Features (Teaser) Dear Readers,

ASSUMPTION LANGUAGE COLLEGE

COLOR ME:
POEM (Daya 143)
Mercy Jose
CONTRIBUTORS
For this issue
At Christmas, we must
remember the gifts we
have received, and
CROSSINGS
Merry Christmas!

share our love and

Jesus, you are my life; Jesus you are my life;
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 4.1 DECEMBER 22, 2017
Joseph Le blessings to others.
Jesus, you are my hope, I trust in you, Lord. Vui Rau Rau Muong
Going to a different
Thank you, o Lord, for creating me
Paul Sing
country, putting up a
TRYING our best to improve climate
Theresa Chan
In your own image and likeness. Thomas Tri
Thank you, o Lord, for your Spirit Nguyen Phan Minh Tri
business, even simply change in hong kong
staying alive and
Who is always my guide. Tran Minh Tuan
well— all these are
Paul Lam
You are my beloved, o Lord; Joseph Van Minh Le gits that not everyone
Unchanging and constant friend. Michael Phan Loi might receive.
I can open my heart freely to you Nguyen Nhu
You listen to me till the end. As stewards of the
Noella Mawi
Joseph Thanh world, we have the
I Manila My heart longs to be with you Vincent Ngo Duc Duy responsibility to make
Like the deer pants for water. Thaddeus Dao sure that all of God’s
Joseph Le—Studying Eng- Quench my longing, o Lord;
Mercy Jose creation has the
lish in the Philippines is one Fill me with your unconditional love.
of my dreams. I told my su- chance to continue
************************
perior about that, but he existing, and that our Milder summers and later winters result from climate change in Hong Kong. (South China Morning Post, 15 March 2016)
was a bit hesitant. One day, he met a Vietnamese brother who studied future generations will
The next part of this Teresa Chan - Our climate is warming. It will be warmer on av-
English in the Philippines. He remembered me and asked for information
issue (Vol. 7, Issue 4.2) be able to experience changing because humans have erage, but it won’t be warmer
about studying there. After that, my superior finally allowed me to fulfill
will be released the blessings that we put a lot of carbon dioxide into everywhere. The world would
my dream. He also said that our community will support me financially.
through the web in the atmosphere. Some is used by continue hot for about another
Five days before I came to the Philippines, we received bad news. have had the oppor-
PDF format. Save pa- plants to make food. But some 100 years. The future of climate
Our community could no longer support me because of the many chal- tunity to have and
per, save trees, save stay in the atmosphere. The at- changes does not look good for
lenges we were facing. I was really disappointed because Bro. Alphonsus hold.
the environment! mosphere is getting energetic. our Earth. Hong Kong will flood
and I already booked tickets. My superior still allowed us to go to the Phil-
ippines on one condition: we need to find benefactors. I was very nerv- This issue of CROSS- The thick layer of greenhouse frequently. The weather will be
For downloads, kindly gases traps more and more heat. hot. Shortage of clean water will
ous because I did not know where I could study. God is really good be- INGS deals mainly
check the Official ALC This results in an increase in aver- be serious.
cause someone pledged to support us financially. with how you, our
Facebook Page age temperature of the earth
After 2 days, I was very surprised to learn that ALC would be my But how do we know about
(www.facebook.com/ dear readers, may be and the earth becomes hotter
home for a year. I have begun my English classes late. In spite of that, I global warming? (cont. on p. 4)
assumptionlanguage- able to do something and hotter. This is called global
was still happy because my teachers were very friendly and passionate
college/) on or after to help your fellow
in teaching. I am delighted to be part of Teacher Mark’s class. I have
Christmas Day.
learned a lot of things from him so far. people, your nation,
CULTURE (TEASER)

Besides, this is the first time I went abroad, so I experience many Inside this Issue:  Ong Ba Bi
and our world.  Learning English in a Big English Class
strange things. This is also my first time to ride a train, jeepney, and tricy- The Editor
ENVIRONMENT
-  Country in Focus: Vietnam
cle. I cannot go out alone because I am not yet familiar with Manila. Merry Christmas! BUSINESS (TEASER)
 Vietnam and Climate Change  A Grocery
Also, Filipino food is not as tasty as Vietnamese food. For me, their dishes 
Enjoy reading! Humans and Environment in India
are too salty and oily. I can eat it, but I still miss Vietnamese food from  Can We Stop Climate Change?
