Tác giả: Đào Thu Hằng

I'm from Hanoi, Viet Nam. I'm an author of Dot Chuoi Non (dotchuoinon.com/author/hangbelu/), a blog on Positive thinking, founded by Dr. Tran Dinh Hoanh, an attorney in Washington DC. I'm a co-founder of Conversations on Vietnam Development - cvdvn.net, a virtual think tank. I am a co-founder of two companies in Viet Nam working on children education services. I advise companies on STEAM education, English language education for children and students in Vietnam. I'm studying the Buddha's teaching and the teaching of Jesus. I practice mindful living including meditation. I hold a PhD on Sustainable Energy Systems from University of Lisbon and Aalto University. I graduated from Hanoi University of Technology on Environmental Engineering. I obtained a Master degree of the same major from Stanford University and Nanyang Technological University. My English-language blog at: hangbelu.wordpress/. I play table tennis as a hobby.

Urban water pumping raises arsenic risk in Southeast Asia

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

River water is now flowing into aquifers through highly contaminated sediments

Mason Stahl tests arsenic concentrations in slow-moving water along the edge of the Red River near Hanoi, Vietnam.

High concentrations of arsenic are making their way from the Red River into aquifers near Hanoi, Vietnam, a new study shows. Mason Stahl tests water at the river’s edge where sediment is being deposited. Photo: Courtesy of Mason Stahl

ldeo.columbia.edu – Large-scale groundwater pumping is opening doors for dangerously high levels of arsenic to enter some of Southeast Asia’s aquifers, with water now seeping in through riverbeds with arsenic concentrations more than 100 times the limits of safety, according to a new study from scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, MIT, and Hanoi University of Science. Tiếp tục đọc “Urban water pumping raises arsenic risk in Southeast Asia” →

Vietnamese consumers looking for innovations even in basic items: Nielsen

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

By Ngan Anh, Thanh Nien News

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) growth in Vietnam’s six major cities took a dip in the first quarter of this year, presenting challenges for manufacturers, according to a report released Wednesday by Nielsen.
The growth was 3.6 percent compared to 5.7 percent in the previous quarter. Beverage continued to contribute the most to total FMCG sales with 39 percent in the quarter.
“It’s believed that when consumer income reaches some certain extent, the consumption aspiration changes. Urban consumers are increasingly demanding and expecting better choices. They’re looking for more innovations and new consumption experiment,” said Nguyen Anh Dung, Director of Retail Measurement Services, Nielsen Vietnam.
“With lack of innovation, FMCG is becoming more basic items which consumers would still buy but only at a sufficient level,” Dung said.
According to Nielsen, Vietnam has the highest score for trying new products in Southeast Asia.
“This presents good challenges for manufacturers to provide true innovations for consumers,” Dung said

Energy Relations between Russia and China: Playing Chess with the Dragon

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

DOWNLOAD Full report

Oxfordenergy – Russia’s relationship with China has a long and complex history, catalysed by the lengthy border between the two countries, the complementarity of their economies and the ambitions of both to be seen as key global geo-political actors. Following periods of tension and friendship in the Soviet era, when the two communist states often struggled to find a mutual understanding, the post-Soviet era has seen a more complicated relationship develop based as much on economic reality as political ideology. In particular the export and import of energy has been at the heart of these developments. Russia’s huge resources combined with its Tiếp tục đọc “Energy Relations between Russia and China: Playing Chess with the Dragon” →

A Nation, Building

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ 1 bình luận

by JOHN S. ROSENBERG

MAY-JUNE 2014

Hanoi’s streets (in 2007, above) are now full of motorcycles and scooters, and shop shelves are no longer bare.

Hanoi’s streets (in 2007, above) are now full of motorcycles and scooters, and shop shelves are no longer bare. Photograph by Chau Doan/Getty Images

harvardmagazine – A RECENT Monday morning, during a class on global trade, the professor reviewed the effects of nations’ limits on such commerce: tariffs, quotas, and the “voluntary” restraints exporting countries impose on their shipments to eager customers (lest protected interests in the importing area wilt). His students, arrayed in a teaching amphitheater laid out like the classrooms at Harvard Business School (HBS)—complete with laminated placards bearing each Tiếp tục đọc “A Nation, Building” →

Các c.ty nhà nước sập sệ của Việt Nam làm nguy hại tới tăng trưởng dài hạn

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

English: Vietnam’s zombie companies threaten long-term growth

Thách thức lớn nhất đối với kinh tế vĩ mô Việt Nam hiện nay là duy trì tăng trưởng. Hầu hết các tăng trưởng của kỷ nguyên đổi mới đã mang lại hoặc là từ hiệu quả có được với sự ra đời của nền kinh tế thị trường (mở cửa thị trường trong nước và thương mại, nới lỏng những bó buộc về phong trào lao động và chuyển đổi đất đai) hoặc từ việc mở rộng nguồn lực của lao động kỹ năng thấp và vốn đầu từ. GDP tiếp tục tăng trưởng với tốc độ rất đáng nể phục, mặc dù thấp hơn so với dự kiến trong văn bản kế hoạch quốc gia.

Hình ảnh Một người đàn ông mang vải trên một chiếc xe máy trên một đường phố ở Lục Ngạn, Việt Nam, ngày 22 tháng 6 năm 2016. (Ảnh: AAP).
 Tiếp tục đọc “Các c.ty nhà nước sập sệ của Việt Nam làm nguy hại tới tăng trưởng dài hạn” →

Underground revolution: Asia’s grave problem

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

To solve land shortages, many Asian countries have encouraged “eco-burials” that involve the cremation process. But considering the environmental effects of cremation, the benefits may be short-term at best.

chinese style tomb
These elaborate, expansive Chinese tombs are a symbol of piety and reverence for ancestors, but at what environmental price? Image: Shutterstock
eco-business: In the crowded cities of Asia, the lack of space isn’t just a problem for the living: cemeteries are filling up faster than ever and governments are scrambling to solve the sensitive yet urgent problem of where to put the dead. 

