(May 30, 2008) The overall environmental quality in China’s earthquake-ravaged southwestern Sichuan Province has remained “stable” and water quality eligible for drinking, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Friday.
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Quake warnings in China went unheeded
(May 30, 2008) Chinese scientists say that even before a final accounting can be made in the earthquake in Sichuan Province, one thing is already painfully evident: The huge death toll in the disaster stems from a failure to heed clear warnings of a devastating earthquake in the area
Alstom installs Three Gorges right-bank turbines
International Water Power & Dam Construction reports that Alstom has successfully installed three 700-MW turbine-generators on the right bank for its client, Yangtze Power Company. With 14 units already installed on the left bank, a total of 17 units have been brought online since 2003. The last nine units will be brought online in the coming months.
News Release: Bankrolling Nam Theun 2
Today the World Bank is expected to approve financing for a massive US$1.2 billion dam in Laos despite international concern that the project’s revenue will be mismanaged or siphoned off by corrupt officials and contractors.
Three Gorges project unaffected; has the design capability to withstand an earthquake of seismic intensity 7
(May 29, 2008) “The Three Gorges reservoir area – from Honghuabao in Jiangjin City of Chongqing to the dam site downstream – has not been affected and is generally stable,” says Li Yongan, general manager of the Three Gorges Corporation.
China fights quake lakes
(May 29, 2008) About 160,000 people are being relocated and the government may have to evacuate as many as 1.3 million after landslides caused by the May 12 quake blocked rivers, creating 35 lakes, reported Bloomberg. Some of them are threatening to burst their banks.
Yangtze dolphin is no more
The Yangtze river dolphin (or baiji) made headlines last week after an international team of researchers announced the "functional extinction" of the species. The announcement came after the team spent six weeks combing the entire known range of the baiji in the 1669-kilometre main channel of China’s Yangtze River.
Mass theft, terrorism expected to increase with Three Gorges
The Three Gorges area will become "the object of the covetous gaze of criminals" from outside China, as well as a key area for sabotage by "criminals harboring a strong desire for revenge on society," warn Chinese authorities in two security documents leaked to Human Rights Watch/Asia.
Tourist frenzy in Three Gorges to cause chaos, secret Chinese documents predict
China is being overwhelmed by a "tourist fever to bid farewell to Three Gorges," and officials fear the situation "presents a serious threat to public security and order in tourist areas," according to internal security documents leaked to Human Rights Watch/Asia.
Chinese leader will aid Chretien award contracts to supporters of the controversial Three Gorges dam
Chinese Premier Li Peng is expected to lend a helping hand to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien tomorrow in his bid to secure business for Canadian firms in the construction of China’s Three Gorges dam. Premier Li is attending the annual general meeting of the Canada China Business Council tomorrow in Montreal and is expected to announce the award of contracts to help build the massive and controversial Three Gorges dam.
Three Gorges fund could be diverted to massive South-North Water Transfer Scheme
Money raised to build China’s Three Gorges dam could soon be diverted to a massive south-north water diversion scheme the building of which one senior official is calling "suicide."
U.S. Ex-Im bank decision on Three Gorges dam expected soon: American firms lobby to get green light
The United States Export-Import Bank could decide next week whether to subsidize corporate America’s involvement in China’s controversial Three Gorges dam. The bank’s board of executive directors is expected to vote on the project once the current budget impasse is resolved.
White House reportedly abandons effort to block Ex-Im aid for Three Gorges dam
The White House has apparently distanced itself from its earlier advice to the Export-Import Bank to stay away from the Three Gorges dam in China, according to a report in the Journal of Commerce. American multinationals are now confident they will get support from the bank to help build the massive and controversial dam on China’s Yangtze River.
China considers earthquake danger of dams
(May 28, 2008) With so many of Sichuan’s dams and reservoirs at risk of collapse, this month’s earthquake “may tilt the balance of public opinion in favour of a more cautious and environmentally conscious approach to such development,” reports the Los Angeles Times.
Three Gorges dam to create more refugees than expected, admit Chinese officials
Chinese officials admitted last week that the number of people who will have to be moved to make way for the colossal Three Gorges dam is higher than originally expected.
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