National | Regional voices: Chubu May 22, 2020
Nagano communities plagued by pine parasite at odds over pesticide
The new mayor of Matsumoto has called off aerial pesticide spraying that had been planned for this fiscal year.
World May 20, 2020
British supermarkets threaten Brazil boycott over Amazon land law
Leading British supermarket chains have warned Brazil they may be forced to boycott its goods if lawmakers in the South American country pass a bill that would "encourage further land grabbing" in the Amazon. In an open letter to Brazilian senators and deputies, the companies ...
World May 9, 2020
With attention on the coronavirus, Amazon deforestation surges
As the world focuses on the coronavirus, deforestation continues to surge in the Amazon rainforest this year, raising fears of a repeat of last year's record-breaking devastation — or worse. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon hit a new high in the first four months of ...
Asia Pacific May 2, 2020
As loggers exploit virus, Cambodian forest protectors defy state ban
by Matt Blomberg
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. Members of the Prey Lang Community ...
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. "With COVID-19, we can see ...
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? Scientists believe the animals' unique ability to break down tough plant material, including bamboo, could provide clues to ramping up production of plant-based biofuels, one substitute ...
World / Science & Health Mar 27, 2020
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. That is the conclusion of new research published in Science Advances, which seeks to counter the prevailing view that ...
World / Science & Health Mar 11, 2020
Close to tipping point, Amazon forest could collapse within 50 years
The Amazon rainforest is nearing a threshold that, once crossed, would see one of the world's largest and richest ecosystems morph into arid savanna within half a century, scientists said Tuesday. Another major ecosystem, Caribbean coral reefs, could die off in only 15 years if ...
Asia Pacific Feb 25, 2020
Bush fires burned a fifth of Australia's forest, study finds
Australia's wildfires have destroyed more than a fifth of the country's forests, making the blazes "globally unprecedented" following a yearslong drought linked to climate change, researchers said Monday. Climate scientists are currently examining data from the disaster, which destroyed swathes of southeastern Australia, to determine ...
National / Science & Health Feb 15, 2020
JAXA and U.N. food agency join hands on global monitoring of forests
Amid deepening concerns over climate change, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization agree to cooperate on monitoring forests and mangroves around the world by using data from observation satellites.
World / Science & Health Feb 13, 2020
Plant a trillion trees: U.S. lawmakers offer fossil fuel-friendly climate fix
Republican lawmakers on Wednesday proposed legislation setting a goal for the United States to plant a trillion trees by 2050 to fight global warming, a plan intended to address climate change by sucking carbon out of the air instead of by cutting emissions. The proposed ...
World / Science & Health Feb 8, 2020
Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil more than doubled in January compared with the previous year, according to official data published Friday. More than 280 square kilometers (110 square miles) were cleared, an increase of 108 percent. It was the largest area cleared in ...