Tag - pollution

 
 

POLLUTION

JAPAN
Feb 2, 2018
Tokyo takes more steps to deal with Sanchi oil spill
Japan steps up measures to deal with what has been described as potentially one of the worst oil spills in decades before it taints Kyushu and Okinawa.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2018
Better plastics for healthier seas
The world does not need new bans or taxes on plastics. Rather, it needs people who work with plastic to take advantage of technological advances that make it safer for the environment.
WORLD
Jan 25, 2018
U.N. plans international panel to tackle plastic waste in oceans
The United Nations will form a panel to discuss measures to reduce plastic waste in the oceans, a source close to the matter has said.
EDITORIALS
Jan 22, 2018
A costly message from the Sanchi
The sinking of the Sanchi oil tanker must be a wake-up call to officials and publics in Northeast Asia and compel them to better prepare for such accidents.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 18, 2018
Oil from sunken Iranian tanker diffusing in East China Sea
Oil from an Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea has diffused into four separate slicks, covering a combined area of just over 100 square km (39 square miles), Chinese authorities said on Thursday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 15, 2018
Black smoke billows from tanker sinking site as worries grows over Japan EEZ sea damage
Black smoke was billowing from the East China Sea site where a burning Iranian oil tanker sank, Japanese authorities said Monday, as worries grow about damage to the marine ecosystem from the worst oil ship disaster in decades.
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.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 22, 2017
China seen reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030, survey finds
China's carbon emissions will probably peak on or before 2030, a survey of industry participants found.
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.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals