(May 18, 2010) Falling water tables in North China resulted in the creation of the world’s largest subsidence funnel. According to an official report, overexploitation of groundwater in the past 50 years, amounting to 120 billion cubic meters of water and equivalent to 200 Lake Baiyangdians in Hebei Province, has led to the creation of the funnel in North China—Hebei, Beijing and Tianjin included.
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Chemical reactions on the Yangtze
(May 17, 2010) In the rolling hills alongside the Three Gorges reservoir, on a Tiananmen Square-sized plot of land, stands a sign marking the site of an “Integrated MDI Project” in the village of Baishi. On completion, this will be home to the world’s largest Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate plant and the villagers all know that German chemical giant BASF is on the way.
Belize’s power company says it’s not making enough
(May 17, 2010) Belize’s sole electricity provider, Belize Electricity Limited (majority-owned by Newfoundland-based Fortis), continues to be one of the country’s highest-earning companies, bringing in more than $186-million revenue last year. Yet its net profit is far smaller–just $8.9-million. Now the company is saying that’s not enough.
U.-Va. hires legal counsel as it prepares for possible fight over Cuccinelli subpoena
(May 14, 2010) The University of Virginia has hired the big law firm Hogan Lovells to help the school evaluate its options in responding to a civil subpoena from the state attorney general seeking documents related to the work of a former professor. It’s the strongest indication yet that the school is seriously considering fighting the subpoena in court, as various academic groups have urged.
Hot wind in the desert
(May 13, 2010) The Chinese county of Guazhou, in north-western China, is famous for its honey melons. But it also produces wind. It blows in from the east through the high, narrow valley formed by the Qilian and Beishan mountains, on the southern edge of the Gansu Corridor.
China’s earthquake watcher
(May 12, 2010) An article about Yong Yang, a rabble-rousing independent geologist who has previously faced death threats from businessmen and local officials for raising concerns about the feasibility of lucrative proposed projects.
Clean energy’s dark side: safety of “green” dams in China called into question
(May 11, 2010) Dams are often presented as a clean source of energy. But, as Heather Gingerich, Probe’s Medical Geologist-in-Residence and current Director of the International Medical Geology Association in Canada, explains, they can trigger earthquakes.
African leaders call for tax reform, not foreign aid
(May 11, 2010) A number of African leaders are now saying that foreign aid is no longer the only answer to economic development of the continent. Instead, they are calling for reform of the tax system, pointing out that Africa currently has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the world.
Whatever it takes
(May 10, 2010) A report sponsored by the United Nations, and overseen by Jeffrey Sachs, urges rich countries to spend more on cutting hunger and poverty in the developing world. But there are still plenty of cynics.
The Offsetters’ Paradox: Wind mills in China highlight incurable problem with international carbon credits
(May 7, 2010) Carbon credits given to Chinese wind projects are part of a much larger problem with the UN’s carbon market, writes Brady Yauch.
China intent on building more dams in a seismically-active region in Tibet
(May 6, 2010) After months of rumours, Chinese officials have confessed to plans to construct dams in a seismically-active and politically-sensitive region in Tibet’s Jiacha Canyon. The first dam — the 500-megawatt Zangmu hydroelectric project — is currently under construction and is the first of five planned for the scenic, 100-kilometre canyon on the Yarlung Tsangpo River.
Mercury in Macal bay snook “very alarming”, says Candy Gonzalez
(May 5, 2010) There is no public advisory out; however, recently unveiled data on mercury levels in fish of the Macal River has environmentalist and activist Candy Gonzalez of Belize Environmental Law and Policy Office (BELPO) concerned that the community may be eating itself to poor health without knowing it.
Lawrence Solomon: Virginia launches fraud investigation into Climategate’s Michael Mann
(May 4, 2010) The State of Virginia has decided to investigate possible fraud by Michael Mann of Cliamtegate fame. Michael Mann is best known as the scientist, associaterd with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who came up with the controversial Hockey Stick Graph that became the icon of the global warming movement.
Carbon market may turn subprime, says expert
(May 3, 2010) The carbon market may suffer a fallout similar to what happened recently to the subprime market in the United States.
“What I asked for and why”: Ren Xinghui’s epic quest to track down the costs of the Three Gorges dam
(May 3, 2010) In the afternoon of October 12, 2009, Chinese citizen, taxpayer, electricity consumer, and law graduate, Ren Xinghui, using the law his government had enshrined to protect Chinese citizens’ rights to information about government expenditures, exercised his right: he went to the offices of the Ministry of Finance and submitted a formal and legal request for the monies raised and spent to build the world’s largest hydro dam, Three Gorges on China’s Yangtze River. Here he explains what he asked for, why, and what happened next.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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Probe International 