FEATURES (TEASER)

time to time. However, I am still very happy because so far, I have visited  Poetry: Daya 143
 Climate Change in the Mekong

some nice places with my friends at school. I am excited to know and
I Heart Manila
- The Editor
Delta
 Vietnam: Timeless Charm
explore more the cultures and traditions of this country.

12 crossings crossings 1
 The Environment Business (Teaser)
Vincent Ngo— If I were not a priest, I would put up a grocery in my village
Humans and Environ- 1.7 billion metric tons of CO2 are proposing to reduce the where the poor live in. I want to share with you some advantages, disadvan-
A Grocery
and attained about 5.8 % of intensity of their CO2 emis- tages and suggestions in my plan.
ment in India the total global emission. By sions by 33 % to 35 % from Advantages
Noella Mawi—The relation- now, India has made the 3rd 2005 levels by 2030. On the It is easy for me to rent a good place where I can build a house for A Grocery. There is a big
ship between the environ- largest amount of CO2 . It had other hand, the amount of road in front of the store to transport easily goods. Then, I can recruit employees with the cheap
ment and humans cannot be been emitting 6.24 % of the CO2 emissions would still tri- work force because many people are looking for a job. I also have a large market because there
separated and is often nega- total global emissions in 2016. ple by 2030 if India does not are many people who live in my area and price of products that I sell is quite cheap. Moreover, to
tive. Population explosion Absolutely, if India don’t solve receive assistance from provide different needs for the people, I will import many items of the products, such as cakes, soft
and use of greenhouse gases this progress rapidly, they will Western countries. drinks, beers, and so on. In my village, the governors are very friendly, so they accept easily my sug-
make our climate warmer. still emit more and more CO 2 To solve these ordeals, gestion to make a business; and they also promise to take care of my groceries.
According to experts, In- through 2030. think of the best ways to Disadvantages
dia had been one of the ten In fact, Indians are aware of contribute. I think that the I want to have many kinds of goods in my store, but I do not enough money to invest and to
biggest CO2 emitters in the the influence of climate Indian government needs to build the store. In the beginning, it is not easy for me to find out places where they can provide the
world after China, the US, change so they took part in control population growth as quality goods with the low price. My store is so far from city, so it is very difficult for me to transfer
and the EU, in 2007. But what the United Nations climate well as to plan in detail how goods by bikes. After recruiting employees, I must spend long time to guide them how to sell the
has India done in the past Conference in Paris in Decem- to have a balanced growth products because they are poor, so they do not study in high grade.
ten years to contribute to the ber 2015. So, they will just slow between industry and other Suggestions
common good? their carbon dioxide intensity factors like healthcare, edu- After the disadvantages, I can give some suggestions for my plan. First, I can borrow business
In 2007, India had emitted (Institute for Energy Research). They cation, etc. loan from bank or invite investors who are my friends or relatives. I can ask provider to give me per-
mission to owe in the beginning. After one or two months, I can give back money to them. Second, I
can request my friends or those who invest in my store to look for stores where they can provide the
CAN WE STOP methane and nitrous oxide. The increase of car-
quality goods with the low price. Third, I can ask provider to deliver main products at my store, and I
bon dioxide (CO2) from 270 to 280 parts per mil-
CLIMATE CHANGE? lion (ppm) before 1900 has been replaced in- can ask my employee to carry minor products from city. After one year, I will buy a truck for carrying
Nguyen Nhu— Change is essential for some as- stead with 394 parts per million. The connection or delivering goods. Finally, I will use some movies to teach my employees how to welcome custom-
pects of life. However, climate change has al- between an increase in CO 2 and temperature ers and how to sell the products.
ready impacted humans’ life explicitly. Can we shows that CO2 is causing the warming. I hope I will get success in my plan through help of my family and my friends. And my plan also
discuss not only to catch on to the many rea- Second, the atmosphere is becoming not solves unemployment for some people.
