"In the country that gave the world the word tsunami, the Japanese nuclear establishment largely disregarded the potentially destructive force of the walls of water. The word did not even appear in government guidelines until 2006, decades after plants — including the Fukushima Daiichi facility that firefighters are still struggling to get under control — began dotting the Japanese coastline."
"For months, millions of people have been living under a stifling blanket of toxic haze, fueled by a punishing drought brought on by the El Niño weather pattern."
"China’s electric grid has a dirty secret: Despite leading the world in renewable energy expansion, it is also the largest emitter of the planet’s most potent greenhouse gas."
"Up to a quarter of all plastic flowing from rivers into the ocean are microplastics — delivering more than 260,000 metric tons in 2022, according to a new study published last week in Science." "Nearly all of the pollution comes from rivers in developing countries. High plastic use, mismanagement of waste, strong rainfall and high solar radiation are major factors."
"One of the most important lessons from the war with Iran is one that few saw coming. The conflict has made clear that China, which has long been highly vulnerable to oil supply shocks, has managed to transform that weakness into a surprising source of geopolitical power. The country made that big shift by stockpiling huge amounts of oil, building extra oil refining capacity and investing in coal and other alternatives."
"Climate attribution researchers say “there is absolutely no doubt” that decades of global warming set the stage for the deadly rock and glacier collapse on Langtang Lirung Mountain in Nepal."
"The Himalayas are approaching a tipping point as glaciers melt faster than a decade ago, threatening water security as the region approaches "peak water" by mid-century, according to a study released this month."
"Chinese political leaders and commentators aligned with China’s government hit back at calls from U.S. artificial intelligence executives for companies to agree to slow down the development of the technology, complicating the prospects of such a pact being implemented."
"Indonesian authorities are working to repatriate five baby orang utans found motherless in India, suspected to be trafficked from Sumatra. The infants are critically endangered, healthy, and under care at a zoo while DNA tests confirm their origin."
"Flood-hit Nepal will ask wealthier countries and global agencies for financial help this week, arguing they should contribute to the $5 billion needed for initial rebuilding as the disaster shows how climate change has hit poor countries that did little to cause it, officials said."
