environment – The Specs

Get the Balance Right (a.k.a. An Intervention for an Intervention)

Why are us consumers the (seemingly) only ones responsible for changing all of our habits to save the Earth?

Assuming online magazines like TrendHunter are truly trend hunters, we are all in a craze for all things “design-conscious, cost-effective, and low impact alternative[s]” (Pijak 2018); from eco-packagings to eco-vehicle and eco-house, the slope sure is slippery. That is by no means to say we are a blind herd of trend-chasers, but it sure puts some wondering in one’s head—why are us consumers the (seemingly) only ones responsible for changing all of our habits to save the Earth?

Continue reading “Get the Balance Right (a.k.a. An Intervention for an Intervention)”

How Son Doong was saved by a public sphere

A virtual public sphere brought about real change in Vietnam

by William Holland — *The 18th-century coffee house*

“The public sphere” is a concept developed by Jurgen Habermas in 1962, referring to a metaphorical “18th-century coffee house”, where the middle-classed gentlemen would meet to discuss popular issues of the day. It was supposed to ideally be an open space separated from the government where citizens can debate about common concerns; however, it did not quite live up to those expectations (Turnbull 2017). Continue reading “How Son Doong was saved by a public sphere”