sons for disasters, but also to suggest ways to re- only hotter but also more energetic. Actually,
solve these serious consequences? Will we all some places will be windier but some places will
cooperate to solve this ordeal? be wetter; some will be drier but others even will
First, how does climate change? Following be cooler. There are different levels of influence
experts, we have known that the climate was in each area.
changing for 30 years. Actually, whatever we Can we stop this issue? No. we can only slow
humans have been doing as well as the gases the climate changing progress without really
we have been putting into the atmosphere stopping it. Slowly and surely though we can re-
have been contributing to push this change duce emission by 50%, the world would still keep
more quickly. Perhaps we haven’t been aware getting hotter for about 100 years. But when we
enough about consequences which strongly in- have specific actions, we can make sure the
fluence this planet. For example, a large changes will be managed and kept to a mini-
amount of forests in the world were destroyed. mum.
As a result, the habitats of animals have been “If not me, who? If not now, when?” I want
disturbed. Moreover, “greenhouse gases” have to quote this phrase from Emma Watson, to con-
been adding to these complex climate change. sider for myself what I have been doing to coop-
Using “greenhouse gases” makes the atmos- erate in limiting the change of the world. Person-
phere warmer because of combining many dif- ally, humans should all be concerned about cli-
ferent gases together such as carbon dioxide, mate change. We must all be impressed.
2 crossings crossings 11
 Culture (Teaser)
VIETNAM AND CLIMATE CHANGE Vietnam. In 2014, nine Another problem is
storms affected Cen- found in areas in the
Paul Lam— With the abundant resources. If tral Vietnam. As a re- Mekong Delta which
development of sci- we use these resources sult, 133 people died are affected by rising

Ong Ba Bi Joseph Thanh—One of the

most feared and vicious
ence and technol-
ogy, humans have
judiciously, the econ-
omy will develop.
and many people
were missing. The total
sea levels. Some will
disappear for the next
characters for most Viet- put so much gas into However, we have to estimated damages few years. As a result,
namese children is the image of ONG BA BI. Ong the atmosphere that face many challenges were $125 million dol- many people will mi-
Ba Bi is an ugly, tall, black man, carrying up to 3 big climate change has from catastrophes or lars. In addition, many grate to other places
children. He often kidnaps lazy children, or those already begun affect- calamities. As carbon houses and crops and cities in order to
who do not obey the adults or do not live with their ing development all dioxide emissions in- were also destroyed. It rebuild their lives. There
parents. Ong Ba Bi can appear anywhere and at over the world, and crease, Vietnam’s cli- made many people are a lot of difficulties
any time. He himself was kidnapped from his fam- Vietnam is likely one mate will get worse, migrate to poor areas to settle down. Some
ily. Unfortunately, he cannot be killed. of the most vulnerable there will be more and a lot of people cities, such as Ho Chi
According to some sources, in 1608, great countries because of powerful storms, the got sick. Also, the tem- Minh and Can Tho, will
crop failures occurred from Nghe An to the North- its geographical loca- sea level will rise, and perature in the winter be flooded soon. Trans-
ern provinces, which is one of the causes of child tion. Situated in South the factory emissions has become colder, port stations will be
abduction. The image of the strict, punishing father East Asia, Vietnam lies will further affect the impacting on the culti- submerged; therefore,
also appeared in this period. This may have been in the region of tropi- sea. vation of crops and many people will have
the origin of Ong Ba Bi. cal climate with a The areas in the mid- domestication of ani- difficulties when they
Ong Ba Bi is an image that both mean good
Learning English in a Big high temperature. dle of Vietnam have a mals. Some areas had are moving and they
and bad. He is good because parents often use his Vietnam has a lot of lot of challenges due a lot of dead animals will pay for many
image to educate obedient, lazy children. But it is
English Class potential to develop to global warming. It such as chickens and things, such as tools
bad because his image has haunted the children, Paul Sing—Learning is a direction of continu- economically due to made more storms in cows (tienphong.com). and vehicles.
making them scared; something too scary can ous pursuit of people. People live to learn until
lead to psychological problems while they are they die. Today I will discuss the advantages
young: they fear too much, and do not dare to be and disadvantages of learning in a big English Vietnam is one of the most vulner-
alone. class.
