Tag - pollution

 
 

POLLUTION

Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 27, 2018
Air quality in Delhi area plummets as peak pollution season arrives
India's capital was covered in a blanket of choking gray air and pollution Saturday, with government data showing air quality slumping to "severe" or "very poor" levels in almost all parts of Delhi.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 27, 2018
Malaysia to phase out imports of plastic waste from developing countries
Malaysia is taking steps to limit imports of plastic waste, which has flooded the country since China stopped taking in foreign scrap for recycling, housing minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said on Friday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 26, 2018
Illegal factories cash in on Malaysia's plastics recycling plan
Hundreds of sacks filled with plastic waste from the United States, Britain, South Korea and Spain spill onto the streets of an industrial zone in Pulau Indah, an island town an hour from Kuala Lumpur that is home to Malaysia's biggest port.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 20, 2018
Japan to make charging for plastic shopping bags mandatory
A government advisory panel approves a set of proposals for plastic recycling, including making it mandatory for retailers to charge for plastic shopping bags.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 19, 2018
Firecrackers and reluctant authorities: New Delhi's smog set to worsen during Diwali
With a toxic smog beginning to envelop New Delhi as winter approaches, residents of the Indian capital are set to make matters a lot worse by burning hundreds of thousands of firecrackers to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali early next month.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2018
Plastic waste piling up in Japan after Chinese import ban
Many local governments are struggling to cope after China banned such materials in 2017 out of concern over environmental pollution.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Oct 15, 2018
Shuichi Takizawa: The comedian with a knack for trash talk
Have you ever thought about where your trash goes after it's tossed into a basket and whisked away by the garbage truck that shows up like clockwork every week?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2018
Japan eyes reducing amount of plastic waste by as much as 25% by 2030
The government will announce an ambitious plan aimed at cutting disposable plastic waste by 25 percent over the next decade while promoting environmentally friendly bioplastics made from plants, sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 13, 2018
Japan to mandate that retailers charge fees for plastic bags, but plans for punishments unclear
The Environment Ministry decides to obligate retailers to charge fees for plastic checkout bags or provide loyalty points to shoppers who bring their own.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 12, 2018
Trump rebukes Japan, China and others over garbage drifting in ocean
President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized Japan, China and other countries for dumping into oceans a massive amount of garbage that has drifted ashore on the U.S. West Coast.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2018
Will Japan be a climate leader or a climate laggard?
A summer of typhoons and flooding has put the issues of severe weather, global warming and climate change mitigation domestically and internationally back on top of Japan's political agenda.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2018
Tokyo 2020 organizers plan to filter polluted bay water through screens
A plan to filter bacteria from the water around Odaiba Beach Park in Tokyo Bay was announced Friday by 2020 Olympic and Paralympic organizers and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2018
Trump picks supporter of coal and nuclear plants for post with U.S.'s top energy regulator
U.S. President Donald Trump has picked Energy Department staffer Bernard McNamee, a proponent of his administration's plan to bail out aging coal and nuclear plants, to join the nation's top energy regulator.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 29, 2018
About 40% of world's seabirds have toxic substances in their bodies due to plastic waste, research by Japanese universities shows
A recent study by two Japanese universities found that about 40 percent of seabirds surveyed around the world had toxic substances derived from plastic waste in their bodies.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2018
Wales zero waste shop wins award as 'Blue Planet' effect grows
A zero waste shop won an ethical business award in Wales on Wednesday night, highlighting a growing trend among retailers to cut plastic use as worry over its environmental impact rises.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Sep 26, 2018
In polluted city above Russian Arctic Circle, prisoners of Putin's pension reform
Russian railway worker Andrey Bugera had a singular goal: get to pension age so he can leave the polluted, frigid coal mining town above the Arctic Circle where he works and move south to live out even a brief bit of retirement in comfort.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2018
Space junk presents a clear and present danger
Pollution generated by human activity isn't limited to the Earth and its climate.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 21, 2018
With population boom, urbanization, World Bank warns waste could grow 70% by 2050
Global waste could grow by 70 percent by 2050 as urbanization and populations rise, the World Bank said Thursday, with South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa set to generate the biggest increase in rubbish.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2018
'In Pursuit of Silence': A documentary looks at what it'll take to finally get some peace and quiet
The 1964 tune "The Sound of Silence" by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel is a bona fide classic, but it never really identifies just what this "sound of silence" is. That task instead falls to "In Pursuit of Silence," the documentary about this surprisingly hard-to-pin-down aural quality and why it's worth...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 19, 2018
Air pollution linked to higher risk of dementia
Urban air pollution, mostly from vehicles, is associated with an increased risk of dementia, according to research published Wednesday.

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