Tag - pollution

 
 

POLLUTION

Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 25, 2015
Arctic nations vow to fight climate-changing emissions of black carbon, methane
The eight Arctic Council nations pledged on Friday to do more to combat climate change, which is shrinking the vast frigid region, and tried to put aside disputes over issues like Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2015
For the sake of the future, make 2015 Earth Year
Just as we demand that our governments address risks associated with terrorism or epidemics, we should put concerted pressure on them to act now to preserve our natural environment and curb climate change.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2015
Sandwiched between Yokota, Narita airspace, ever-busy Haneda looks to route some flights over metropolis
Faced with an urgent need to expand the capacity of Haneda airport ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the government is planning to break a longtime taboo: routing flights low over densely populated residential areas of the capital and its suburbs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Apr 2, 2015
China to toughen inspection on air quality data
China's vice minister for environmental protection has announced a two-year inspection campaign to root out fake air quality data and accused some local governments of manipulating the data to meet national standards, state media said.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 1, 2015
California getting 'second-hand smog' from Asia, researchers say
California is suffering from "second-hand smog" drifting in from Asia and other places, researchers said on Tuesday, even as the state's prolonged drought has made air quality worse.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 8, 2015
Europe submits U.N. climate pledge, urges U.S., China to follow
The European Union has submitted its formal promise on how much it will cut greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations ahead of climate change talks starting in November, and called on the United States and China to follow its lead.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2015
High levels of yellow sand, PM2.5 heading in from China
High levels of yellow sand and particle-laden smog known as PM2.5 are now being registered in some parts of the nation, creating misery for allergy sufferers and posing a potential hazard from prolonged exposure.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 22, 2015
Despite dangerous smog, most Beijingers go mask free
In early January, a toxic cloud of smog settled over Beijing. For nearly a week, it wreathed the city in a choking, yellow haze.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2015
Britain approves world's largest offshore wind farm
Britain's energy ministry has approved the Dogger Bank Creyke Beck offshore wind project, the world's biggest offshore wind park, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2015
U.N. climate deal to rely on persuasion, not coercion
A U.N. deal due this year to fight global warming is set to avoid tough penalties for nations that fail to keep their promises, relying instead on persuasion and peer pressure, delegates at climate talks said Thursday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Feb 12, 2015
In China, legal fight to save forest tests toughened anti-pollution law
A lawsuit filed against four Chinese mining executives accused of destroying a stretch of forest is shaping up as a test of China's strengthened environmental law and the ability of green groups to make companies more accountable for their actions.
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 12, 2015
Rich world helping bankroll export of coal technology
Rich nations provided nearly $15 billion over a decade from 2003 to 2013 to fund exports of coal-fired power plant and coal mining technology, data seen by Reuters show, defying calls to end subsidies for the most polluting of the fossil fuels.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 10, 2015
Nevada dust blamed for mystery 'milky' rain in U.S. Pacific Northwest
Unusual rain that deposited a mysterious residue across a swath of the U.S. Pacific Northwest appears to be a byproduct of dust storms hundreds of kilometers away in Nevada, although volcanic ash from Japan cannot be ruled out, the National Weather Service said on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 2, 2015
90% of cities failed to meet air standards in 2014: China
Nearly 90 percent of China's big cities failed to meet air quality standards in 2014, but that was still an improvement on 2013 as the country's "war on pollution" began to take effect, the environment ministry said on Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2015
Japanese rice: The new, safe luxury food in China
First it was European infant formula, then New Zealand milk. Now Chinese consumers are adding Japanese rice to the list of everyday foods they will bring in from abroad at luxury prices because they fear the local alternatives aren't safe.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 17, 2015
2014 was hottest year ever recorded, U.S. scientists say
Last year was Earth's hottest on record, two U.S. government agencies said Friday — new evidence that people are disrupting the climate by burning fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 14, 2015
Obama will target methane emissions in next climate task: sources
The Obama administration plans to require the oil and gas industry to cut methane emissions from the drilling and transportation of fossil fuels by as much as 45 percent over the next decade, another step in its efforts to curb greenhouse gases tied to climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2015
Saying goodbye to steel production in China
As China's domestic economy slows and competition increases amid widespread disgust with air pollution, one surprisingly popular option for the massive, state-owned steel mills is to bid China goodbye.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 27, 2014
Plastic debris damages marine environment
There are plastic shopping bags, bottles, toys, action figures, bottle caps, pacifiers, tooth brushes, boots, buckets, deodorant roller balls, umbrella handles, fishing gear, toilet seats and so much more. Plastic pollution is pervasive in Earth's oceans.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2014
Under Xi, China is coming clean on dirty air
Recent developments in China suggest that, after decades of prioritizing economic growth over the environment, the country now seems set to pressure and even embarrass some of its most powerful corporate citizens to curb pollution.

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