Similar to the iconic Ong Ba Bi of Vietnam,
able countries in the world due to
I think a big English class has the advan-
some countries also have a similar character: tages as follows: first, a big class is cheaper
its geographical location…
- Ocu is a giant monster in Turkish legend, than a small class. Second, a big class will be
carrying a bag and kidnapping children. fun because it has many activities. Third, stu-
- Bulgarians have Torbalan - a humanoid dents can improve their English skills fast be- saltwater intrusion is increasing
monster who looks pretty scary. Torbalan cause they have more chances of talk to rapidly. Drought and flooding are
means "man carrying a bag", which he each other, so students can improve their skills
uses to catch children who do not obey. increasing every year...
fast.
- In Japanese mythology, Ubume is the There are disadvantages of a big English
soul of a woman who dies in childbirth or class: first, the students do not have enough
pregnancy. Ubume is portrayed as a Moreover, the accelerating erosion of the delta makes salt water intrude on the mainland to affect
time to practice because in the class there cultivated land and local people. Many people will move to other places to live better.
bird-like creature but transforms into a are any students. Second, the teacher can-
woman who kidnaps children. One last problem is that Central Vietnam will face more industrial emissions which will affect the
not focus on all the students equally. Third, sea environment. Some factories, companies and industries eliminate waste water to the sea. As a
- In Eastern Europe (Croatia, Serbia, and teacher cannot take care of all students
Macedonia) they have someone result, polluted water will have an impact on everyone. For example, last year, the Formosa com-
learning in a big English class. pany discharged wastewater into the sea and damaged the lives of the locals. As a result, about
named Babaroga. Babaroga literally I think everyone’s idea is different. Some
means a horned woman who kills a 115 tonnes of fish died along the shoreline, 110 tonnes of fish and 67 tonnes of clams died, and 450
students may like big classes because they hectares of coral reefs were destroyed from 40% to 60%. There were people who died and a lot of
baby in a sack, brings it back to the can have many friends and learn from each
cave and eats it. people had lead poisoning (vi.wkipedia.org) . Thus, many people suffered because a lot of fish died.
other. But, I believe there are students who Climate change shows that Vietnam may be in a dangerous situation than any other countries.
Each of these characters, like Ong Ba Bi, seems to like small English classes. So whether it is a big
like to take young children, especially disobedient The effects of climate change will create a lot of problems in Central Vietnam and affect many lo-
or a small class, learning is the direction of cal people. Therefore, the government has the responsibility to cooperate with experts to deal with
ones, and are very scary for young people. continuous pursuit of people. these problems. (With contribution from Van Minh Le)

10 crossings crossings 3
 The Environment
(from prev. page) Only 10% of
(cont. from p. 7) These are very fit with the conditions in
chemicals are absorbed and
Vietnam because Vietnam is a tropical country, so Viet-
others permeated in soils. Be-
nam has various animals and plants. Moreover, Vietnam
sides, increasing industrial zones
has a long coastline with many caves and bays. Along
TRYING OUR BEST... (from p.1) First, the rise in sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors re- can’t be controlled. There are
the coastlines from North to South, so many places can
lated to global warming: the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion 600.000 m3 of industrial sewage
develop ecotourism.
of sea water as it warms. Since the glaciers melt, sea levels have risen by 10-20cm. This is due to the each day based on the August-
Vietnam also has many big fruit gardens. Therefore,
expansion of warming oceans. The mean sea levels of Hong Kong are continuously increasing caus- 2017 report of the Environment
many tourism companies have developed tours where
ing the global warming. Ministry. The lands are restricted
tourists can visit and discover the fruit gardens. This can
According to the Hong Kong Observatory, tide gauge* records in Victoria Harbour since 1954 and infected more than ever,
raise the consciousness of the visitors about planting
demonstrate an unambiguous rise of the mean sea level during this period. On average, the mean and Vietnamese will have less
and protecting trees. In other ways, it makes benefits for
sea level in Victoria Harbour rose at a rate of 31mm per decade during 1954-2016”.The tide gauges and less fresh water until 2030.
