(October 16, 2008) A leading Chilean environmental activist, Juan Pablo Orrego will share his analysis of hydroelectric mega-projects proposed for Chilean Patagonia, and will also explore the broader context of economic and political power that shapes energy policy in Chile and contrains opportunities for meaningful democratic process on environmental questions.
Other News Sources
Three Gorges project sticks to schedule amid SARS crisis
(May 7, 2003) The current health crisis in China will have no impact on plans to fill the Three Gorges reservoir next month, state media reports.
Hidroaysen’s impact study panned by govt agencies
(October 12, 2008) Environment Minister Ana Lya Uriarte: “EIS isn’t up to snuff”
Vietnamese experts fault electricity monopoly for power cuts
(October 10, 2008) Vietnamese economists and industrial power consumers have criticized Electricity of Vietnam, the only electricity provider in Vietnam, for its unannounced power cuts, which have caused heavy losses for businesses and disrupted people’s lives, Vietnam News Agency reports.
A shortage of capital flows
(October 9, 2008) Probe International’s latest report is cited in an Economist article that describes how officials planned to divert water from Hebei province to Beijing for use during the Olympics, but instead waited until September 18th to begin the transfer.
Expert who refused to sign off on Three Gorges
(January 9, 2004) Journalist Dai Qing interviews Guo Laixi, an eminent geographer who took part in the Chinese feasibility study for the Three Gorges dam but became so alarmed about the project’s potential impacts that he refused to sign the study team’s final report.
Zhang Guangdou speaks his mind on Three Gorges
(February 4, 2004) A key figure in China’s dam-building program who helped design the Three Gorges project calls the quality of construction work on the dam ‘far from excellent’ and ‘not first-class.’
Three Gorges: Lessons from Sanmenxia
(February 12, 2004) The problems that beset the Sanmenxia dam ‘will undoubtedly afflict the Three Gorges,’ a writer concludes in this excerpt from Dai Qing’s 1998 book, The River Dragon Has Come!
Dam implicated in dangerous downstream drought
(February 18, 2004) The Three Gorges dam is partly to blame for dangerously low water levels in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River that have caused dozens of ships to run aground, official Chinese media reports say.
China completes dam of world’s largest hydroelectric project
(March 10, 2000) ‘Many people have known something is wrong with the project, but few have dared to speak up,’ high-profile dam opponent Dai Qing wrote on Three Gorges Probe.
China marks completion of Three Gorges dam
(March 10, 2000) China completed construction on Saturday of the controversial Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectricity project, and marked the occasion with a subdued ceremony broadcast live on state television. …
China’s Three Gorges dam nears completion
(March 10, 2000) ‘Canadian engineers have offered studies supporting the dam. Canadian branches of companies such as GE and Siemens have provided turbine generators for the project. On the other side, groups such as Probe International have led the fight against [it].’
Dam of Three Gorges project nears completion
(November 28, 2000) Yichang, Hubei: The giant dam of the Three Gorges hydropower project on the Yangtze River was near completion, the construction company in charge of the project said Thursday.
Fishing ban starts on Yangtze River
(November 16, 2000) The Chinese government on Saturday started a fishing ban along the entire Yangtze River, the country’s longest, aiming to protect depleting fish resources.
Dam of Three Gorges project to be completed in late May: developer
(September 11, 2000) Construction for the giant dam of the Three Gorges hydropower project on the Yangtze River was expected to finish on May 20, an executive with the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation said Sunday.


