I do my best to be a responsible environmental citizen but I’m also an unwilling participant in a system that must change from below and above. On the bright side, this includes:

Not littering

Gently admonishing people for littering

Picking up other people’s trash

Using my own cloth bag whenever I go shopping and saying “no need” whenever the cashier pulls out a plastic bag, which is always

Limiting my use of water

Turning off lights and electrical appliances when I’m not using them and insisting that my staff do the same in Hanoi and HCMC (also fining staff who violate this rule)

Using solar power for water in one of our offices

Taking photos of pollution and posting them on social media with commentary

Trying to recycle material through the informal system that currently exists

Eat relatively little meat (I’m not yet a vegetarian but am heading in that direction)

Writing blog posts and articles about ecocide in both English and Vietnamese

I know it’s not much but it’s the best I can do. I’m only one person. At least I can look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day. Something is always better than nothing, in this case.

Since my ability to effect change is limited and I’m part of a system I didn’t design or approve of, I know I’m contributing to environmental pollution. On the dark side, this includes:

Throwing out garbage that I’m pretty sure will end up in a landfill

Flushing the toilet not knowing exactly where its contents will end up

Staying at hotels that have no respect for the environment (don’t ask where the wastewater ends up)

It’s gratifying that the list of “good deeds” is much longer than the other one. I’ll keep trying to add to the former. I do find consolation in the fact that if more people were responsible environmental citizens, Vietnam, and the world would be a much better place.

Peace, MAA