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.

Carbon capture analyst: ‘Coal should stay in the ground’

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Date:December 2, 2015

Source:University of Michigan

Summary:Serious flaws have been found in a decade’s worth of studies about the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize the climate, report experts in a new article.

—

Serious flaws have been found in a decade’s worth of studies about the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize the climate.

sciencedaily – The findings, from the University of Michigan, are released as world leaders at COP21 attempt to negotiate the globe’s first internationally binding climate agreement.

The U-M researchers have found that most economic analysis of carbon capture and storage, or CCS, technology for coal-fired power plants severely underestimates the technique’s costs and overestimates its energy efficiency. CCS involves sucking carbon out of coal-fired power plants’ flue gases, compressing it and then injecting it deep underground.

The new analysis puts the cost of reducing carbon emissions with CCS-equipped coal plants higher than any previous study — and most importantly, higher than wind and comparable to solar power. It’s the first study to confront the so-called ‘energy loop’ inherent in the CCS process. Tiếp tục đọc “Carbon capture analyst: ‘Coal should stay in the ground’” →

How to stop antibiotic resistance threatening global growth

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

This article is published in collaboration with Project Syndicate.

weforum – November marked a setback in the fight against drug-resistant infections. Scientists announced that they had found bacteria that were resistant to colistin, known as an antibiotic of last resort. Even more alarming, they discovered that the gene providing the resistance could migrate from one strain of bacteria to another, meaning other types of infections could also become untreatable. The announcement prompted public health experts to renew their warnings that the world risks slipping into a deadly, post-antibiotic era.

But November also brought some good news – even if it received less notice. When the G-20 met in Antalya, the leaders of the world’s largest economies agreed that antimicrobial resistance was a threat to global growth. Buried in the last paragraph of the communiqué issued at the conclusion of the summit was an agreement to put the issue on the agenda of the organization’s next meeting. “We agree that attention should be given to global health risks, such as antimicrobial resistance, infectious disease threats, and weak health systems,” read the communiqué. “These can significantly impact growth and stability.”

This is an important development. The G-20 would be an ideal forum in which to take international action against antimicrobial resistance. The countries most at risk from the problem include Brazil, Russia, India, and China (the BRICs), none of which is a G-7 member. These countries are also among those most likely to find solutions to the challenge. Furthermore, the attendees at the G-20’s summits include heads of state and economic ministers, without whom no solution can be implemented.

Tiếp tục đọc “How to stop antibiotic resistance threatening global growth” →

Productivity lessons for Asia’s tiger cubs

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
24 November 2015
Authors: Lawrence J. Lau, CUHK and Jungsoo Park, Sogang UniversityEastasiaforum – The high and persistent growth of the four Newly Industrialised Economies — also known as the East Asian Tigers: Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan — from 1970 to 1990 prompted much debate about the drivers of growth in these economies. There have been numerous studies looking into this issue, but they have not yet been able to reach a common conclusion. Understanding the drivers of growth in the Tiger economies can help us grasp the future prospects for growth in the emerging Asian economies, and for Asia more generally — and the supporting policy responses needed.

Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong is famous for its fast owing commerce. Trade and openness helped the small island nation and other Asian ‘Tigers’ to develop rapidly by assimilating foreign technology. (Photo: AAP)
Tiếp tục đọc “Productivity lessons for Asia’s tiger cubs” →

SDG Indicators and Data: Who collects? Who reports? Who benefits?

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

By Barbara Adams

versión en español

Download this briefing (pdf version)

globalpolicywatch – As part of its mandate to develop an indicator framework by which to monitor the goals and targets of the post-2015 development agenda, the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDGs (IAEG-SDGs) held its second meeting in Bangkok, 26-28 October 2015. The objective was to seek agreement on the proposed indicators for each target—keeping in mind that indicators alone can never be sufficient to fully measure progress on the goals. More specifically, it was to move provisional indicators marked yellow—needing further agreement—to either green—agreed by all parties—or grey—no agreement possible. As a result, there are now 159 green indicators (including 52 moved from yellow and 9 new ones), and 62 greys (including 28 moved from yellow plus 5 new ones).

While there is now a proposed indicator (either green or grey) for every target, as required by the IAEG-SDGs’ commitment to “no indicator left behind”, many of the agreed indicators remain inadequate, and 62 require “more in-depth discussion and/or methodological development.” What will happen to these grey indicators if there is no agreement before March 2016 when the framework is to be presented to the UN Statistical Commission? Will they be shoved into an Annex, or dropped altogether? Either way, they risk becoming orphans as the framework is implemented. Tiếp tục đọc “SDG Indicators and Data: Who collects? Who reports? Who benefits?” →

Three technologies that changed genetics

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
  • Nature 528, S2–S3 (03 December 2015) doi:10.1038/528S2a
  • Published online
  • 02 December 2015
blished online
02 December 2015

Nature – Genome editing uses enzymes that are targeted to sequences of DNA to make cuts. These cuts are then repaired by the cell’s machinery. This technology allows scientists to disrupt or modify genes with unprecedented precision. By Amy Maxmen, infographic by Denis Mallet.

Subject terms:

Double-stranded break

All three of the main genome-editing tools (ZFNs, TALENs and CRISPR–Cas9) create a break across both strands of DNA at a specific location, which is repaired in one of two ways to either ‘knock out’ or ‘knock in’ a gene.

New Platform Reveals How Much Carbon Is Locked in Tropical Forests – and How Much Was Lost

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
GFW Climate will help measure emissions from tropical deforestation. Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cifor/14626255095/in/album-72157645614284212/">M. Edliadi for the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>
Tropical deforestation accounts for an estimated 15 percent of global emissions. Photo credit: M. Edliadi for the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

WRI – Between 2001 and 2013, greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation across the world’s tropical forests were, on average, larger than Russia’s economy-wide emissions in 2012. That’s 2,270 million metric tons (Mt) of carbon dioxide every year.

Emissions from tropical deforestation have significant implications for implementation of the new national climate plans (INDCs), as well as international initiatives like the New York Declaration on Forests, whose signatories aim to cut global deforestation in half by 2020. Tiếp tục đọc “New Platform Reveals How Much Carbon Is Locked in Tropical Forests – and How Much Was Lost” →

Vietnam’s startup economy is poised for success

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Andrew RowanAndrew Rowan

6:00 pm on Nov 13, 2015

International Climate Negotiations Glossary

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

CSIS – This glossary provides an overview of terms used by negotiators and others when discussing international climate negotiations. While several excellent climate glossaries exist—including from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—that provide technical definitions of terms, this glossary also provides the political and economic context for understanding the developments leading up to the Conference of Parties 21 (COP 21) in Paris in December 2015. At COP 21, Parties to the UNFCCC will be negotiating an international agreement that provides the framework for greenhouse gas emission reduction beyond the year 2020.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z Tiếp tục đọc “International Climate Negotiations Glossary” →

Food Giants Announce Major New Labeling Initiative

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Most controversially, the label will detailed whether products contain GMOs.

Fortune – Some of the largest food manufacturers and grocers announced today an initiative to provide consumers with “instantaneous access” about detailed information on thousands of products through their smart phones. Shoppers, using their smartphones, will simply scan a code, called a QR code or barcode, according to the initiative by the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

More than 30 food giants, ncluding Pepsi, ConAgra, Hormel, Campbell Soup, Land O’Lakes, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Hershey, and General Foods, have signed on to participate in the SmartLabel Initiative. The SmartLabel will include ingredients, allergens, animal welfare, environmental policies, and, perhaps the most controversial attribute, whether the food contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The information will also be available on the web and, in some cases, at retailers’ customer service desks, so consumers without smartphones also have access to the information. The technology will be available on 30,000 products by the end of 2017. The announcement comes on the heels of the FDA’s approval last month of the first genetically modified animal, a fast-growing salmon, a move that drew many calls for labeling, including from the editorial board of the New York Times. Tiếp tục đọc “Food Giants Announce Major New Labeling Initiative” →

Why the Paris climate deal must put the poorest, lowest emitting and most vulnerable people first

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
The poorest half of the global population are responsible for only around 10% of global emissions yet live overwhelmingly in the countries most vulnerable to climatechange – while the richest 10% of people in the world are responsible for around 50% of global emissions

—

Oxfam – Climate change is inextricably linked to economic inequality: it is a crisis that is driven by the greenhouse gas emissions of the ‘haves’ that hits the ‘have-nots’ the hardest. While COP21 in Paris will see a deal negotiated between governments on the basis of the total emissions produced in their territories, the real winners and losers will be their citizens. The true test of the deal will be whether it delivers something for the poorest people who are both the least responsible for and the most vulnerable to climate change, wherever they live.

In this briefing Oxfam presents new data analysis that demonstrates the extent of global carbon inequality by estimating and comparing the lifestyle consumption emissions of rich and poor citizens in different countries.

See also the technical briefing on the methodology and data sets. DOWNLOAD here

Nuclear waste storage sites in rock salt may be more vulnerable than previously thought

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Date: November 26, 2015

Source:University of Texas at Austin

Summary:Research shows that rock salt, used by Germany and the United States as a subsurface container for radioactive waste, might not be as impermeable as thought.

Research from The University of Texas at Austin shows that rock salt, used by Germany and the United States as a subsurface container for radioactive waste, might not be as impermeable as thought or as capable of isolating nuclear waste from groundwater in the event that a capsule or storage vessel failed.

sciencedaily – A team of researchers from the university has used field testing and 3-D micro-CT imaging of laboratory experiments to show that rock salt can become permeable. Their findings, published in the Nov. 27 issue of Science, has implications for oil and gas operations, and, most notably, nuclear waste storage. The team includes researchers from the university’s Cockrell School of Engineering and Jackson School of Geosciences.

“What this new information tells us is that the potential for permeability is there and should be a consideration when deciding where and how to store nuclear waste,” said Maša Prodanovic, assistant professor in the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering. “If it’s an existing nuclear waste storage site, you may want to re-evaluate it with this new information.”

Salt generally blocks fluid flow at shallow depth, a feature that allows oil reservoirs to form. But scientists have long suspected that salt becomes permeable at greater depth. Jackson School professor James E. Gardner confirmed this theory through laboratory experiments with synthetic rock salt. Tiếp tục đọc “Nuclear waste storage sites in rock salt may be more vulnerable than previously thought” →

Communist China’s Barbaric Consistency – Xi Jinping is no reformer.

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
Guy Sorman
December 1, 2015

Photo by WPA Pool/Getty Images

city-journal: Western adoration of China is a chronic and profound sickness, proof of which can be found in the non-reaction to the continued incarceration of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Prize winner imprisoned for his democratic writings. Not a single renowned European or American intellectual has demanded his freedom, and the same goes for our governments. But more damning proof comes from the positive reaction of many in the West to the Chinese government’s recent decision to authorize families to have two children instead of just one. We should decry any government that presumes to decide how many children a family can have. The Chinese people are just like you and me—they are no less concerned than we are with freedom and the right to decide the size of their own families.

There is nothing liberal about China’s new family policy. It simply recognizes the mistake made by Deng Xiaoping, who imposed the one-child policy in 1979. The consequences of this system are being felt today, as aging parents are left without family support in a country with no pension system outside the cities. In the past, children would share the responsibility of caring for their elderly parents. Another tragic consequence is that families only allowed one child have preferred to have boys, which has led to an enormous imbalance between the sexes. China currently “lacks” some 50 million women—victims either of sex-selective abortion or infanticide—which has made marriage impossible for the equivalent number of men. This disequilibrium has in turn led to aggressive competition between men and widespread prostitution. Tiếp tục đọc “Communist China’s Barbaric Consistency – Xi Jinping is no reformer.” →

Laos: Save the Mekong calls for cancellation of Don Sahong Dam citing far-reaching consequences on food & livelihood security

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Author: Save the Mekong, Published on: 30 November 2015

“Save the Mekong Statement Calling for Cancellation of The Don Sahong Dam”, 25 Nov 2015

business-humanrights: The Save the Mekong Coalition urges Mekong governments to take immediate action to cancel the Don Sahong Dam before construction begins at the end of November.

The Government of Laos have announced that they intend to commence construction on the Don Sahong Dam, in Southern Laos, despite strong opposition to the project from local communities across the Mekong region, an absence of regional agreement and no resolution to the 1995 Mekong Agreement’s Prior Consultation process.

The Don Sahong Dam poses a significant transboundary risk to the Mekong’s valuable and irreplaceable inland fisheries. Blocking the Hou Sahong Channel will permanently disrupt fish migration and irreversibly alter the area’s complex ecosystem, with far-reaching consequences for food and livelihood security throughout the region…

Read the full post here

Don’t Panic — End Poverty

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ 1 bình luận

Hans Rosling asks: Has the UN gone mad?

The United Nations just announced their boldest goal ever: To eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, already by 2030.

Gapminder – Looking at the realities of extremely poor people the goal seems impossible. The rains didn’t fall in Malawi this year. The poor farmers Dunstar & Jenet, gather a tiny maize harvest in a small pile on the ground outside their mud hut. But Dunstar & Jenet know exactly what they need to break the vicious circle of poverty. And Hans Rosling shows how billions of people have already managed. This year’s “hunger season” may very well be Dunster’s & Jenet’s last.

Up-to-date statistics show that recent global progress is ‘the greatest story of our time – possibly the greatest story in all of human history. The goal seems unrealistic to many highly educated people because their worldview is lagging 60 years behind reality.

About the film

The visualizations are based on original graphics and stories by Gapminder. The data sources are listed here.

The Dollar Street project, featured in this film, will launch later this year.
Learn more and stay tuned here.

This film follows the previous award-winning BBC productions Don’t Panic – The Facts About Population and The Joy Of Stats.

The film was produced by Wingspan Productions and broadcasted on BBC TWO on September 23, 2015. Director & Producer: Dan Hillman. Executive Producer: Archie Baron. ©Wingspan Productions for BBC, 2015

Obama’s nuclear play

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Allen Greenberg | Nov 29, 2015

Here’s a nice bit of irony:

Energybiz – James Hansen, the scientist who was first to raise the alarm about climate change, fueling calls to shut down coal-fired power plants, will later this week urge the expansion of nuclear power.

In other words, depending on how things work out, utilities that were forced to close down or convert their coal-powered operations because of Hansen’s work, could soon find themselves thanking him for encouraging policymakers and regulators to approve plans to build new nuclear plants.

Hansen will issue his call in Paris, during the two-week climate conference that kicks off Monday. The conference is expected to draw some 20,000 attendees, including President Obama and 120 or so other world leaders.

Also read: First U.S. small modular reactor inches ahead

The hope of the climate talks is to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. Few, however, expect the conference to deliver anything meaningful. That’s because the pledges being made to cut greenhouse gas emissions are voluntary and are unlikely to be enough to stave off environmental catastrophe. Tiếp tục đọc “Obama’s nuclear play” →