farmers.
records in Victoria Harbour at other coastal stations in the region observed are similar to those by Third, the damage affects
Vietnam, a developing country, is faced with many
satellite remote sensing over the South China Sea. watershed forests and will proba-
problems. But anyhow, it is trying to have sustainable
In addition, the hourly rainfall has broken the record several times (refer to the data from the bly destroy the balance of the
development. Ecotourism is young and has just started
Hong Kong Observatory). In Hong Kong the average temperature between September and No- natural environment. Floods are
in Vietnam in recent years. Nevertheless, ecotourism is
vember was 25.8 degrees Celsius, making it the city’s third-warmest autumn ever. Sweltering 2017 becoming intense, dangerous in
the best way to both protect the environment and de-
puts Hong Kong on track for hottest temperature and highest number of warm nights in its recorded rainy season and drier in the dry
velop the economy. (Report by Michael Phan Loi. For
history. Climate changes are also affecting Hong Kong in the annual number of the cold days (days season. Many houses and farm- more details, see Beautiful Places in Vietnam (Thaddeus
with a minimum temperature of 12 degree Celsius or below) decreased. The number of hot nights lands are destroyed by rising wa- Dao), included as a pamphlet insert with this issue.)
(28 degree Celsius or above) and very hot days (33 de- ter levels in rivers. Landscapes
gree Celsius or above) has increased. On average, are eroded and thus, it makes
about 30 tropical cyclones form in the western North Pa- accidents. On the other hand, Climate Change and a fisherman, said last year he
cific or China Seas every year. The weather is usually hydroelectric plants are chang- the Mekong Delta caught 30 kg of fish a day,
fine and exceptionally hot, but isolated thunderstorms ing animal and human life in the and earned 13-18 USD. But
sometimes occur in the evenings. deltas, because it keeps water in Tran Minh Tuan— Vietnam is now he only catches about 3-
Furthermore fresh water will not be enough in Hong dry season and quickly releases the second rice exporter in 5 kg of fish a day (Vietnam.net).
Kong and will be worse. Hong Kong is a densely popu- water during heavy rains. Trees the world. Half of Vietnam’s His family is struggling to make
lated city. The population of Hong Kong is estimated at are disappearing so they could- rice comes from the Mekong ends meet.
7.36 million in 2017. It has a population density of 6,300 n’t convert carbon dioxide to Delta. However, the residents Warming temperature is
people per square kilometer. (Nov. 10, 2017 Hong Kong Popu- oxygen which creatures needs are facing a lot of difficulties. threatening rural life. Govern-
lation 2017). For a long time since 1895, Hong Kong has and everything that depends on Nowadays, Mekong Delta is ment authorities of Can Tho
always had freshwater shortage problems. Since 1963 its them. It’s harsh. experiencing the worst effects province estimate almost 20
water has been bought from East River in China. How- The Earth can exist without of climate change due to ris- million households will lack
ever, East River as Hong Kong’s major supply of fresh humans, but humans can’t live ing sea levels, the warming fresh drinking water. More
water may not be sustainable. We can imagine that without nature. Climate change temperature and salt water than a million hectares of
water vapour would eventually condense and fall back means our lives are changing intrusion. crops will be destroyed due
to earth as quickly as they receive it. (With a tempera- negatively. It seriously affects our Locals estimate that there to either a lack of water for
ture rise of 1 degree Celsius, the atmosphere is able to race, making us weaker. The en- are about 4-5 tropical storms irrigation, or contamination by
hold 7 per cent more water vapour.) Therefore, our res- vironment is becoming more and 5-6 floods a year where salt water. Moreover many
ervoirs may not have enough water for all the citizens. harmful because of worsening they have never seen any people, old and young, are
In conclusion, the climate is changing and is going human actions. The government storms or floods before. Rice getting sick with malaria, and
to keep changing. Almost every country wants to re- and people need to cooperate production which was seri- other heat-related diseases.
