KAYA RODRIGUES WRITES – In February, I wrote an article about 4Ocean, a Public Benefit Corporation and Certified Corp dedicated to solving the oceanic crisis of global plastic pollution by creating jewelry from recycled plastic. Today, as I gear up to begin my career in retail jewelry with a brand…
Category: Environment
INDIA: THE BIG COUGH
HAMAD ALHADBH WRITES – “For many developing countries, climate change is looming large over their existence. We have to take big steps today to save the world. This is the need of the hour.” So said Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, during the COP 26 climate conference in Scotland in…
SINGAPORE AND UK: THE GREENING OF AN ODD COUPLE
KAYA RODRIGUES WRITES – Green buildings, green finance, green economy. Singapore says it is committed to bettering the environment and is moving the small island to the forefront of the fight for a sustainable future. So, on March 1, Singapore announced that it was partnering with the United Kingdom by…
PAKISTAN: FLOODS OF GRIEF FOLLOWING THE MONSOONS
SAMANTHA LUNDIN WRITES – 2010 and now 2022… Pakistan is devastated by floods once again. Millions of lives are affected, with over a thousand dead, including pregnant women and children. These monsoon rains and floods came after the deadly heatwave that may have exacerbated the conditions for the flooding. Satellite…
THAILAND: RECOVERY OF MAYA BAY SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE
SERENA GONZALEZ WRITES – After a 4-year closure to allow its marine ecosystem to replenish itself, Thailand’s Maya Bay, one of the country’s most famous beaches is back, but with some stringent rules in place. Surrounded by towering limestone cliffs on an uninhabited island in Thailand’s Phi Phi archipelago, the…
MALAYSIA: WILL THE STATE OF SABAH LEAD THE WAY TO SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL?
HALEY BREWER WRITES — With the country of Malaysia having signed the Glasgow Climate Pact in November of 2021, we are reminded of Sabah, a state in Malaysia, which, back in 2015, pledged to produce sustainable palm oil by 2025. While this pledge is a decade-long plan, it is now…
THE PHILIPPINES: HUNGRY FOR POLICIES THAT ADDRESS FOOD INSECURITY
NELLY CARRILLO WRITES — Food insecurity – as defined by the FAO, the inability to access nutritional and safe food that is essential to maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle-is nothing new to the Philippines. In a 2016 report, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization found that at least…
MIDDLE EAST: CAN THE PLIGHT OF BEDOUINS TURN UP THE HEAT ON CLIMATE CHANGE?
FRANCESCO FIMIANI WRITES — Climate change continues to prove its catastrophic force. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), every year since 2014 has experienced record breaking heat, with 2020 the second hottest year on record and the 44th consecutive year during which global land and ocean temperatures were…
JAPAN: WILL THE FUKUSHIMA WATER DUMPING PLAN TRASH OUR OCEANS?
MANAGING EDITOR ZHI JIAO DANIELLE GOH WRITES — Dumping radioactive water into the ocean. Is this the making of a sequel to “Godzilla vs. Kong,” the surprise success film of the pandemic era? No. To everyone’s disappointment, this plot will be executed in reality. After 10 years of the Fukushima…
SRI LANKA: THE WAR ON PALM OIL MAY SAVE THE WORLD
CRISTINA PEDLER WRITES – Sri Lanka is leading the way in banning palm oil imports and phasing out cultivation. In an unexpected turn of events, Sri Lanka has banned imports of palm oil and new palm plantations, and told producers to uproot existing plantations in a phased manner. An announcement…
INDONESIA: CORONAVIRUS CRISIS TURNS INTO COMPOUNDED CATASTROPHE
KEZIA LAKSMONO WRITES — My home country is known for many cultural myths and rich folklore. I’ve always been skeptical of such stories. But folklore about New Year’s Day weather? For me, that’s always been an exception. Historically, rain comes pouring down on the city of Jakarta – the place…
SOUTH KOREA: POLITICAL WINDS HAVE SHIFTED ON CLIMATE CHANGE
MONICA KELLY WRITES — President Moon Jae-in announced last Wednesday that South Korea will be carbon neutral by 2050. This will be achieved through the Green New Deal – a multi-billion- dollar plan that will invest in energy technologies to create jobs and help curb greenhouse emissions. The hallmark plan…
U.S. AND ASIA: A NEW WORLD ORDER OF ENVIRONMENTALISM
PATRICK POLESHUK WRITES — If the Covid-19 catastrophe has benefited us in any way, it is in teaching us that humanity is never absolved from vulnerability. In the wake of global pandemic panic, thoughts about what is going to happen soon are beginning to overshadow thoughts on our long-term existence. How will…
CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: CLEAN THE AIR, FLATTEN THE CURVE
ANNALISA DEL VECCHIO WRITES – Would it be right to describe the visibility of the Himalayas for the first time in thirty years as a good thing? Yes, in a way. The snow-covered peaks have been obscured by air pollution for decades, but the coronavirus pandemic has helped reduce pollution…
SINKING FEELING IN JAKARTA: WILL THE CAPITOL DISAPPEAR BY 2050?
FIONNA WIJAYA WRITES – The worst floods since 2013 swept through Jakarta this January. Jakarta, the political and economic capital of Indonesia, houses the most significant industrial sectors in the country, compelling most of the population to migrate there for economic opportunities. These early 2020 floods claimed over sixty lives…
BHUTAN: SUSTAINING TOURISM AND AN ECO-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT
SAMANTHA CLANCY WRITES — The Royal Kingdom of Bhutan has recently announced that it would be levying charges on tourists from India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives, all of which could previously enter at no cost. And therein lies a tiny tale about this small, land-locked nation in Asia, perched so prettily…