February 10, 2025

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ENVIRONMENT

Earth science

An earthquake-damaged area in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in May 2023. The Noto Peninsula has been experiencing an ongoing “seismic swarm” since late 2020.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET

Jun 3, 2024

How rain and snow play a role in Noto’s ‘seismic swarm’

By Harvin Bhathal

The seismic activity in the region is synchronized with changes in underground pressure, which is influenced by seasonal patterns of precipitation.

An aircraft from the Thai Department of Royal Rainmaking deposits a sodium chloride-based material in an effort to produce rain.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science

Apr 18, 2024

How cloud seeding boosts rainfall — and why that’s controversial

By Laura Millan

Developed in the 1940s, cloud seeding can boost rain and snowfall, but the World Meteorological Organization warns we don't know enough about it yet.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET

Feb 4, 2024

For Japan, earthquakes are an existential matter

By Alex K.T. Martin

The New Year's Day quake was a stark reminder of how Japan has been shaped by rumbling, grinding and often deadly convulsions and volcanic activity.

Cooling towers at a coal-fired power plant in Germany. While surface temperatures might stabilize quickly after reaching net-zero, other shifting parts of the climate are harder to slow once set in motion.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science

Nov 17, 2023

Amid climate efforts, will net-zero emissions be enough?

By Sana Pashankar and Eric Roston

A new study suggests uncertainty about how climate systems will respond after emissions stabilize is an argument for reducing them as quickly as possible.

It’s hard to talk about space-based solar — that is, transmitting the energy — without conjuring images of a death ray. But the team at the California Institute of Technology says the power density of the beam would be comparable to the power density of sunlight.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science

Oct 27, 2023

Beam solar energy from space? These scientists say yes

By David R Baker

The hurdles that have grounded space-based solar in the past aren’t merely technical, they’re also financial.

A report by the Climate Overshoot Commission said that potentially dangerous experimental geoengineering methods — including controversial "solar radiation modification" — need to be halted until they have been researched thoroughly.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science

Sep 15, 2023

Risky geoengineering should be banned, climate group says

Cutting CO2 emissions is vital, but potentially dangerous geoengineering methods need to be halted until they have been researched thoroughly.

Many scientists say more research into volcanoes is vital to gauge how far eruptions can briefly affect the long-term trend of global warming, which is primarily driven by burning fossil fuels.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / ANALYSIS

Sep 15, 2023

Why is 2023 so hot? A rare Pacific volcano is among the suspects

By Alister Doyle

Greenhouse gas emissions are overwhelmingly to blame, scientists say, but water vapor from the Tonga eruption last year may have played a role too.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.

Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Site designer on why expos matter more than ever

Site designer on why expos matter more than ever

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