Tag - environment

 
 

ENVIRONMENT

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 12, 2020
Plastic piles up in Thailand as virus fight sidelines pollution battle
Thailand began the year with a ban on single-use plastic bags that Bangkok office worker Nicha Singhanoi hoped would cut back the waste that puts her country among the world's top five choking the oceans with plastic.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 7, 2020
China virtually alone in backing Africa’s dirty coal projects
The retreat of financial institutions from Japan to the U.S. and Europe leaves the way open for Chinese companies, even at the risk of undermining the country's commitments to tackle climate change.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 2, 2020
Next risk? Coronavirus pandemic underscores climate health threats
The United States and Britain are among the countries worst hit by the coronavirus and have faced criticism for their handling of the pandemic. But only last year, they ranked as the countries most prepared for a major health crisis.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 2, 2020
As loggers exploit virus, Cambodian forest protectors defy state ban
A Cambodian conservation group has warned that logging in the protected Prey Lang forest has ramped up during the coronavirus pandemic, vowing it would continue to monitor the destruction despite government threats of legal action to stop that work.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 23, 2020
'Cloud brightening' experiment may help cool Great Barrier Reef
Researchers trying to save the Great Barrier Reef are attempting to cool the unusually warm sea temperatures using ‘cloud brightening,’ a geoengineering technique designed to reflect more of the sun’s rays away from the Earth. The researchers are spraying microscopic sea water droplets into the...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 23, 2020
Time to tackle two crises at once, activist Greta Thunberg says on Earth Day
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined calls for a combined effort to tackle coronavirus and the climate crisis, saying the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday was the time to choose a "new way forward."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2020
Will the comeback of plastic bags outlast the COVID-19 pandemic?
Reusable products are eyed with suspicion now, but sustainability still has a bright future.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 18, 2020
With fishing fleets tied up due to COVID-19, marine life has a chance to recover
Plummeting global demand for fish and seafood as a result of the coronavirus crisis is likely to create an effect similar to the halt of commercial fishing during both world wars, when the idling of fleets led to the rebound of fish stocks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2020
COVID-19 a threat and opportunity for Japan’s environmental activists
As COVID-19 cases rise in Japan and the world favors cleanliness over sustainability, the budding environmental movement is being forced to adapt.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 14, 2020
Tribe’s climate change plight highlights challenge for Native Americans
For several years, Fawn Sharp has seen her tribe on the coastline of Washington state lurch from crisis to crisis: rising sea levels have flooded the Quinault Indian Nation’s main village, and its staple sockeye salmon in nearby rivers have all but disappeared — a direct hit to the tribe’s finances...
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2020
Japan revises down emissions due to renewable use and nuclear restarts
Japan revised lower its latest greenhouse gas emissions figures, which it had already reported as the least since records began in 1990.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 14, 2020
Paris accord under threat if virus trumps climate change, Koizumi says
Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi warned Monday that the Paris climate accord could face "death" if steps to fight global warming are put on the back burner to facilitate the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Apr 10, 2020
Caffeinated conservation: Colombian farmers switch coca for coffee to protect wildlife
In a clearing around his modest smallholding, farmer Arcadio Barajas stands before a sea of coffee plants, cloaked in the shadow cast by a wall of verdant forest that covers the San Lucas mountains of northern Colombia.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Apr 4, 2020
Bio Labo House: Miica Fran’s experimental zero-waste kitchen
Food creator Miica Fran is on a mission to save the planet through her “special healing power” of salvaging and savoring vegetables.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 3, 2020
Climate disasters seen increasing armed conflict risk in large countries
Countries with large populations and low levels of development are most likely to see a rise in the risk of armed conflict after extreme weather events, according to a new study that researchers said underscored the need to boost their resilience.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2020
Health experts call pandemic a window into future climate threats
The coronavirus pandemic is a preview of the types of global health threats that will emerge as the planet becomes hotter, and how it is tackled has implications for dealing with climate threats as well, health experts said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2020
Fossil-fuel giant Russia tiptoes toward low-carbon future
Fossil fuel-rich Russia has for the first time set out a greener economic path for the coming three decades, in a long-term, low-carbon development plan released this week.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 27, 2020
Pandas, slugs and ants give clues to making greener biofuels
In a world aiming to shift to greener energy, could slugs, ants and even pandas help show the way?
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 27, 2020
Burning wood can be a clean source of power after all
Burning large amounts of wood from forests can cut greenhouse gas pollution — but only alongside policies that encourage new trees to quickly absorb carbon dioxide.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 26, 2020
Australia's Great Barrier Reef suffers coral bleaching again
Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef has suffered its third mass coral bleaching in five years, according to early results of aerial surveys over the World Heritage site.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji