Tag - pollution

 
 

POLLUTION

Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2018
Ben Lecomte ends bid to swim from Japan across Pacific after support boat suffers damage
On June 5 Ben Lecomte entered the ocean off Chiba Prefecture to begin his attempt at a record-breaking swim across the Pacific, with the aim of shining a light on ocean pollution and plastic contamination.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 26, 2018
China will strive to do better in climate change fight, country's climate envoy says
China will work to achieve its existing greenhouse gas targets and strive to do better as the challenges of climate change become more urgent, Xie Zhenhua, the country's top climate envoy, said at a briefing Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 23, 2018
China touts increase in prosecutions for pollution offenses
China prosecuted more than 3,500 people for pollution-related crimes in the first 10 months of the year, up nearly 40 percent on a year ago, law enforcement authorities said, as Beijing looks to courts and police to curb violations.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 21, 2018
Californians left homeless by wildfire brace for heavy rain, mudslides
Heavy rains were due to create new problems for residents of Northern California late on Tuesday, raising the risk of mudslides in an area where people left homeless by the state's deadliest wildfire remain huddled in parking lot encampments.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 14, 2018
Every breath you take: Indian capital's smog leaves children gasping for air
Deepa Tampi worries a lot about the air her two children breathe. The garment exporter says she believes her 14-year-old daughter Mahika and 12-year-old son Vihaan both became asthmatic because of high levels of pollution in the New Delhi area.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2018
You probably had plastic for breakfast
Welcome to a global experiment about the effects of eating and drinking microplastic.
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2018
Cut back on disposable plastic
The government is finally tackling Japan's outsized production and consumption of single-use plastic product.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2018
Will future mega-cities be a marvel or a mess? Look at New Delhi
Focus
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 3, 2018
South Africans make bricks from human urine
South African researchers have made bricks using human urine in a process that could one day help reduce global warming emissions by finding a productive use for the waste product.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 27, 2018
Air quality in Delhi area plummets as peak pollution season arrives
India's capital was covered in a blanket of choking gray air and pollution Saturday, with government data showing air quality slumping to "severe" or "very poor" levels in almost all parts of Delhi.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 27, 2018
Malaysia to phase out imports of plastic waste from developing countries
Malaysia is taking steps to limit imports of plastic waste, which has flooded the country since China stopped taking in foreign scrap for recycling, housing minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said on Friday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 26, 2018
Illegal factories cash in on Malaysia's plastics recycling plan
Hundreds of sacks filled with plastic waste from the United States, Britain, South Korea and Spain spill onto the streets of an industrial zone in Pulau Indah, an island town an hour from Kuala Lumpur that is home to Malaysia's biggest port.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 20, 2018
Japan to make charging for plastic shopping bags mandatory
A government advisory panel approves a set of proposals for plastic recycling, including making it mandatory for retailers to charge for plastic shopping bags.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 19, 2018
Firecrackers and reluctant authorities: New Delhi's smog set to worsen during Diwali
With a toxic smog beginning to envelop New Delhi as winter approaches, residents of the Indian capital are set to make matters a lot worse by burning hundreds of thousands of firecrackers to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali early next month.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 13, 2018
Japan to mandate that retailers charge fees for plastic bags, but plans for punishments unclear
The Environment Ministry decides to obligate retailers to charge fees for plastic checkout bags or provide loyalty points to shoppers who bring their own.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2018
Will Japan be a climate leader or a climate laggard?
A summer of typhoons and flooding has put the issues of severe weather, global warming and climate change mitigation domestically and internationally back on top of Japan's political agenda.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2018
Trump picks supporter of coal and nuclear plants for post with U.S.'s top energy regulator
U.S. President Donald Trump has picked Energy Department staffer Bernard McNamee, a proponent of his administration's plan to bail out aging coal and nuclear plants, to join the nation's top energy regulator.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2018
Wales zero waste shop wins award as 'Blue Planet' effect grows
A zero waste shop won an ethical business award in Wales on Wednesday night, highlighting a growing trend among retailers to cut plastic use as worry over its environmental impact rises.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Sep 26, 2018
In polluted city above Russian Arctic Circle, prisoners of Putin's pension reform
Russian railway worker Andrey Bugera had a singular goal: get to pension age so he can leave the polluted, frigid coal mining town above the Arctic Circle where he works and move south to live out even a brief bit of retirement in comfort.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2018
Space junk presents a clear and present danger
Pollution generated by human activity isn't limited to the Earth and its climate.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.