duce its air pollution and to keep the rivers clean. Ac- to conserve the environment, so ously reduced, dropping up Mekong Delta may really
Source: The Hong Kong Observatory. A tide gauge is a
cording to Professor Chen, as quoted in South China that all of us can exist sustaina- to 20% even though the Me- be in a more dangerous situa-
device for measuring the change in sea level relative to a
Morning Post, Hong Kong needs to change because: datum. Sensors continuously record the height of the wa- bly. Vietnam will be a dirty indus- kong Delta is known as “the tion. If we don’t act now, we
“...extending water catchments or building new reser- ter level with respect to a height reference surface close to trial country if the government rice bowl of Vietnam” and will not see Mekong Delta in
voirs are impractical. They need to divert water from the the geoid (Wikipedia) and people aren't aware of the accounts for 60% of national the future. We should not ne-
West River to maintain a stable freshwater supply. The consequences of their actions. rice production. In addition, glect our responsibility of pro-
Government should begin to foster closer collaboration with neighbouring mainland cities with (Report by Nguyen Phan Minh Tri) catching seafood is becom- tecting the environment.
which they share common resources, conserve water and control leakage…and (cont. p. 5) ing very hard. Tran Van Lam,
4 crossings crossings 9
 The Environment
TRYING OUR BEST... (from p.4) improve the
city’s drainage capabilities.”
Truly, I agree with his suggestions. In fact,
Hong Kong’s land area is limited. There are many
small reservoirs and large reservoirs in Hong Kong
(cont. From previous) People who live near the coastlines will migrate to the urban center or other
taking up 1.104km2 of space. There are 21 drink-
places and will lose their jobs and possessions. Likely, farmlands will be under water. Thus, farmers ing-water reservoirs, 13 irrigation reservoirs and
won’t earn money to survive and these things will result in natural food shortages. All in all, the peo- flushing-water reservoirs. In our history, specially,
ple will become poorer and the economy of this country will seriously decrease. in1963 people faced the problem of water short-
The effect of climate change today has been confirmed mainly by human activities. The sci- age. They were in difficult circumstances. The
entific view of climate changes argues to reduce the impact of human activities and adapt to the government supplied water for only 4 hours per
climate changes that have occurred in the past and will be expected in the future. The fight against day. The water storage of Hong Kong only for 43
climate change is affecting the Vietnamese population and environment of this country. It requires days for the use of the citizens.
an effort of local residents to be aware and responsible to cooperate to solve this problem. Facing the current situation, we need to
Viet Nam’s climate change could tremendously threaten the health, resources, and economy work together. Let us see how our lifestyle can COUNTRY IN FOCUS: VIETNAM
of men and women. If people aren’t aware that is a big problem, we will see more than 90 million affect global warming. If we do not take steps to
Vietnamese facing poverty and especially deaths. Let’s start with specific things such as reducing HOW HAS CLIMATE CHANGE
reduce global warming, it will lead a loss of hu-
gas emissions, decreasing our carbon footprint by using and saving natural energy to protect our man lives, water, plants and animals. In addition, AFFECTED IT?
environment. (Report by Thomas Tri) the government, companies and each of us
should invest in green projects. We have to plan Climate change is one of the biggest
Vietnam is a 4000 year-old agricul-
and live in order to minimize our personal carbon challenges to human beings. It leads to seri-
tural country with more than 3000 kilo-
footprint, for example: ous impacts, Vietnam is considered one of
metres of seaside, and many multiform
1. We should use water properly, reduce, the countries most affected by climate
creatures. It has two vast fertile deltas
reuse and recycle. change. This problem had been and will con-
with rich rice fields and fruit gardens.
