Tag - climate

 
 

CLIMATE

LIFE / Language / THE BUZZ
Jan 11, 2014
What the heck is that word I keep hearing?
A polar vortex (kyokūzu/極渦) is a persistent, large-scale cyclone located near either of a planet's geographical poles. The extreme arctic blasts that wreaked havoc across the United States last week were caused by a counterclockwise-rotating pool of cold, dense air. The frigid air, piled up at the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2014
Russian road to mediocrity
Only a few economists in Russia seem to stress the importance of understanding the impact of the current mass outflow of capital and the sharp deterioration of the situation in world commodity markets.
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 15, 2013
Could felling trees help cool the planet?
It is an article of faith that preserving trees is critical to cooling our warming planet.
WORLD
Dec 2, 2013
Weak hurricane season puzzles researchers
It was a hurricane season almost without hurricanes. There were just two, Humberto and Ingrid, and both were relatively wimpy, Category 1 storms. That made the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which ended Saturday, the least active in more than 30 years — for reasons that remain puzzling.
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2013
Reducing Japan's emissions
The upshot for Japan from the just-ended Warsaw conference on climate changes is that it must come up with a new longer-term emissions reduction plan within 16 months.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2013
Climate change as a form of terrorism
The typhoon in the Philippines is a useful reminder that we need to think more about what can be done, both on climate mitigation and on disaster preparation.
COMMENTARY
Nov 19, 2013
View Typhoon Haiyan as an early warning system
"We've been telling the rest of the world we don't want what's happening to us to happen to everyone else," said Lucille L. Sering, the vice chair of the Philippines' Climate Commission,, as the country struggled to cope with the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. "This is your early warning system ... we...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2013
A pragmatic way to reduce emissions
A carbon tax could not only cut emissions but also reduce budget deficits and enhance energy security.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2013
In Britain, era of 'green Tory' withers
Prime Minister David Cameron once dog-sledded across a shrinking Norwegian glacier to showcase his concern for global warming. Now, environmentalists say, his pledge to lead a new era of the "green Conservative" is in danger of melting away.
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 27, 2013
'Smart' window can generate and save energy
Paris AFP-JIJI
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 10, 2013
Earth's climate change tipping point to start in 2020, new model predicts
Locations around the globe will soon reach climatic tipping points, with some in tropical regions — home to most of the world's biodiversity — feeling the first impacts of unprecedented eras of elevated temperatures as soon as seven years from now, according to a study released Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2013
Japan must go green
In releasing the first part of its fifth assessment report on Sept. 27, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that temperatures are likely to rise by 0.3 to 4.8 degrees Celsius and sea levels could rise by 26 to 82 cm by the end of the 21st century compared with the latest 20 years.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2013
Don't be swayed by skeptics of report on climate change
Expect the fifth assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will be met by a barrage of criticism from the new 'skeptical' environmental movement.
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 9, 2013
Could man-made clouds help lower the planet's temperature?
With the planet warming inexorably, some experts are wondering whether the time may have come to deliberately attempt 'solar radiation management.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 6, 2013
Pacific islands fighting for survival as sea levels rise
Pacific islanders challenged world leaders this week to act on climate change, warning that their low-lying atolls are close to becoming uninhabitable because of rising seas and increasingly severe floods, droughts and storm surges.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2013
Polar bear's death is a warning
Does the death of a single polar bear, which starved on the Arctic tundra, carry a warning for all human beings
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2013
Science and politics make for a poisonous mix
Why would a psychology professor believe that science is under attack for its arrogance, vulgarity and narrow vision — from intellectuals and anti-intellectuals alike
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 21, 2013
Humans '95% likely' behind warming
It is all but certain that human activity has caused a steady increase in global temperatures over the past 60 years, leading to warmer oceans and an acceleration in rising sea levels, according to the most recent climate change report by an international U.N. panel of scientists.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’