says, but will end in 2030
The Atlantic Ocean has masked global warming by soaking up vast amounts of heat from the atmosphere, but that process is likely to reverse from around 2030 and spur fast temperature rises, scientists say.
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 Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Aug 16, 2014
What kind of life could live in the clouds?
Do you remember seeing clouds from an airplane for the first time? Even if that first time was as an adult, you were probably struck by the appearance of solidity. Seen from above, a cloudscape looks like a landscape — it looks like a place where things might live.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2014
In threat to coastal cities, Antarctic melt may lift sea level faster than previously believed
The melting of glaciers in Antarctica because of global warming may push up sea levels faster than previously believed, potentially threatening coastal cities including Tokyo, New York and Shanghai, researchers in Germany said.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 9, 2014
Gazing in awe on nature's flying bullet, the brown booby
"Sleekly elegant" is a befitting way to describe a catwalk model in the fashion world, suitable even for an ultramodern city tower or a bullet train, and appropriate on the race circuit for describing a pleasingly aerodynamic two-seater convertible. It is a surprisingly relevant way too for describing...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2014
Women armed with chain saws head to the hills under Abe's growth plan
Junko Otsuka quit her job in Tokyo and headed for the woods, swapping a computer for a bush cutter and her air-conditioned office for the side of a mountain.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Aug 2, 2014
Toxic gypsy moths — a most unpleasant infestation
Living in the countryside, the usual casual greetings include an observation about the weather, but for the last six weeks around my home in northern Nagano Prefecture, everybody mentioned the caterpillars. Now it's the moths. I've never seen such a plague of them in the 34 years I've been here.
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
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 26, 2014
'Space Expo' offers a cosmic sense of wonder
With man's natural curiosity and a potentially endless, undiscovered universe waiting to be explored, it's no wonder that space appeals equally to both the scientist and the fantasist. The "Space Expo 2014" collaborative exhibition being hosted through Sept. 23 by U.S. space agency NASA and its Japanese...
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.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2014
China sees growth in a cleaner environment
Surprisingly China — currently the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide — is emerging as a global leader in climate policy as it seeks to build a cleaner and more efficient economy.
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.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’