Quartz
Thailand wants to be the first Asian nation to legalize medical marijuana
“Thailand has the best marijuana in the world.” So claims Jet Sirathraanon, chairman of the country’s National Legislative Assembly’s standing committee of public health, who is pushing to legalize cannabis for medical use. A draft bill to permit medical marijuana had been sent to the ...
Vietnamese farmers are migrating en masse to escape climate change
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is one of Earth’s most agriculturally productive regions and is of global importance for its exports of rice, shrimp, and fruit. The 18 million inhabitants of this low-lying river delta are also some of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change. Keep ...
Alex Chapman/Van Pham Dang Tri
Asia’s infrastructure boom is coming to the cities most threatened by climate change
As a region, Asia pours an estimated $881 billion each year into infrastructure. Some recent notable works include the roughly 6,000-kilometer (3,700-mile) four-lane highway that connects New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai, which was completed in 2012; and the approved plan for a metro through ...
The world’s most expensive coffee is a nightmare for the animals who produce it
The most expensive coffee in the world can go for $100 a cup, but it comes with a hidden cost: the well-being of a forest-dwelling cat-like creature native to southeast Asia. Historically, kopi luwak was made using palm civet droppings harvested in the wild. But the ...
