greed – Tom Vater

The Green Panthers just 99 cents at Kobo until October 16th

October 10, 2023October 10, 2023tom

It’s Spooky Stories promotion week at Kobo’s and my new eco-thriller, The Green Panthers, is just 99cents until October 16th!!! https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-green-panthers Meet Clara Green, Emerald, Chartreuse, Olive, Hunter, Juniper and Forest. They are The Green Panthers: a privately sponsored, multi-national underground army, on a mission to hold corporate polluters to account.During the attempted rescue of […]

Two decades on, ‘The Beach’ faces fresh problems, in Nikkei Asia

May 19, 2022May 20, 2022tom

My latest feature story in Nikkei Asia – on the troubled reopening of iconic Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi in southern Thailand, made famous by Leonardo Di Caprio in the movie The Beach & subsequently destroyed by uncontrolled mass tourism. “Oh, it’s so f—ing beautiful,” exclaims Etienne, one of the characters in the Hollywood […]

Singapore startup seeks to preserve Papua New Guinea biodiversity – in Nikkei Asia

March 6, 2021June 13, 2021tomLeave a Comment

My latest story in Nikkei Asia is about Ecoshare, a company that uses a lease scheme to support local people and promote conservation in the face of rampant logging and destruction of biodiversity in one of the planet’s last great natural repositories. A Singapore-based startup is working with people in Papua New Guinea to help […]

McEverest or Die! The Madness of Consumerism on the World’s Highest Peak

May 2, 2013May 3, 2013tom1 Comment

There have been media reports of a fight between Sherpas and climbers on the slopes of Mount Everest. Not surprised. Rich white men without compassion or mountaineering experience have been throwing dollars at the world’s highest mountain for a couple of decades now and the atmosphere at base camp is one of sloth, luxury and […]

Forget Boston and Thatcher. This week’s human flashpoint is Tubbataha

April 16, 2013April 18, 2013tomLeave a Comment

I was in Tubbataha in 1994. I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. I watched hundreds of sharks pooling around coral ledges at 35 meters, so many they kept bumping into me. I watched giant tuna glitter in the dark 30 meters below me, leading tens of thousands of giant barracuda through the depths. I […]

Cambodia’s Culture of Impunity likely to gut Phnom Penh’s Olympic Stadium

June 15, 2012June 15, 2012tom1 Comment

Several sources suggest that the legendary, historic Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh is likely to be demolished soon to make space for a development of the Canadia’s Bank Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation. (OCIC). It appears the bank, in conjunction with someone at a high level within the Cambodian government, had originally planned to develop only […]