What Does Vietnam’s Future Look Like?

14/03/202518/03/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary economic growth and development, environment and climate change, future, politics and international relations, pollution, society and culture, technology and innovation, vietnam

This is an AI-generated image of Vietnam's future. It looks more like the present sans the cars and other vehicles. Below is a recent "conversation" with ChatGPT about Vietnam's future. It touches on all the key points. I asked it to say more about environmental pollution. Peace, MAA ChatGPT said: Vietnam’s future looks promising, but … Continue reading What Does Vietnam’s Future Look Like?

Reward Citizens Who Report Environmental Law Violations

12/01/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary environmental protection, financial incentives, pollution, vietnam

This is already happening for traffic violations: Under Decree 176/2024, Vietnamese citizens can now earn up to 5 million VND ($200) for reporting traffic violations, marking a significant step towards improved road safety. Whoever drafted this decree knows the Vietnamese mindset all too well. Most people will not "snitch" on their fellow citizens for free … Continue reading Reward Citizens Who Report Environmental Law Violations

Have Garbage Will Burn: An Ecocide Update

08/01/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary air purifier, AQI, burning, disease, ecocide, fire, garbage disposal, hanoi, particles, pollution, trash

Coarse particles (PM10), with diameters between 2.5 and 10 micrometers, are inhalable and can deposit in the upper airways, including the nose, throat, and bronchi. Burning is to Vietnam as baseball is to the US: a national pastime. It's one of the two primary methods of trash disposal, the other being burying rubbish in a … Continue reading Have Garbage Will Burn: An Ecocide Update

Who’s That Knocking At My Door?

07/07/2024 Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary biochar, composting, environmental protection, fossil fuels, gasifier, landfill, paul olivier, pollution, pyrolysis, rice hulls, rice straw, soil-health, WHO

By Paul A. Olivier, Ph.D. Suppose you run a restaurant and are tired of wasting money on bottled gas. Suppose you cringe every time you see your food waste being hauled away in a garbage truck and dumped in a stinky landfill. Suppose someone comes knocking at your office door and tells you that she … Continue reading Who’s That Knocking At My Door?

The Opportunities & Limits of Responsible Environmental Citizenship

23/03/2024 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary ecocide, environmental citizenship, pollution, vietnam

Source: International Criminal Court Bar Association (ICCBA) 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 … Continue reading The Opportunities & Limits of Responsible Environmental Citizenship

Micro-Illustration of a Linear Economy in Action

12/10/2023 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary circular economy, landfills, linear economy, plastic bags, plastic cups, pollution, styrofoam, sustainable development, vietnam

I took this photo near my Hanoi office. No, this is not litter, although there's plenty of that to go around; it's one way that garbage is disposed of in the nation's cities. Throw it to the curb and the street cleaners will pick it up and put it in their mobile bins. From there … Continue reading Micro-Illustration of a Linear Economy in Action

“This is a crime against our planet.”

20/03/2023 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary dalat, ecocide, environmental crime, environmental protection, pollution

Indeed. Three words that immediately popped into my head after glancing at this disturbing photo were fetid, macabre, and surreal. It is both sad and infuriating, yet another depressing example of ecocide. The oversized teddy bear is Brown of LINE (chat app) fame. Maybe a child or someone's girlfriend got tired of him. What better … Continue reading “This is a crime against our planet.”

Waste Transformation Through Closed-Loop Farming

26/01/2023 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary closed-loop farming, paul olivier, pollution, poverty, vietnam, waste transformation

This is a guest post by Paul Olivier, a US expat who lives in Dalat. His article Beyond the hype, a dirty side of Da Lat was published in December 2022 by VNExpress International. No More Poverty and No More Pollution Introduction Plants and animals do not appear separately within the natural world. Did you … Continue reading Waste Transformation Through Closed-Loop Farming

Garbage in Danang

14/10/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary danang, ecocide, environmental protection, garbage, pollution, trash, vietnam

Danang with the Han River in the foreground and the East Sea, known to the rest of the world as the South China Sea, in the background. (Photo by MAA) During a recent event that my company organized in Danang, I asked a US colleague where he was staying: in a hotel on the beach. … Continue reading Garbage in Danang

Guest Post: “Waste Is Our Greatest Resource”

24/09/202223/09/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary circular economy, pollution, recycling, waste

This is an issue to which I've given a great deal of thought in recent years. Most of what we throw out can be used in so many ways. Think of it as the global version of the idiom "One man's trash is another man's treasure." The vision of a circular economy can become a … Continue reading Guest Post: “Waste Is Our Greatest Resource”

An International Educator in Vietnam

Information, Insights & (Frequently) Intrigue

pollution