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By Nhung Nhung 9 November 2021 at 19:14

It took thousands of years for the Mekong Delta to come into existence. It might take humans just a few more decades to undo it.

See also Aral Sea: The world 4th largest sea that dried up in 40 years

One summer evening, Le Phi Hai lost his house to the Tien River, one of the two main branches of the Mekong River flowing through the delta in Vietnam. Three summers later, at almost exactly the same hour, the river claimed his house again.

The first time erosion bit into his soil, Hai, now 66, was watching Euro 2016 on his small TV screen. At around 3am, as Cristiano Ronaldo missed a critical penalty shot in Portugal’s match against Austria thousands of miles away, a strange bubbling sound roared from the backyard of Hai’s low brick home in the riverside town of Hong Ngu. As the noise grew to a louder dull rumble, drowning out the screams of the match commentators, he left his TV and walked outside for a quick check. After a few steps, he heard a thunderous “Th-rump!” Suddenly Hai saw his bed, tables, chairs, and finally the TV, with Ronaldo’s face on screen, slump down into a void that had appeared under his feet. The backyard where he was standing became a tiny islet surrounded by turgid water, and down it went.

Continue reading Mekong Delta disappears under its residents’ feet →

XUÂN TÙNG 7/11/2021 23:10 GMT+7

TTCT – Những lời kêu gọi “bảo vệ môi trường cho thế hệ con em chúng ta” vẫn thường được các chính trị gia trên toàn thế giới nhấn mạnh, song những người trẻ, vốn có nhiều thứ để mất hơn bất kỳ ai khác trong cơn khủng hoảng biến đổi khí hậu, lại không nhìn thấy mình trong các quyết sách được nhà cầm quyền đưa ra.

Continue reading COP26: Những tranh đấu bên ngoài bàn đàm phán của người trẻ →

By Zachary Skidmore04 Nov 2021 (Last Updated November 4th, 2021 11:39) Power Technology

More than 40 countries have agreed at COP26 to phase out their use of coal power by 2040 at the latest.

More than 40 countries have agreed to phase out coal-fired power at the COP26 climate summit. The agreement includes 18 countries promising to phase out or stop investments in new coal-fired plants domestically and internationally for the first time.

The list includes major coal using countries, including Canada, Poland, Ukraine, and Vietnam. Signatories to the agreement have committed to phasing out coal power in the 2030s for major economies and the 2040s for poorer nations. Dozens of private organisations have also signed up to the pledge, with HSBC and Export Development Canada among several major banks agreeing to divest from the coal industry.