Showing 1 - 10 of 12
Towards a greener future
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 10/04/2024
» Plastic pollution has a negative effect on the environment, ecosystems, wildlife and human health. To reduce this scourge, 175 nations agreed to develop a legally binding agreement to address such pollution within the marine environment, known as the Global Plastic Treaty, during the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya. A draft of the treaty is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
An alarming rise in childhood obesity
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 03/10/2023
» According to the Ministry of Public Health, the number of obese children in Thailand has increased as of February this year. Around 13% of children aged between six and 14 fall victim to obesity while an estimated 13% of adolescents aged 15 to 18 suffer from the disease. Meanwhile, the percentage of obese children has risen from 4-5% to 9-10% for those below the age of five.
A push for sustainability
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 20/06/2022
» In 2014, Romtham Khumnurak -- a student at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University (TU) -- enrolled in TU 100 Civic Engagement, which required students to observe TU's waste management system. After Romtham saw a large stinky garbage pile there, it dawned on him that everyone is involved in the waste issue. Five years later, Romtham and five other colleagues established an environmental online media, Environman, which currently has more than 564,000 followers and is available on several platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Hitting is never the answer
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 04/04/2022
» Physical punishment, especially hitting children, seems to be normal for many Thai parents. On a popular webboard in Thailand, a post in 2021 asked readers when was the last time they were hit by parents. Readers shared their experiences, with some saying they were hit during primary school or junior high school days. The creator of the post wrote that her last memory of being hit by her father was when she was 20. Her father hit her very hard with a stick and cursed at her because he wanted her to do a household chore, but she did not immediately obey him. She said she just wanted to finish a cupcake before doing the chore. On the same webboard, many people also posted their experiences of corporal punishment from parents.
The march towards legalisation
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 04/01/2022
» When Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said he would explore ways to legalise the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping -- as many other countries have done -- since it poses less risk than conventional smoking, he also mentioned how e-cigarettes being sold online and on the black market damages the local tobacco market, leading to loss of 6 billion baht in income each year. Chaiwut's statements have stirred debate among supporters of e-cigarettes and anti-smoking campaigners.
Not all trash is equal
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 08/10/2021
» People know recycling is the process of converting waste into reusable material. But as they assume that recycling is a solution to waste pollution, they do not pay much attention to how much waste they throw away in the first place.
Age-old debate on the world's oldest profession
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 25/11/2020
» Should sex work be considered a crime? Thais have debated this for several decades. Prostitution was legal until the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act was launched in 1960 and later replaced with the current law. Even though 1996 law claimed to protect prostitutes and prevent human trafficking, it had the opposite effect because it still makes sex work illegal.
Waste not, want not
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 26/10/2020
» Thailand has become one of the world's largest garbage dumps after China banned waste imports, including electronics and plastics, from foreign countries in 2017. As a result, waste from many countries that was originally shipped to China is now being redirected to countries in Southeast Asia where strict environmental laws are not enforced.
To use is to reuse
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 13/01/2020
» Funny photos taken at supermarkets and convenience stores across Thailand were circulated on New Year's Day, showing customers carrying unusual containers like a construction cart, a cement bag, a plastic bucket and even a stainless-steel cooking pot to use as substitutes for plastic bags.
Taking on an ocean of waste
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 29/07/2019
» Debris, plastic bags, plastic bottles, straws. These are things that should never end up in the stomach of a sea creature. Yet this is a depressingly common occurrence, as veterinarian Weerapong Laovechprasit has discovered in his work at the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. The autopsies he has conducted have turned up rope, Styrofoam, coins and worse. The huge quantities of waste in the oceans is proving fatal to creatures both great and small: sea turtles, dolphins, even whales.