Tiếp tục đọc “Underground revolution: Asia’s grave problem” →

Sốt vàng da: Một thảm kịch có thể phòng ngừa

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ 1 bình luận

English: Yellow fever: A preventable tragedy 

Châu Phi hiện đang trong vòng kìm kẹp của một trong những dịch bệnh tồi tệ nhất  bùng phát trong 30 năm qua: sốt da vàng. Và một thảm họa lớn hơn đang đe doạ

Bản đồ những nơi xuất hiện muỗi vằn

Một trong những bí ẩn của dịch tễ học là tại sao châu Á không bị sốt vàng da. Dịch bệnh hoành hành ở châu Phi, lục địa nơi dịch đã tiến hóa. Dịch sốt da vàng lan rộng ở Nam Mỹ, khi dịch bệnh được mang đến Nam Mỹ bằng tàu nô lệ Châu Phi của châu Âu. Sốt da vàng đã từng được tìm thấy ở cả Bắc Mỹ và Nam Âu, nhưng nó đã bị tận diệt bởi việc áp dụng các nỗ lực đáng kể và nhiều tiền của, và cả hai nơi này có chung may mắn là không có nhiều khỉ, động vật có vai trò chứa và lưu trữ các virus sốt da vàng. Tuy nhiên, mặc dù phần lớn châu Á là nơi tập trung của muỗi vằn – Aedes aegypti, một loại muỗi lây lan bệnh sốt vàng da, thật lành thay châu Á vẫn miễn nhiễm với dịch sốt vàng da. Tiếp tục đọc “Sốt vàng da: Một thảm kịch có thể phòng ngừa” →

Can we harness bacteria to help clean up future oil spills?

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

theconversation – In 2010 the Deepwater Horizon oil spill released an estimated 4.2 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico – the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. The spill caused widespread damage to marine species, fisheries and ecosystems stretching from tidal marshes to the deep ocean floor.
Tiếp tục đọc “Can we harness bacteria to help clean up future oil spills?” →

The pattern of capital flows into Asia in the last decade

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
By and . Posted June 21, 2016

The pattern of capital flows into Asia in the last decade

asiapathways-abdi: Looking at the varying patterns of the capital flows into Asia in the last decade, the period after the taper tantrum on 21 May 2013 until 31 October 2015 is of particular interest from both global and local perspectives. Globally, the wave of capital flows became more volatile due to various international factors: (i) the pace of monetary policy normalization in the United States (US), (ii) the slowdown in the People’s Republic of China, (iii) the slide in oil prices, and (iv) higher political uncertainty and elevated geopolitical tensions. Locally, the growth momentum in Asia slowed down due to weaker balance of payments, worsening external debt conditions, and reduction in real economic activity. Monetary policy in Asia therefore became more accommodative to support growth. This, in turn, lowered expected relative interest returns and caused capital to flow out of Asia. Moreover, the exchange rate return on investing in Asian assets, which previously had been a byproduct of investment, declined. This is because there was greater risk aversion on Asian assets and there was downward pressure on all emerging Asian currencies due to weaker economic fundamentals. Tiếp tục đọc “The pattern of capital flows into Asia in the last decade” →

Antibiotic Resistance Requires Global Response Similar to AIDS, Climate Change

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ 1 bình luận

By Lyndal Rowlands

Unregulated sales of antibiotics are contributing to growing resistance. Credit: Adil Siddiqi/IPS

IPSnews – UNITED NATIONS, Jun 12 2016 (IPS) – Addressing antibiotic resistance will require a global political response similar to the way the world has reacted to climate change or HIV / AIDS, Sweden’s Minister of Public Health Gabriel Wikstrom, told IPS recently.

“(These problems) began with a small group of experts discussing and trying to warn the rest of us and it was not until it was politically addressed that it really became an issue that was solvable.”
Tiếp tục đọc “Antibiotic Resistance Requires Global Response Similar to AIDS, Climate Change” →

7 KEYS TO SHAPING SUSTAINABLE CITIES

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

worldwatch – Cities are the world’s future. More than half of the world’s people live in cities, and the urbanization trend is continuing. Will the world invest in shaping livable, equitable, and sustainable cities?

“The path to a sustainable city starts with a vision,” explains Gary Gardner, co-director of the our newest book, Can a City Be Sustainable? “A well-crafted vision can rally public support and mobilize civic energy for a long-term urban makeover.”

“A well-crafted vision can rally public support and mobilize civic energy for a long-term urban makeover.”

Here are Worldwatch’s top 7 tips for cities who want to unlock sustainability:

sustainable-cities-1

1. Reduce, circulate, and clean up material flows.

Perhaps the biggest single step that cities can take toward a sustainable future is to create economies that greatly reduce materials use and (re)circulate materials. Good examples are car sharing and tool libraries, which reduce a person’s materials footprint.
Tiếp tục đọc “7 KEYS TO SHAPING SUSTAINABLE CITIES” →

Vietnam approves $60 mln wind power project

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

By Dam Tuan   July 28, 2016 | 02:35 pm GMT+7

A Singaporean company plans to tap the potential for wind power in southern Vietnam.

e.vnexpress – Southeast Asia’s leading renewable energy developer, The Blue Circle, has been awarded an Investment Certificate from Vietnamese authorities for a 40 Megawatt (MW) Dam Nai wind project worth $60 million in the southern province of Ninh Thuan.

Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam approves $60 mln wind power project” →