(May 15, 2008) During the long years of Saddam Hussein’s rule in Iraq, economic data were treated as top national secrets, and the revelation of such data to unauthorized persons could bring the death penalty.
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Case Study: Three Gorges Dam
(May 15, 2008) Though the deadly Wenchuan earthquake was the result of tectonic stresses, experts are concerned that the filling of the Three Gorges dam’s enormous reservoir may have induced or exacerbated the earthquake.
What Makes A Tremor So Destructive?
(May 15, 2008) As China reels following Monday’s earthquake, scientists are just beginning to figure out the complex mechanics that triggered a temblor of such destructive force and widespread reach.
Chinese dams compromised by earthquake; authorities on alert
(May 14, 2008) In the wake of China’s massive earthquake, and amidst the desperate recovery effort, Chinese authorities have still more to worry about as damage to existing dams becomes evident.
China’s deadly earthquake: Was the Three Gorges reservoir a trigger?
(May 14, 2008) The world’s earthquake experts have identified tectonic plate movements as the cause of this week’s earthquake in southwestern China. But the question now is did the filling of the massive Three Gorges reservoir, which reaches the southeastern part of the Sichuan Basin, trigger seismic activity in what has always been an earthquake-prone region?
UNDP Whistleblower Details Comprehensive Wrongdoing in Somalia Projects
(May 14, 2008) Evidence shows lack of oversight, retaliation, and program ties to terrorist group.
China says troops rush to plug dangerous cracks in dam
(May 13, 2008) The Zipingpu dam has been left with dangerous cracks as a result of Monday’s deadly earthquake, AP reports.
Special Report: Strong quake jolts SW China
(May 13, 2008) Earthquake forecasting remains a “hard nut” to crack, a Chinese expert told reporters here on Tuesday.
Disaster set off by colliding land masses
(May 13, 2008) The earthquake in the Sichuan Province of China on Monday was a result of a continuing collision between India and Asia.
Democracy, capital flows, and odious debt’
(May 12, 2008) Democracy commits a ruler to pass borrowed funds on to the private sector which builds the country’s international collateral, and the consequent rise in the credit ceiling is a Pareto-improvement up to a point because the ruler can appropriate a smaller share of rising loan. However, the ruler may still impose odious debt in the sense that the private sector prefers the country to borrow less. Under conditions, a fall in the world interest rate or a rise in productivity growth increases the optimal levels of democracy, borrowing, investment, and welfare. I offer suggestive evidence from a global panel.
Financial Times: Three Gorges dam repeats “stupid mistake”
(March 11, 2008) FT correspondent Jamil Anderlini describes the 1960s-era Sanmenxia dam on the Yellow River as a disastrous precedent for the much larger Three Gorges project, which is nearing completion this year. A former communist party boss in Shaanxi province, the region most directly affected by Sanmenxia, is quoted saying the dam was “really a stupid mistake” that has brought “severe disasters to the people living near the river.”
PRESS RELEASE Belizeans seek court order forcing Canadian-owned power company to honour its environmental obligations
A Canadian-owned power company could be forced to stop work on its third dam on Belize’s Macal River – underway since earlier this year – if Belizean environmentalists can persuade the Supreme Court to uphold the law.
Laos Hydro Developers Want Purchase Rate Increase
(May 8, 2008) Laos dam investors to ask EGAT to increase purchasing rate.
Beijing Olympic water scheme drains parched farmers
(January 23, 2008) A frantic ‘100-day battle’ is underway to complete a 300-kilometre network of canals and pipes that will take water from the parched countryside of Hebei province to Beijing, for its ‘green’ Olympic games in August.
Olympics water diversion scheme threatens millions
(March 11, 2008) In an interview with the London-based Financial Times, An Qingyuan, a former communist party chief, said the diversion of water to Beijing for the Olympics and for big hydropower projects threatens the lives of millions of peasant farmers in China’s north-western provinces.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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