2. We should plant more flowers and grow tinue to lead to comprehensive and deep
There are major mountains and hills
vegetables in a raised bed in our houses or of- changes in development and security, espe-
where the minerals and forest’s prod-
fices. Try to go vegetarian. cially in energy, water, food, society and cul-
ucts are rich. Vietnam is a young and
3. We should turn off electronic devices ture, and economy.
flexible country, changing day by day.
when not in use and use mobile phone properly. According to a report, Vietnam over the
However, another side of that devel-
We can’t stop global warming, but if we act past 50 years has risen in main temperature
opment is climate change. It will be
now, we can reduce the problems. The effects of by 0.5—0.7°C and the sea level has risen by
definitely faster and more intense be-
climate change in Hong Kong may be reduced. 20cm. El Niño and La Niña cause more and
cause of the rapid population growth.
Then, such measures will solve greater problems more impacts. Extreme weather (cont pp.6-7)
There are severe effects of the sources
of Hong Kong in the future like the temperatures
of pollution and the serious damage to
or the water shortage. We should work together
watershed forests in the next decades.
in facing problems. Finally, we have to love crea-
There are many reasons of climate
tures, and pay attention to global warming.
change and results are dangerous not
only today but also tomorrow. First, the fast increase of population will cause a quick urbanization
Spreading awareness is everyone’s responsibility
in the whole world.
ANNOUNCEMENT
in the big cities; therefore, the air is being polluted by transportation’s smoke and dust, and fresh
water is used too much. Cities are becoming hotter, more polluted and narrow. As a result, acid ALC’s FIRST CYCLE FOR 2018 will begin
rain is occurring in many places. According to the Environment of Ministry’s report in August in on JANUARY 8, 2018. For inquiries and
2017, there are more than 45.000.000 vehicles that operated in Vietnam, and 3.000.000 m 3 of other matters, please contact:
waste water is thrown every day in more than 787 urban areas.
Second, the severe effects of the sources of pollution will affect the life of the next generation. Clint Chua
In addition, the sickness and cancers will go up frequently because the concentration of dust was (02) 990 1679
ten times higher than 2 years ago. In addition, farmers in the countryside have used more than
130.000.000 tons of chemicals in cultivation and livestock sector. Nowadays, more than 3000 tons Tell all your friends!
of trash has been thrown every day. Meanwhile, the river systems are being polluted so there are
Share your ALC experi-
fewer fishes. Some environment experts warn the underground water will be polluted by heavy
ence. :)
metals such as arsenic, cobalt and bronze, etc. from chemical waste. (cont. next page)

8 crossings crossings 5
 The Environment
(cont. From p. 5) such as floods, droughts, and
typhoons became more common and diffi-
cult to forecast. In the last decade (2001-
2010) such natural disasters had resulted in
9500 deaths and missing persons, or damages
worth 15% of the country’s annual GDP.
If the sea level rises by 1m, about 40% of
the Mekong Delta, 11% of the Red River Delta,
and 3% of the coastal provinces will be inun-
dated; about 10-12% of Vietnam’s population
are directly affected and the country will lose
around 10% of its GDP.
Climate change affects agriculture di-
rectly. Vietnam has plans to change the
method of cultivation; to use water, fertilizers
and cattle-fed properly; to develop and use
biogas as fuel; and to reduce and reject
emissions in order to guarantee sustainable
development and nation’s food and security,
as well as facilitate poverty reduction.
Beside agriculture, industries also im-
pacted changing climates. Vietnam plans to
become a modern industrialized country by
2020. It means production and consumption
of energy will increase, especially in industrial,
transport and urban development., resulting
in higher emissions of greenhouse gases. This is
against the international treaty which requires
each and every country, both developed
and developing, to reduce their greenhouse
gas emissions in order to protect the earth’s
climate system. Meanwhile, recycling and us-
ing new energy sources with low greenhouse
emissions need big investments and high
costs. If Vietnam fails in making proper
choices and harmonizing, it can’t overcome
those barriers because of lacking financial
and technological potential needed for pro-
ducing commodities, which can compete in
the market for low-carbon goods. These ef-
fects urge Vietnam to take greater efforts to
improve public awareness and (cont. page 7)
6 crossings
A change will definitely have the negative
and positive impacts. But in the future, climate
change won’t look very good for our Earth.
Vietnam, a developing country, will also be af-
fected by climate change. The weather in Viet-
nam in recent years is more and more unusual.
