Category Archives: Uncategorized

Take a moment to think back to your Christmas Eve last month here in West Michigan. Chances are you were either enjoying time with family, attending a Christmas service, or engaging in other holiday traditions. Yet, half a world away … Continue reading →

Last month, some of the world’s leading climate scientists confirmed, once again, that humans are making irreversible changes to our planet and extreme weather will become more severe.  Also last month a UNICEF report included a Children’s Climate Risk Index that analyses the effects … Continue reading →

Energy is fundamental to the functioning of modern societies. Without energy, our globalized economy would cease to function. Unfortunately, the energy source we have used to develop and industrialize — fossil fuels — has a dirty secret: It is destroying … Continue reading →

It is not often that the actions of my elected representative intersect with my work as a community organizer in Southeast Asia. After writing a guest column in late 2017 highlighting U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga’s deceitful efforts to undermine a key anti-corruption … Continue reading →

Though I will always consider Grand Haven home, my career over the past six years has carried me to remote areas in rural Southeast Asia. In that time, I’ve seen firsthand how government corruption, particularly when it comes to deals … Continue reading →

I wrote this before I departed from Cambodia and Vishnu Law Group in March. Though it was a bittersweet goodbye, I am stoked to be returning to Cambodia once again this June… — Another transition is upon me. After spending … Continue reading →

It has been over 150-years since French explorers Ernest Doudard de Lagrée and Francis Garnier began their journey from Saigon to assess the Mekong River’s navigability for trade purposes. At the time of their expedition Garnier claimed that “The Mekong … Continue reading →

I believe in the unseen. That two atoms of hydrodgen, bonded to an atom of oxygen, comprise this substance that we call water. I believe in the turbulent force of water. The power to shape a landscape, roar, and influence … Continue reading →

Decisiveness, action, results. Like many other westerners, I prefer directness and a goal oriented approach. In Asia, I often find myself frustrated by the round-about way that relationships or status is adhered to and respects given before any attention is … Continue reading →

Transformation. A word that is usually associated with the development or changes occuring within a city, culture, individual, or country. Throughout my travels I have witnessed how landscapes can be transformed by large-scale agricultural development, mining, deforestation, or other natural … Continue reading →