Tag - pollution

 
 

POLLUTION

Commercial fishermen form the word "SOS" to spread the message about ocean acidification caused by fossil fuel emissions, in Homer, Alaska, in 2009. Ocean acidification is one of nine planetary boundaries that determine life on Earth.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Sep 14, 2023
Humanity pushing Earth far beyond 'safe operating space': study
Six of nine planetary boundaries — within which the world is livable for most species, including our own — are already deep in the red zone.
Asep Muizudin Muhamad Darmini was recently discharged from a hospital in Jakarta after being treated for a respiratory illness caused by the city's air pollution.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Sep 13, 2023
Breathless Indonesians irate over pollution crisis in Jakarta
Air pollution is hardly a new phenomenon in the city, but monitors and activists say the effects have been even worse than usual this year.
Young villagers gather on the black sand beach in the village of Waisisi in Tanna, Vanuatu.
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Sep 11, 2023
Sinking islands turn to court as they fight for climate survival
The latest legal push comes amid frustration among island states and developing nations that the world is addressing global warming too slowly.
The waterfront of Kasumigaura, Ibaraki Prefercture, the location of some of Hasui Kawase's sketches.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2023
Fans illuminate lost landscapes through works of late artist
Admirers of artist Hasui Kawase are banding together to raise awareness of the disappearing waterfront landscapes he depicted.
A group of plaintiffs for a lawsuit demanding a halt to the release of radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant walk to the Fukushima District Court in the city of Fukushima on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2023
Japan fishers file suit to stop Fukushima water release
The plaintiffs said the water discharge threatens citizens' right to live safely and hinders local fishermen's businesses.
An activist in Seoul protests Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 7, 2023
Anger at Fukushima’s wastewater; hope in its renewables
Good news and bad news out of Fukushima.
Journalists tour the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the tanks that contain contaminated water on Aug. 27
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023
We need to put low-dose radiation into perspective
Public fear of the effects of low-dose radiation isn’t backed by science. The Fukushima water release shows, once again, that better education is needed.
Packs of raw fish at a Japanese food store in Beijing prior to China's ban on Japan's seafood products
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023
China takes its anti-science disinformation campaign to a new level
Japan can counter China's disinformation on the safety of the Fukushima water release, and gain people's trust, by sharing the data.
A pipe to transport treated radioactive water diluted with seawater into a large water tank is presented to the media at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Aug. 27. Beijing has ignored Tokyo's repeated proposals for a science-based dialogue involving experts on the release of the treated water into the Pacific.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2023
China rejected call to join Fukushima water framework
China is staunchly opposed to the ocean discharge and has banned all seafood imports from Japan since it began in late August.
At Beijing’s Jingshen Seafood Market, sales of Japanese maritime products are now banned — just as they are elsewhere in the country.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2023
China is about to get a lesson in the limits of economic coercion
Most governments in Asia are relying on science to guide their responses to the Fukushima water release.
Visitors at the Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on Aug. 25
JAPAN / Society
Sep 1, 2023
China banned seafood from Japan. Some tourists are eating it in Tokyo.
Travelers from China seem largely unfazed despite the ban, with many local seafood restaurants seeing little impact so far.
Fisheries minister Tetsuro Nomura apologizes at the ministry on Thursday after calling treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant "contaminated."
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 1, 2023
Fisheries minister under fire for ‘contaminated water’ gaffe
“Contaminated water” is the expression used by China, and Japan has been extremely critical of Beijing's labeling.
Environmental activist Yakov Demidov inspects a landfill on the outskirts of Penza, Russia.
WORLD / Society
Sep 1, 2023
Russian teen eco-activists fight for future as risks mount
Environmental groups in Russia not linked to the government have long faced pressure from authorities.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida eats fish from Fukushima Prefecture at a luncheon on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2023
Kishida eats 'safe and delicious' Fukushima fish
"This is very good," Kishida said as he chewed on a slice of flounder sashimi, calling on viewers to enjoy Japanese seafood.
A sign reading "suspend the sale of all fish products imported from Japan" in an area of Japanese restaurants in Beijing
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023
China’s actions on Japan and religion are cut from the same cloth
Beijing’s stoking of anti-Japanese sentiment based on unscientific accusations mirrors its suppression of religious freedom in Xinjiang.
People sit on a rail track as smoke rises from steel mills near a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 30, 2023
Air pollution now a risk to life expectancy in South Asia: study
Rapid industrialization and population growth have contributed to declining air quality in South Asia.
People protest after Japan moved to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the sea, in Hong Kong on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 28, 2023
Japan urges China to rein in harassing calls over Fukushima water
The calls, which sometimes numbered in the hundreds for certain targets, were made to businesses, schools and government offices.
A woman takes a blood test to check concentrations of PFAS chemicals in February in the city of Fuchu, Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 28, 2023
'Forever chemicals' from U.S. base in Tokyo fueling residents' fears
Other parts of Japan hosting U.S. bases have also detected high PFAS concentrations at rivers and other water sources, prompting a demand for inspections.
Seawater sampling operations near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant after treated water was discharged into the ocean on Friday
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 27, 2023
More tests show radiation levels of Fukushima seawater remain below limits
Tokyo hopes what it says is a transparent release of data will serve as a strong rebuttal to claims by Beijing that the discharge is dangerous.
Scientists study fish caught near the location where treated radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is being discharged into the ocean.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2023
Japan says no radioactivity found in Fukushima fish
The fish samples, a gurnard and olive flounder, were collected Friday within 5 kilometers of the discharge outlet of the Fukushima No. 1 complex.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces