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.

Trying not to choose: A region pulled between China and America

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Simon Long
Mon Nov 02 2015

http://cms-worldin.economist.com/sites/default/files/styles/1190x560l/public/Asia-Trying-not-to-choose-3570×1680.jpg?itok=7M4J9Efm
ASIA
East Asia is the scene for an unprecedented experiment in international relations. Never before have so many countries been so intertwined economically with one big power (China) while looking to another (America) as the ultimate guarantor of their security. So far the experiment has seemed a stunning success. For 40 years, America has not just kept the peace; it has enabled a continental economic boom. And the biggest beneficiary of that has been China. Yet that order is now fraying, as China chafes under what it sees as an American-led world order that is impeding its rise and its natural regional predominance. In 2016 the tensions that this fraying produces may become acute, posing awkward questions for other countries in Asia.

When Xi Jinping, China’s president, paid his first state visit to America in September 2015, the two countries were already at odds on a number of issues: the perennial bugbears such as China’s human-rights record and repression in Tibet and Xinjiang; and new concerns over cyber-security and the militarisation of space. The visit was marked, as always, by an effort to stress areas of co-operation, for example on climate change; but the two big powers are now rivals in a growing number of spheres. Asia is where the rivalry is most intense. It will become more so in 2016 for three main reasons.
Tiếp tục đọc “Trying not to choose: A region pulled between China and America” →

All signs point to a treaty of hope in Paris

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Despite the recent setbacks, there are signs that point to a successful outcome for the UN climate talks in Paris. At the very least, it will achieve more than the UN meeting six years ago in Copenhagen.

river seine eiffel tower
A view of the Seine river and Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. More than 130 world leaders will arrive in the city for the United Nations climate change summit, which starts on 30 November. Image: Shutterstock
By Jessica Cheam

Wednesday 25 November 2015

 ecobusiness – In less than a week’s time, more than 130 of the world’s leaders will arrive in Paris to kick off the United Nations climate change summit – billed by some as the most important global meeting in recent history.
There’s been a growing global momentum since its lead-up, but since the start of the year, the French capital has dominated headlines for other reasons. In January, Islamist terror attacks on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket left 17 dead. Last week, the city again became a bloodbath after deadly attacks involving shootings and bombings by terror group Islamic State killed 130 people and injured hundreds more.While the city remains in high alert, the French government were quick to affirm that the UN talks would go ahead, pledging that it will not “give up in the face of violence” by cancelling the summit, expected to be attended by the likes of the presidents of US, China, Russia and India along with 40,000 other delegates, journalists and observers. Tiếp tục đọc “All signs point to a treaty of hope in Paris” →

On World Toilet Day, it’s time Pacific leaders start talking toilets

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
Alyse Schrecongost's picture

Submitted by Alyse Schrecongost On Wed, 11/18/2015

co-authors: Katherine Wong

worldbank – Around the world, people are moving to cities in unprecedented numbers. The Pacific Islands are no different. In Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea (PNG), the urban growth rate is around 3% a year – or in real terms, around 64,000 people every year – who are making the move to the Pacific’s largest towns and cities each year in search of work and a better life.

As this ‘urbanisation’ increases, aging infrastructure and basic services are falling far short of needs. People arriving in cities are forced to settle in ad-hoc homes built on marginal lands without land titles.  Known as ‘informal settlements’, these communities are often packed with homes hovering on stilts above cleared mangroves, stacked precariously up steep rocky hillsides, or squeezed onto public land along roads and power lines.

In Honiara and Port Moresby, the number of people living in settlements may soon outnumber formal residents. Yet the majority have limited or nonexistent water, sanitation and hygiene services – even in settlements that have existed for decades.
When residents of these settlements need to use the toilet, they must venture outside their homes – no matter the weather or time of day. They may have to trek long distances, making those most vulnerable – especially women and children – risk harassment or worse. Some reluctantly use the bushes or go in the ocean. When facilities are available, they are often pits that are shared among multiple families, and are often full or flooded. Untreated waste sits stagnant in these toilets, attracting pests and flies. Children may be afraid of them. Many elderly residents simply can’t access them.
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Top 5 Developments Enabling Shift to 100 Percent Renewable Energy

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Renewableenergyworld – A growing number of companies, cities, states and countries are aiming for, and achieving, a goal of obtaining power from 50 percent, 75 percent or even 100 percent renewable energy, thanks, in part, to a set of major developments that are enabling the resource shift, according to a new report from Clean Edge.

Commissioned by SolarCity, the report Getting to 100 discusses what is driving the transition to increasing levels of renewable energy consumption and identifies the successes and challenges of both governments and companies in targeting, and/or achieving, 100 percent renewable energy goals.

According to the report, these five developments are supporting the trend toward higher penetrations of renewable energy:

  • A resilient grid
  • A rise in net zero buildings and smart connected devices
  • Energy storage availability and affordability
  • Proliferation of utility-scale renewables
  • Cost-effective status of distributed solar across geographies

Distributed Solar Becomes Cost-Effective Across Geographies

The proliferation of ever-cheaper distributed solar generation – residential, commercial and community – is a key driver toward the 100 percent renewable energy goal, according to the report.

