“This is a crime against our planet.”

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

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

You can’t eat money: the cost of unlimited growth

A woman stands at her collapsed house damaged by landslide along the Mekong river in Can Tho, Vietnam, December 17, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Kham My latest essay for VNExpress International. The Vietnamese version will be up soon. Here are the first two paragraphs. In a 1972 book chapter entitled "Conversations with North American Indians," Alanis … Continue reading You can’t eat money: the cost of unlimited growth

Tourism in Vietnam: A Tale of Two Tastes?

Recently, I've thought a lot about tourism in Vietnam for a couple of reasons. First, I'm concerned about the lack of regard for the environment on which we all depend for survival, which often takes a back seat to (over)development and revenue generation. Secondly, I'm well aware how important it is to Vietnam's economic well-being … Continue reading Tourism in Vietnam: A Tale of Two Tastes?

The Normalization of Environmental Pollution

Credit: MAA On a recent trip to Móng Cái in northern Viet Nam on the Chinese border, I had the chance to spend some time at a nearby beach. Above and below are photos of some of the items that were either left there by tourists or that washed up, e.g., country of origin, China, … Continue reading The Normalization of Environmental Pollution

Vietnam: Fewer Natural Forests, Increasingly More Golf Courses

This essay is from a website called TheVietnamese with the tagline Independent Journalism Matter. What it describes is yet another example of development in Viet Nam that is far from sustainable and of ecocide, defined as the destruction of the natural environment by deliberate or negligent human action. Who will benefit? That's easy. The company … Continue reading Vietnam: Fewer Natural Forests, Increasingly More Golf Courses

Vingroup Launches “the Region’s Leading ‘Sleepless City’ Model”

This is the first in a trilogy of posts about a well-known company that many people have strong feelings at both ends of the spectrum. On a personal note, I do not have an ax to grind vis-à-vis Vingroup. I like some of their initiatives and products, including VinUniversity and electric motorbikes, cars, and buses. … Continue reading Vingroup Launches “the Region’s Leading ‘Sleepless City’ Model”