Pollution

Pollution • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 23, 2020 • 6 min read

Recycling Singapore’s green thinkers discuss the pandemic, sustainability and recycling

By Amanda Oon • Jun 23, 2020
As Singapore eases its circuit breaker measures and life returns to some semblance of normality, green thinkers explain how the Covid-19 pandemic has, and will continue to, impact attitudes towards sustainability and recycling in the City-State – for both good and bad

Pollution • May 27, 2020 • 9 min read
Green cities

How did lockdown impact air quality in your Southeast Asian city?

While the global pandemic has been devastating for economies and lives across the world, it has been undeniably good for the environment. As cities across Southeast Asia have shut down, air quality has steadily and uniformly improved – that is in all but one city
By Lee Ying Shan and Alexi Demetriadi • May 27, 2020

Pollution • May 27, 2020 • 6 min read
Green cities

The curious case of Jakarta: Lockdown, less traffic, but worse air quality

Lockdowns brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic have had clear positive effects on pollutions levels across Southeast Asia’s major cities. But one city, notorious for its pollution, bucks that trend. Why has Jakarta’s air quality worsened during the lockdown months?
By Alexi Demetriadi • May 27, 2020

Pollution • May 20, 2020 • 8 min read
Ethical consumerism

Upcycling: Growing sustainability and diversity in Cambodia’s garment sector

Upcycling is a seemingly win-win initiative bringing old adversaries the environment and profitability together. While in its nascent stages in Cambodia, does a circular economy offer potential for the badly hit garment sector to diversify and increase sustainability?
By Tom Starkey • May 20, 2020

Pollution • May 05, 2020 • 9 min read
Water pollution

The sewage pumping drug-resistant bacteria into our waterways

The overuse of antibiotics is spurred on by over-prescribing physicians and over-the-counter access. With the drugs streaming into Southeast Asia's waterways, animals and humans are getting a heavy dose, with devastating long-term implications for drug-resistance
By Andrew Haffner • May 05, 2020

Pollution • Mar 03, 2020 • 9 min read
Coral reefs

Under the waves

Mainstream understanding says that the world's coral reefs will largely vanish to climate change by 2050. But more and more marine scientists believe their resilience has been underestimated, with researchers working in the Coral Triangle region now emphasising the adaptability of Indonesian reef systems
By Minka Curr • Mar 03, 2020

Pollution • Jan 09, 2020 • 14 min read
Extreme weather

High water mark

Top Read: 13 years ago, we asked the question – what might the weather bring us fifty years from now? Back in 2007, Cambodia was witnessing super cyclones one year, drought the next. Today, with extreme weather a yearly reality and the environmental tipping point drawing ever closer, the situation is showing few signs of improvement
By Paul Brisby • Jan 09, 2020

Pollution • Dec 16, 2019 • 9 min read
Urban development

The grass is never greener

As Phnom Penh’s construction sector booms, communities suffer as public recreational areas are sacrificed for never-ending new developments. In an economic environment where money trumps all, who will preserve vital green spaces for the capital's residents?
By Julija Veljkovic • Dec 16, 2019

Pollution • Oct 08, 2019 • 12 min read
Powering Southeast Asia

Fanning the flames

Southeast Asia’s growing economies have huge power generation needs, fuelling coal use across the region even as the rest of the world looks to greener methods
By Simon Roughneen • Oct 08, 2019