Tag - pollution

 
 

POLLUTION

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 15, 2018
China punishes local officials for tampering with smog monitoring
China has punished officials in the provinces of Jiangxi and Henan for tampering with pollution monitoring equipment in order to reduce smog readings, the environment ministry said.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 10, 2018
Trump's EPA aims to replace Obama-era climate, water regulations in 2018
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will replace Obama-era carbon and clean water regulations and open up a national debate on climate change in 2018, part of a list of priorities for the year that also includes fighting lead contamination in public drinking water.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2018
U.K. lawmakers recommend a 'latte levy' on disposable coffee cups to cut waste
Britain should charge a 25-pence (34-cent) "latte levy" on disposable coffee cups to cut down waste and ban them if a recycling target is not met by 2023, a committee of lawmakers said on Friday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 5, 2018
China to plant new forests as big as Ireland
China will plant new forests covering an area roughly the size of Ireland this year as it aims to increase forest coverage to 23 percent of its total landmass by the end of the decade, China Daily reported on Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2017
Fight over Alaska Arctic drilling has just begun, opponents vow
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, won a decadeslong battle on Wednesday to open part of an Arctic wildlife reserve in her state to oil and gas drilling, but Democratic senators and conservationists vow the war has only begun.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 21, 2017
Plastic found in mussels from Arctic to China — enters human food
Tiny bits of plastic are contaminating mussels from the European Arctic to China in a sign that the global spread of ocean pollution can end up on people's dinner plates.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 1, 2017
U.S. EPA bans scientists from independent advisory boards, riling Democrats
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday it will bar certain scientists from serving on its independent advisory boards, a move critics say could open the way to more industry-friendly advisers on the panels.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 12, 2017
From thin air to stone: Greenhouse gas test starts in Iceland
A Swiss company will start to extract carbon dioxide from thin air in Iceland on Thursday, seeking to transform the gas into rock far below ground in a first test of a costly technology meant to slow climate change.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2017
Minamata disease victims' voices dim with age but still cry for recognition
Shinobu Sakamoto was just 15 when she left home in the Kumamoto Prefecture fishing village of Minamata to go to Stockholm and tell the world of the horrors of mercury poisoning.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2017
Nuclear experts head to China to test experimental reactors
With scientists from Western nations finding it difficult to raise enough money to build experimental plants at home, China is becoming the testing ground for a new breed of nuclear power stations designed to be safer and cheaper.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 8, 2017
Germany will miss 2020 climate goals by wide margin due to economic growth and immigration, study says
Germany is set to miss its goal to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by a far wider margin than previously thought, a study said on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2017
Energy hogs: China targets farm animals' waste as a 'clean' power source
China will pay farmers to turn animal waste into fertilizer and power, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Wednesday, as Beijing cracks down on agricultural pollution that has for years leaked into rivers and lakes, angering Chinese residents.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 28, 2017
Kenya imposes world's toughest law against plastic bags
Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000 as the world's toughest law aimed at reducing plastic pollution came into effect Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2017
U.S. lays groundwork for saving coal plants with grid report
The Energy Department, in a long-anticipated report on the security of the U.S. electric grid, makes the case for rescuing America's coal industry from widespread plant shutdowns but stops short of the assault on renewable power that environmentalists had feared.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 29, 2017
German court rules in favor of diesel ban in Mercedes' hometown as fallout over VW scandal continues
German carmakers, fighting for a future for diesel technology in Europe, faced a setback after a Stuttgart court ruled in favor of a complaint seeking to ban all diesel cars from entering the home city of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 13, 2017
Learning from South Korea's energy breakthrough
Events in South Korea demonstrate how public pressure can play a key role in changing a country's energy policy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2017
China's electric cars are actually pretty dirty
Electric-vehicle technology is only as clean as its sources of power.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2017
Ban heavy fuel oil in the Arctic
A strong link exists between maritime shipping and the disappearance of polar ice.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2017
Global warming and nuclear power
Rather than the evils of global warming, the debate should focus on how to supply the world's energy needs without polluting the atmosphere.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 19, 2017
New Beijing chief vows to finally win fight against pollution
Beijing's new top official vowed to tackle the city's smog problem, a simmering cause of discontent among China's expanding middle class.

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.