“The cost curves are undeniable,” the report said. “The plummeting prices of solar panels have been well-documented, but the industry has recently been attacking balance-of-system costs and so-called soft costs (such as marketing, customer acquisition, permitting, and installation) as well.” Tiếp tục đọc “Top 5 Developments Enabling Shift to 100 Percent Renewable Energy” →

Perry Warns Against the Dangers of a Nuclear ISIS

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Smoke rises behind the Islamic State flag after a battle with Iraqi security forces and Shiite militia in the city of Saadiya in November, 2014.
Photo credit: Reuters

cisac.fsi.stanford – Former U.S. Secretary of Defense William J. Perry said he was concerned that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) could buy, steal or build a nuclear weapon capable of killing a hundred thousand or more people in a single strike.

And, he said, stopping the flow of oil money to ISIS should be the main, short-term objective of the United States and its allies in the fight against the terrorist organization.

“They have demonstrated their objective is just killing as many Americans as they can, or Europeans as the case may be…and there is no better way of doing that than with nuclear weapons,” Perry said. Tiếp tục đọc “Perry Warns Against the Dangers of a Nuclear ISIS” →

Ambitious climate goals, weak foundations

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Speed read

  • Most ASEAN and Pacific SIDS have submitted national plans for a UN global pact
  • But concerns have been raised about the reliability of the data used for the plans
  • Still, the country pledges are described to combine ‘complex’ needs of the areas
Scidev.net – [MANILA] With a little over a week left until the UN climate conference starts in Paris on 30 November, most countries have already submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

The INDCs are public pledges detailing how each country plans to cope with climate change, starting in 2020, as part of a new international climate agreement that will be adopted at the UN conference. Tiếp tục đọc “Ambitious climate goals, weak foundations” →

Civil Society Organisations and Internet Governance in Asia – Open Review

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

cis-india – This is a book section written for the third volume (2000-2010) of the Asia Internet History series edited by Prof. Kilnam Chon. The pre-publication text of the section is being shared here to invite suggestions for addition and modification. Please share your comments via email sent to raw[at]cis-india[dot]org with ‘Civil Society Organisations and Internet Governance in Asia – Comments’ as the subject line. This text is published under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.

You are most welcome to read the pre-publication drafts of other sections of the Asia Internet History Vol. 3, and share your comments: https://sites.google.com/site/internethistoryasia/book3.

Preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) conferences organized by the United Nations in Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005) initiated crucial platforms and networks, some temporary and some continued, for various non-governmental actors to intensively and periodically take part in the discussions of governance of Internet and various related activities towards the goals of inclusive development and human rights. Many of the civil society organizations taking part in the WSIS conferences, as well as the various regional and thematic preparatory meetings and seminars, had little prior experience in the topic of Internet governance. They were entering these conversations from various perspectives, such as local developmental interventions, human and cultural rights activism, freedom and diversity of media, and gender and social justice. With backgrounds in such forms of applied practice and theoretical frameworks, members of these civil society organizations often faced a difficult challenge in articulating their experiences, insights, positions, and suggestions in terms of the (then) emerging global discourse of Internet governance and that of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as instruments of development. At the WSIS: An Asian Response Meeting in 2002, Susanna George, (then) Executive Director of Isis International, Manila, succinctly expressed this challenge being faced by the members of civil society organizations:

For some feminist activists however, including myself, it has felt like trying to squeeze my concerns into a narrow definition of what gender concerns in ICTs are. I would like it to Cinderella’s ugly sister cutting off her toe to fit into the dainty slipper of gender concerns in ICTs. The development ball, it seems, can only accommodate some elements of what NGO activists, particularly those from the South, are concerned about in relation to new information and communications technologies. (George 2002)

Tiếp tục đọc “Civil Society Organisations and Internet Governance in Asia – Open Review” →

What Will the U.S. Energy Industry Look Like Over the Next Five Years?

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Experts discuss shale’s impact on prices, where OPEC is headed, and other topics

The U.S. shale-oil boom and OPEC’s actions will factor into energy prices and renewables.
The U.S. shale-oil boom and OPEC’s actions will factor into energy prices and renewables. Photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
By Lynn Cook

Nov. 15, 2015 10:01 p.m. ET

 

23 COMMENTS

WSJ – Low fuel prices and new climate policies are rapidly transforming the American energy sector, while escalating wars in the Middle East and a nuclear deal with Iran are clouding the global oil picture.

To get a sense of what the energy future may hold, The Wall Street Journal reached out to three experts in energy and geopolitics: Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of energy and sustainability at the University of California, Davis; Sarah Emerson, principal at ESAI Energy and president of Energy Security Analysis Inc.; and Meghan O’Sullivan, the Jeane Kirkpatrick professor of the practice of international affairs and director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Here are edited excerpts.

