More Environment Articles - The Japan Times

November 23, 2024

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Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK

Dec 7, 2005

Creative destruction augurs well for woodland well-being

By C.W. Nicol

Coming into Tokyo earlier this year, a mountain lad like me might have thought the city was hosting a great convention of bank robbers. It seemed that half the population were masked and looking grim indeed. The problem, it seemed, was an allergy to the pollen from sugi (cryptomeria, or Japanese cedar)....

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT

Nov 30, 2005

'Secret' dolphin slaughter defies protests

By Boyd Harnell

Japan's annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins began Oct. 8 in the traditional whaling town of Taiji on the Kii Peninsula of Honshu's Wakayama Prefecture. These "drive fisheries" triggered demonstrations, held under the "Japan Dolphin Day" banner, in 28 countries. The protests went almost entirely...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Nov 23, 2005

Big Money warms to socially responsible investing

By Stephen Hesse

Environmentalists have been preaching for decades that true societal change will only happen when the really big-money players, such as multinational corporations and banks, begin to balance profit-making with social responsibility.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Nov 23, 2005

By Rowan Hooper

* Japanese name: Medaka * Scientific name: Oryzias latipes * Description: This ordinary-looking little creature is one of the most important fish in biological research. Growing just 5-8 cm long, in the wild it is pale brown dorsally and silver underneath and on the flanks. The dorsal fin has 5-6 rays;...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Nov 16, 2005

Taking delight in decomposition

By Mark Brazil

The autumn carpet of leaves along woodland and mountain trails deepens as each breath of wind spins more and more foliage from the trees and sends flakes of colors whirling across the landscape. Storms rip whole canopies of leaves away, snapping off branches and sending twigs raining down. Below, the...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Nov 9, 2005

Mystery snail Tanishi

By Rowan Hooper

* Japanese name: Tanishi * Scientific name: Cipangopaludina japonica * Description: A large snail, growing up to 60 mm long. It has two large "horns"; shell color is uniform, light to dark olive-green, but may have color bands. As in the photo, they are often muddy, and they are also known as mud snails. *...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK

Nov 2, 2005

Recalling fond memories of eiders

By C.W. Nicol

It's getting to that time of year when I air out my down-filled sleeping bag. No big field trips are planned for this year, but I do like to spend a few nights in the woods, a campfire going, with no phones (no, not even a cell phone), no television and no mosquitoes.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Oct 26, 2005

By Rowan Hooper

* Japanese name: Nekogigi * Scientific name: Pseudobagrus ichikawai * Description: Catfish have whiskers, making them easily recognizable. Of course, the whiskers are not made of hair, but they have the same function as a cat's whiskers: They are sensory organs, more correctly called barbels. The bagrid...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Oct 26, 2005

Amazon's best defense is its people

By Stephen Hesse

In 1989, two years after his first visit to the Amazon, singer/songwriter Sting co-authored a book called "Jungle Stories: The Fight for the Amazon" (Barrie & Jenkins). In the book he writes, "To visit the forest just once is to be haunted forever after by its mysterious beauty and to be made aware of...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Oct 19, 2005

Autumn sees predators in action

By Mark Brazil

The hunters are abroad! Every day, now, the sparrow hawks, goshawks, honey buzzards, ospreys and falcons that summer in Northeast Asia are migrating out of the region. As cooler weather approaches and prey numbers decline, these predators head south for the winter. Soon, almost on their heels, the larger...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Oct 12, 2005

Striped diving beetle

By Rowan Hooper

* Japanese name: Shima-gengorou * Scientific name: Hydaticus bowringii * Description: This beetle is small, some 15 mm long, but sturdy. Its elytra (wing cases) are black, with an almost lacquered quality. What makes this species unmistakable are the two golden stripes running down the length of each...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK

Oct 5, 2005

Sad drumbeats in the wilderness

By C.W. Nicol

I made several visits to the Aichi Expo this year and met a lot of interesting people. But one person above all left an indelible impression. Soft-spoken, modest, and wearing traditional northern buckskin, his name was Michael Cazon -- a Dene drummer, teacher and healer from Fort Simpson in the Northwest...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.

A boom for business tourism in Japan?

By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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