Japan Today (January 20)
“Japan is in the crosshairs as it seeks both to be recognized as a leader in the climate-change debate but also supports the use of what is widely regarded as a dirty fuel.” Japanese corporations, however, are ready to break with coal. They “overwhelmingly feel Japan should shift away from its dependence on coal for power generation… a Reuters poll found, further evidence that the government is out of step with the global fight against climate change.”
Tags: Climate change, Coal, Crosshairs, Dirty, Japan, Leader
The Economist (April 19)
Coal is a “cheap, ubiquitous and flexible fuel” that will be “the fuel of the future, unfortunately.” Although it remains very dirty, coal “offers the best chance for poor countries wanting to get rich” and even for some rich countries, like Japan and Germany, seeking nuclear alternatives.
Tags: Cheap, Coal, Dirty, Fuel, Future, Germany, Japan, Nuclear alternatives, Rich, Ubiquitous
Financial Times (September 18)
South Korea is increasingly turning to immigrants to fill 3D jobs considered dirty, difficult and dangerous. The “migrant worker population that has risen to around 540,000 from 49,500 in 1990” looks poised to continue growing. “With a looming demographic crunch driven by one of the world’s lowest birth rates, the reliance on foreign labour is likely to spread more broadly in this increasingly mature economy.”
Tags: Birth rates, Dangerous, Demographics, Difficult, Dirty, Foreign labour, Immigrants, Mature economy, Migrant workers, Population, South Korea