One-year outlook

WSJ: What will the U.S. energy industry look like a year from now if low oil and gas prices persist? Tiếp tục đọc “What Will the U.S. Energy Industry Look Like Over the Next Five Years?” →

Biological research: Rethink biosafety

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
11 November 2015

Tim Trevan calls on those working with organisms that are hazardous, or could be so, to take lessons from the nuclear industries, hospitals and other sectors that have established a safety culture.

Subject terms:

Douglas C. Pizac/AP/Pa Images Biosafety-level-3 protection at the US Army’s Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.

Nature – Two months ago, the US Department of Defense froze operations at nine biodefence laboratories where work is done on dangerous pathogens. Inspectors had discovered live anthrax outside a containment area at the US Army’s Dugway Proving Ground — a facility in Utah that tests defence systems against biological and chemical weapons. Tiếp tục đọc “Biological research: Rethink biosafety” →

Preventable maternal mortality can be eliminated by 2030, but much more effort is needed

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
Posted by ⋅ November 18, 2015 ⋅ 1 Comment
Filed Under  , ,

Report from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group
and the United Nations Population Division highlights progress since 1990

Maternal mortality has fallen by 44% since 1990, United Nations agencies and the World Bank Group reported today.

Maternal deaths around the world dropped from about 532 000 in 1990 to an estimated 303 000 this year, according to the report, the last in a series that has looked at progress under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  This equates to an estimated global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 216 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, down from 385 in 1990.

Maternal mortality is defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth or within 6 weeks after birth.

“The MDGs triggered unprecedented efforts to reduce maternal mortality,” said Dr Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant Director-General, Family, Women’s and Children’s Health. “Over the past 25 years, a woman’s risk of dying from pregnancy-related
causes has nearly halved.  That’s real progress, although it is not enough. We know that we can virtually end these deaths by 2030 and this is what we are committing to work towards.” Tiếp tục đọc “Preventable maternal mortality can be eliminated by 2030, but much more effort is needed” →

Leading powers to double renewable energy supply by 2030

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
solar re jpn
At present, only one-fifth of global demand for electric power is covered by renewable sources. Image: Shutterstock
IPS Friday 13 November 2015
 Eco-business – Eight of the world’s leading economies will double their renewable energy supply by 2030 if they live up to their pledges to contribute to curbing global warming, which will be included in the new climate treaty.
A study published this month by the World Resources Institute (WRI) analysed the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) of the 10 largest greenhouse gas emitters to determine how much they will clean up their energy mix in the next 15 years.

First-ever Vietnam Annual Tourism Report unveiled

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

The full report, in both Vietnamese and English, can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/baocaothuongniendulich2014.

—

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on November 17 announced the ‘Vietnam Annual Tourism Report 2014’ for the first time.

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talkvietnam – The report, compiled with technical help of the EU-funded Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme, is the first complete document produced in line with international experience, aiding the assessment of tourism’s socio-economic impacts. Tiếp tục đọc “First-ever Vietnam Annual Tourism Report unveiled” →

The Asia-Pacific Antitrust Review 2015 – Vietnam: Merger Control

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Globalcompetitionreview – Under Vietnam’s Competition Law (VCL), economic concentration includes company mergers, consolidations and acquisitions, and the creation of joint venture. Since it was created in 2005, the Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA) has not officially rejected any proposals for economic concentration that have been notified. However, this does not necessarily mean that this aspect of competition law is overlooked in Vietnam. According to the VCA’s reports, since 2011, it has dealt with an average of three to four notifications per year. In addition, the VCA is closely monitoring merger and acquisition activities in the market by cooperating with the licensing authorities and administering the structural changes of enterprises to ensure that all economic concentration is properly controlled by the competition authority. Notably, on 22 December 2014, the prime minister issued Decision 2327/QD-TTg (Decision 2327), granting an exemption to a merger between the only two card networks, resulting in a monopoly in the relevant market. This is remarkable for being the first exemption granted by the prime minister after 10 year’s enforcement of the VCL. Tiếp tục đọc “The Asia-Pacific Antitrust Review 2015 – Vietnam: Merger Control” →

Implications of a Low-Carbon Future

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
2016 Global Forecast

  • By Sarah Ladislaw
    Nov 16, 2015

    The world relies heavily on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs, and the development and trade of those fuels has influenced relationships among countries throughout modern history. Most reasonable projections of the next several decades anticipate that the role of coal, oil, and gas will be maintained but lose market share to lower-carbon energy sources like wind, solar, nuclear, and greater efficiency. Despite the continued role for fossil fuels, the push for greater reliance on lower-carbon energy sources has made progress since it began in earnest several decades ago. Nearly $318 billion was invested in new clean energy sources around the world last year, up from $60 billion in 2004. Nearly half of this investment took place in large developing economies, particularly China but also Brazil, India, and South Africa.

    Programs

    Energy and National Security
    Topics

    Energy and Climate Change, Markets and Trends, Alternative Energy, Security and Climate Change
    Regions

    Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Oceania
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Implications of Sustained Low Oil Prices

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
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