The Nation newspaper of Thailand has a tradition of publishing ground-breaking stories on the environment. Over the years, a number of environmental journalists have written bold reports that were ahead of their time. In 1993, The Nation formalized its commitment to the environment by printing a weekly environment page. James Fahn was appointed environment editor of the Earth Focus page, which contains: a lead story which reports on anything from herbal medicine to the latest energy efficiency technology; a foreign story on the environment; and a column which recaps weekly events in Thailand or the region. An overdose of alarming and negative stories tends to dull readers, thus The Nation made a conscious effort to also write more upbeat stories. The stories of which they are proudest are investigative pieces which have a significant impact. One the most controversial dealt with the construction of a hotel in southern Thailand which may have encroached on a national park. In another case, the Government revoked the license of a company after they revealed that it was importing radioactive waste from the United States of America. Following The Nation's report on a Japanese aid package to Cambodia, which included 40 tons of pesticides, the Japanese Prime Minister, who was in Thailand at the time, announced that he would look into the matter. The pesticides were subsequently impounded. The Nation's most ambitious task, however, is the attempt to make the newspaper's coverage of all events more green.
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