Tag - environment

 
 

ENVIRONMENT

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.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 1, 2016
Japan pushes ahead with Hokkaido carbon capture test despite quake concerns
Japan is preparing to test its biggest project yet for capturing and storing greenhouse gas pollution under the seabed despite concerns about cost and the safety of pursuing the technology in a region prone to earthquakes.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 26, 2016
Gas from thawing permafrost could add further to global warming, study says
Arctic permafrost that is thawing due to global warming is releasing greenhouse gases, further compounding the problem of climate change, according to a study released on Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 17, 2016
Top court-frozen Obama climate plan may get new legal life with Scalia's death
A vote to block the Obama administration's ambitious climate regulation was one of Antonin Scalia's last acts as a Supreme Court justice. His sudden death may have opened a new path to the rule's survival.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Feb 11, 2016
Australian cuts to climate change research may hit drive into Asia
Funding and job cuts at Australia's climate change research body could undermine the country's goal of dominating the Asian premium food market by placing farmers at a disadvantage to U.S. and European competitors.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 6, 2016
Swans, and us, at risk as wetlands shrink
Soon after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, and the huge tsunami it triggered that killed almost 16,000 people and left more than 2,500 missing in the Tohoku region of northeastern Honshu, our C.W. Nicol Afan Woodland Trust contacted the many towns affected and invited survivors to...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 5, 2016
Europe's shift to dark green forests stokes global warming: study
An expansion of Europe's forests toward dark green conifers has stoked global warming, according to a study on Thursday at odds with a widespread view that planting more trees helps human efforts to slow rising temperatures.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 3, 2016
FBI joins probe into Flint's 'man-made crisis' water contamination
The FBI is joining a criminal investigation into lead contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan, exploring whether any laws were broken in a crisis that has captured international attention.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 28, 2016
Blue skies over Beijing? Decaying suburbs bear cost as China cuts pollution
On the outskirts of Beijing, the disused factories of Chaomidian show the impact of China's drive to shut down thousands of small firms causing big pollution. Amid scrap heaps and idle machinery, the community has clean air these days — and no jobs.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 28, 2016
Breakthrough in mapping tropical forests reveals broad extent of tree loss
New advanced satellite maps of tropical countries reveal that more than 90 percent of recent tree cover loss took place in natural forests rather than plantations, threatening ecosystems and biodiversity, research shows.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 24, 2016
False emissions reporting undermines China's pollution fight
Widespread misreporting of harmful gas emissions by Chinese electricity firms is threatening the country's attempts to rein in pollution, with government policies aimed at generating cleaner power struggling to halt the practice.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 14, 2016
Bid to mine 600 million tons of coal on U.S. federal lands tests Obama's green agenda
President Barack Obama's State of the Union pledge to better manage fossil fuel development will face a test within days, when federal officials rule on whether to open public lands containing more than 600 million tons of coal to more mining.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 14, 2016
Global mercury emissions down 30% as less coal is burned
Global emissions of mercury from man-made sources fell 30 percent from 1990 to 2010, in part from decreasing use of coal, the U.S. Geological Survey reported Wednesday.

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