How does it affect the life of people? Vietnam
will be one of the countries seriously and heavily
affected by climate change due to irregular
water, the rising temperature of the atmos-
phere, and rising sea levels.
Vietnam’s climate has always been ir-
regular. The climate change is causing dry ar-
eas to become drier. In 2016, southern and
central Viet Nam are becoming drier due to
rainfall declining from 30% to 40% (Baomoi.com
20/05/2017). There will be more drought. Thus,
people won’t have enough Water in the next
dry seasons. Also, Viet Nam is an agricultural
country, so most Vietnamese who live in rural
areas cultivate their crops; therefore, there
won’t be enough water to irrigate as the earth
is coming drier. Moreover, in the estuary of the
central Vietnam and especially in the Mekong
Delta, the flow of water is less and weak as a
result of salinity intrusion by entering of salt wa-
ter to fresh water. Consequently, it will kill fishes.
Catching fishery output will decrease. As a re-
sult, there will be food shortages. Thus, the local
residents will migrate to another place to sur-
vive because the lack of fresh water (cont. p. 7)
(cont. From p. 6) capacity of responding to climate change while promoting economic devel-
opment in order to raise the country’s economic competitiveness and national status to the in-
ternational area.
Vietnam has been doing some strategies to prevent climate change, such as: establishing
food and water security; protecting and developing forest sustainability; increasing the absorp-
tion of greenhouse gases; and preserving biodiversity. The government encourages citizens to
cooperate to protect the Earth’s climate. Concurrently, citizens are raised to save and effec-
tively use energy.
We all have a responsibility in protecting our planet. We need not only to stop emitting
armful gasses and destroying the environment, we also have to improve it. One of the best ways
to do so is the development of ecotourism.
In Vietnam, tourism has so far brought great benefits to the economy but it has also con-
tributed to environmental degradation. That’s why Vietnam is trying to develop ecotourism. It
makes both sustainable and economic benefits. There are many kinds of ecotourism in Vietnam,
and they are divided into 3 groups: educating tourists about the natural environment to raise
their awareness and get them involved in conservation efforts protecting the environment and
maintaining vulnerable ecosystems; maintaining and promoting natural identity; and involving
local communities in ecotourism. (continued on p. 9)
(cont. from p. 6) and food for daily life, and production will be very serious.
Another problem is rising temperature of the atmosphere. According to the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment, in the past 50 years, the average unusual temperature in Vietnam has
increased from about 0.5o C to 0.7o C. Dr. Ngo Quang Toan, vice-director of Research Institute for
Applied Marine Science and Technology, predicts, “temperature will rise from 1.1 to 6.4oC by 2050.”
As a result, about 50% of plants and animals will face extinction. Unfortunately, when plants and ani-
mals are reduced, it also means that food, fuels and income of local residents are diminished too.
Therefore, the poor will be poorer and the government will definitely have to pay money to help
people deal with this problem. Additionally, the terrible heatwaves are happening more than four
times, according to Scientific and life online newspaper (Vietbao.vn), it’s predicted that within the
next 40 years, their frequency will be one hundred times higher than they are today. The conse-
quences of that are the risk of forest fires and diseases caused by high temperatures. Similarly, in-
creasing temperature will create condition for different viruses and insects to grow and develop.
Thus, it will threaten the life of people and agricultures. It could have a negative impact for the next
generation which would deal more about healthy and living environment. Moreover, it will also de-
stroy agricultural development and ecological di-
versity.
By 2050, there will be flooding of coastlines and
storms will be more intense as sea levels. As we
know, nowadays, glaciers are melting and sea lev-
els are rising since global warming is rising. There will
be more flooding and energetic storms. The floods
from mid-October 2016 in the Central region have
left 111 dead and missing, 121 wounded. More than
316,000 houses were flooded (Vietnam News and
Analysis – Viettimes). If sea levels rise by 1 meter,
Vietnam will lose 5% of its land areas, 11% of the
population will lose their houses, 7% of their agricul-
tural lands will disappear and 10% of their Gross Do-
mestic Product will diminish. (cont. next page)
crossings 7