PUTTING THE FUN BACK IN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

       It is not easy to interview Zcongklod Bangyikhan editor of a day , the famous local pop culture magazine,and writer of Dokmai Tai Loek (Underworld Flower).The book - his ninth - is being published for the third time since its release in March this year, a relatively big success by local standards.
       The uneasy part had nothing to do with the interviewee;Zcongklod turned out to be an extremely pleasant, eloquent and bright young man. To blame was my reluctance to judge whether he is a hardcore environmentalist who has become an up-and-coming editor/writer, or vice versa. Moreover, the content of the interview bounced between books and the environment.
       Thirty minutes into the interview, Zcongklod began looking like an alienated green sheep in the hyped and intellectual world of publishing. While editors of intellectual and hype magazines grow up listening to cool music,reading highbrow or underground books and eschewing mainstream films, the current editor of the famous magazine grew up involving himself in environmental or poverty reduction campaigns and got his first job researching and writing a national report on climate change policy.
       The doubt was cleared after Zcongklod - a graduate from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Economics - offered a self-description.
       "I am through and through an environmental activist disguised as a media-savvy person,"said Zcongklod, a former employee of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the famous non-government environmental organisation.His field of expertise is environmental economics,appraising the value of seemingly immeasurable subjects such as clean air, forests, rivers and carbon emission.
       The road he took to reach the publishing world is an extraordinary one. People in the literary/publishing field usually come from a liberal arts background, while Zcongklod never dreamed of becoming a writer.
       Zcongklod, now 31, discovered his knack for writing during his university years while participating in environmental camps. To make dull and serious-sounding environmental issues more attractive to middle-class students, Zcongklod would write creative slogans and create hype campaigns.
       For instance, he spiced up serious rice cultivation problems by naming an event "Golden Grains and November Rain". The trip successfully drew attention and extensive media coverage. One of the attendants was Wongthanong Chainarongsingha, editor of a day Magazine at that time. Wongthanong subsequently invited him to join the magazine.
       Zcongklod has penned columns on the environment in respected local dailies such as Krungthep Thurakij since he worked at the WWF.
       After moving into the publishing field,a book Publication - the owner of the magazine he worked for - decided to publish his books, all of them anthologies of his columns. His eighth book,Tonmai Tai Loek (Trees Underworld), is going into its sixth print. Abhisit Vejjajiva leader of the opposition party at that time - wrote the forward for the book.
       His current book,Dokmai Tai Loek , has received rave reviews, and talk of his concise and crisp prose, and particularly his unique yet tender way of looking at the things around him. Readers cannot help thinking it is the writer's perceptive green lens that helps him see the world entirely differently than most people. For those who judge books by their covers, his minimalist-style designs are creative and admirable.
       Zcongklod prefers short sentences, suitable for young readers, and he extensively uses graphic design to attract attention. He writes mostly about modern lifestyles and inspiring stories on environmental conservation. Do not expect to read preachy tales about victims of pollution or the science of garbage recycling or carbon emission.This book is for everyone, including those who love life and its indulgences. He has a broad range of cultural reference points - Manchester City Football Club as champions in term of environmental conservation, bighearted Barcelona Football Club and the other side of Radiohead, the world's most environmentally friendly rock band. My favourite is the story of Spranq, the Dutch graphic design firm that created Sprang Eco Sens type.The font was inspired by the holes found in some types of cheese and can help reduce the levels of toxins in inks used in printing.
       The passionate environmentalist/writer said he often falls in love with pop culture artefacts, graphic design and creative advertising campaigns; he believes this marketing took can help promote social and environmental campaigns. His taste is quite different since other environmentalists and NGOs often pour scorn at consumerism,not to mention advertising.
       "I believe in public relation campaigns and commercial brand building," he says,"which goes against the grain of most Thais, who are instilled with values of do-gooders being humble and modest. I believe good deeds must be publicised because society is lacking in good examples and deprived of real heroes.
       Zcongklod has interesting opinions about local environmentalists and news on the environment."Most activists I know are decent people. But they are too reclusive and that affects their ability to draw people's attention to their campaigns." Also, environmental news is too often grim, serious and irrelevant, he adds.
       Thus his books are, in some ways, his crusade to save the planet from climate change, resources depletion and pollution. And they are not only useful and re-readable but entertaining. It is not often that reading about environmental issues is fun.