Asia
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Unnatural Balance: How Food Waste Impacts World’s Wildlife
New research indicates that the food discarded in landfills and at sea is having a profound effect on wildlife populations and fisheries. But removing that food waste creates its own ecological challenges.
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How Science Can Help to Halt The Western Bark Beetle Plague
Entomologist Diana Six is focused on the beetle infestation that is wiping out conifer forests in western North America. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, she explains why the key to combating this climate-related scourge is deciphering the trees’ genetic ability to adapt.
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Indonesian Coal Mining Boom Is Leaving Trail of Destruction
Since 2000, Indonesian coal production has increased five-fold to meet growing domestic demand for electricity and feed export markets in Asia. The intensive mining is leading to the clearing of rainforest and the pollution of rivers and rice paddies.
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Why Paris Worked: A Different Approach to Climate Diplomacy
A more flexible strategy, a willingness to accept nonbinding commitments, and smart leadership by the French all helped secure a climate deal in Paris. The real work lies ahead, but Paris created a strong, if long overdue, foundation on which to begin building a carbon-free future.
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Can Pulling Carbon from Air Make a Difference on Climate?
Numerous technologies exist to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and new companies are entering the field. But can CO2 ‘air capture’ scale up from a niche business to an industry that will lower atmospheric concentrations of CO2?
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On Thin Ice: Big Northern Lakes Are Being Rapidly Transformed
As temperatures rise, the world’s iconic northern lakes are undergoing major changes that include swiftly warming waters, diminished ice cover, and outbreaks of harmful algae. Now, a global consortium of scientists is trying to assess the toll.
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Will Indonesian Fires Spark Reform of Rogue Forest Sector?
Massive fires in Indonesia caused by the burning of forests and peatlands for agriculture have shrouded large areas of Southeast Asia in smoke this fall. But analysts say international anger over the fires could finally lead to a reduction in Indonesia’s runaway deforestation.
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Rallying Hip Hop Culture For A More Inclusive Climate Fight
In an interview with Yale Environment 360, the Rev. Lennox Yearwood — a social and environmental activist and the head of the Hip Hop Caucus — explains why it’s vital that the climate and environmental movements become far more diverse.
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How China and U.S. Became Unlikely Partners on Climate
Amid tensions between the U.S. and China, one issue has emerged on which the two nations are finding common ground: climate change. Their recent commitments on controlling emissions have created momentum that could help international climate talks in Paris in December.
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Global Extinction Rates: Why Do Estimates Vary So Wildly?
Is it 150 species a day or 24 a day or far less than that? Prominent scientists cite dramatically different numbers when estimating the rate at which species are going extinct. Why is that?
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How Can We Make People Care About Climate Change?
Norwegian psychologist Per Espen Stoknes has studied why so many people have remained unconcerned about climate change. In a Yale Environment 360 interview, he talks about the psychological barriers to public action on climate and how to overcome them.
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Why a Leading Indian Politician Is Now an Environmental Hawk
Former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh believes the “cult” of unfettered economic growth has been ruinous for India’s environment. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he talks about his vision of “green growth,” which he says is essential for his nation’s future.
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Unnatural Disaster: How Climate Helped Cause India’s Big Flood
The flood that swept through the Indian state of Uttarakhand two years ago killed thousands. Now researchers are saying that melting glaciers and shifting storm tracks played a major role in the disaster and should be a warning about how global warming could lead to more catastrophic floods in the future.
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In South Korea, An Innovative Push to Cut Back on Food Waste
In the second in an e360 video series, filmmaker Karim Chrobog travels to Seoul, South Korea, which has implemented a high-tech initiative that has dramatically reduced its food waste. Seoul’s efforts could serve as a model for how a major city can recycle discarded food and keep it out of landfills.
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On the Internet, Illegal Trade In Endangered Wildlife Thrives
On eBay and elsewhere on the Internet, illegal wildlife and wildlife parts — from elephant ivory to tiger skins to monkey and crocodile skulls — are being sold. Bringing an end to this illicit activity is proving to be a daunting challenge.
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For Buddhist Leader, Religion And the Environment Are One
As a Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Karmapa is promoting green practices in monasteries in the Himalayan region. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he talks about how the world needs both religion and science in tackling the “environmental emergency” of climate change.
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As Himalayan Glaciers Melt, Two Towns Face the Fallout
For two towns in northern India, melting glaciers have had very different impacts — one town has benefited from flowing streams and bountiful harvests; but the other has seen its water supplies dry up and now is being forced to relocate.
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With Fins Off Many Menus, A Glimmer of Hope for Sharks
For decades, the slaughter of sharks sought after for their fins and meat has been staggering. But bans on finning and new attitudes in Asia toward eating shark fin soup are leading to optimism about the future for these iconic ocean predators.
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Perennial Rice: In Search of a Greener, Hardier Staple Crop
Scientists have long sought to create a perennial rice that would avoid the damage to the land caused by the necessity of planting annually. Now, Chinese researchers appear close to developing this new breed of rice, an achievement that could have major environmental benefits.
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Climate Consensus: Signs of New Hope on Road to Paris
After years of frustration and failure, a more flexible approach to reaching an international strategy on climate action is emerging — and it could finally lead to a meaningful agreement at climate talks in Paris later this year.
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How Tiger Farming in China Threatens World’s Wild Tigers
In an interview with Yale Environment 360, wildlife activist Judith Mills describes how the legal farming of tigers in China is fostering a trade in tiger bone wine and skins that is imperiling the world’s beleaguered population of wild tigers.