Showing 41 - 50 of 77
Waste out of sight, but not out of mind
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 18/02/2016
» Unless something is done, Thailand is going to be buried with garbage. The numbers are more than clear. According to the Pollution Control Department's 2014 report, Thais generate 27 million tonnes a year, but only 7.2 million tonnes are disposed of properly, leaving 19 million tonnes of leftover trash every year.
Right to rest in peace
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 03/02/2016
» Nestled in a small alley on Arun Amarin Road, Tonson cemetery has stood next to the community mosque for over three centuries. This is probably the country's oldest "kubur", Islamic burial grounds, dating back to the time before the founding of Bangkok as the capital.
Drought, fishing scandals and winding roads
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 23/12/2015
» In the past year, environmental disasters once again proved how much of an impact they have on everyone's lives: the air we breathe (the haze in the South, blown over from Indonesia); the water we use (the contentious Chao Phraya roads); the lights we see (the coal-fired power plants); the ground beneath our feet (the gold mining scandals); the food we eat (the fishery disputes). In all of this, local communities and the rural poor feel the heat and the fire more than Bangkok's urbanites and they're the people who keep showing public resistance against environmental problems and the depletion of natural resources, despite the grip of military rule.
Out with the old, it seems
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 08/12/2015
» Over the past year, several neighbourhoods in Bangkok's old city have undergone big changes. Saphan Lek, Tha Phra Chan, Tha Tian, Khlong Thom and Woeng Nakhon Kasem, for instance, have made headlines since these old-school quarters have been cleared and upgraded, with the removal of street vendors and the moving in of developers. We can expect a more visible facelift next year.
Nation's biomass industry faces myriad challenges
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 28/11/2015
» There is no question that clean energy has merits. Among many sources, biomass power plants are championed as the most appropriate choice for Thailand — a country with abundant farm waste such as rice husks, and organic waste from sugar mills and palm oil factories.
Govt needs to face reality over forest preservation
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 17/10/2015
» Mention “Bang Kajao”, a green area next to Samut Prakan’s Phra Pradaeng District, and what springs to mind? Some may think of an area that is the “lung” for Bangkok or a popular bicycle route that brings cyclists to a traditional orchard landscape.
The rocky road to development
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 02/09/2015
» One Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's many ideas is the "New Bangkok Landmark", in the form of a 14km-long bicycle way that would, if launched, be built along the Chao Phraya. This caused some panic attacks among local architects. After the idea was thrown around earlier in the year, prominent Thai architects voiced their disagreement and suggested that at least the design -- an expressway-like structure built into the water along the river bank -- be revised, if not abandoned altogether. The cost of the project is said to be around 14 billion baht.
Blending architecture into nature
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 26/08/2015
» Trees sometimes are not just trees in Thailand. Among their cultural roles, trees are an object of social status and a symbol of the country’s awkward Westernisation, according to Chunlaporn Nuntapanich, lecturer on architecture at Chiang Mai University.
Dinosaurs in the digital age
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 13/08/2015
» When was the last time you visited a library? That's one question worth thinking about, but the other question being discussed among librarians is whether public libraries will survive. As the internet becomes a new pathfinder of data and information and the younger generation find knowledge via Google and YouTube, the fate of libraries seems like that of an endangered species.
Waiting to exhale
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 24/07/2015
» The work schedule was gruelling: he had three days to take portraits of 200 villagers. For photographer Roengrit Kongmuang, the task was compounded by the simple act of breathing.