(January 22, 2010) Beyond the recent earthquake, there is another crisis at the heart of Haiti. Author Gerald Caplan calls the island state the perfect Carribbean example of a historic collusion between despots and Western donors, overseen by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to “enrich themselves at the expense of the people.”
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Three Gorges pushes another 300,000 off their land, surprises nobody
(January 21, 2010) The Chinese government is preparing to push another 300,000 residents living near the Three Gorges dam off their land to make way for what officials are calling an “eco-screen, or buffer belt.”
To help Haiti, end foreign aid
(January 19, 2010) For Haiti, just about every conceivable aid scheme beyond immediate humanitarian relief will lead to more poverty, more corruption and less institutional capacity, says Bret Stephens, writing in the Wall Street Journal. After the immediate impact of the earthquake has passed, and the immediate relief efforts subside, “the arrival of the soldiers of do-goodness, each with his brilliant plan to save Haitians from themselves” will take root.
Optimizing ecosystem services in China
(November 7, 2008) With the Three Gorges Dam’s flood level, former cities, homes, and farm fields of about 1.5 million people will be seasonally under water, and a set of new unique ecosystems will develop. The extent of the impact of this unprecedented amount of wetland underwater,the potential ecological systems that will result on the borders of this reservoir, and possible approaches to minimize the impacts or enhance ecological services are mostly unknown.
What was going on in Haiti prior to the earthquake?
(January 17, 2010) Between 45,000-50,000 may have died in the impoverished country of Haiti according to the American Red Cross as a result of the earthquake that shook Port-Au-Prince and surrounding areas on January 12, 2010. A hospital collapses, the President’s palace is left in ruins, and many homes in shambles. Haitians bloodied from the devistation have walked away with tears in their eyes while others lay on the ground struggling to live or dead. This is what we see on the surface, but what is really going on behind the scenes of this catastrophe? What events were ongoing in Haiti prior to the earthquake?
Africa: It’s tough love weaning Africa off aid
(January 16, 2010) Aid is an unmitigated, political and humanitarian disaster, declares Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, in her book, "Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa." Hers is such a "tough love" prescription that the author has had to dodge a punch in Toronto, Canada, and has had tomatoes thrown at her elsewhere.
Cap-and-trade may be big scam – Canadian group
(January 13, 2010) Cap-and-trade schemes to curb global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions may turn out to be a "big scam" because they are impossible to properly police, a Canadian environmental advocacy group said on Wednesday.
The international expansion of Chinese dam builders
(January 13, 2010) Historically, Western countries have provided the technology for the bulk of China’s hydropower dams. The first turbines to be installed on a river in China was under the Qing Dynasty in 1909, by German company Siemens. But when the Chinese government decided to build the giant Three Gorges and Ertan dams in the early 1990s, it decided to do things differently.
The next big scam: carbon dioxide
(January 13, 2010) Attempts to create markets for tradeable CO2 are shaping up to be the next Oil-for-Food-sized fraud.
State policies leaving Chinese citizens out in the cold
(January 11, 2010) While citizens across China are confronting some of the most severe winter weather in decades, they’re finding that holdover policies from the Maoist era are making the situation worse.
Vaclav Havel and other Czech dissidents stand up for Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo
(January 9, 2010) Editor’s note: When a group led by former Czech president Vaclev Havel went to the Chinese Embassy in Prague this week to deliver an open letter in support of the recently sentenced human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, officials would not open the door. The Post reprints the letter below.
World Bank, go away, says India
(January 7, 2010) India’s Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has decided not to accept aid from the World Bank for its tiger conservation programme. Why do we need the help of the Bank, which has ripped apart our natural resources by supporting projects for dams and mining at the cost of conservation,” asked P. K. Sen, conservationist and former director of Project Tiger.
Kenyan author demands forensic audits of country’s debts, speaks out about country’s odious debts
(January 6, 2010) Kenyan taxpayers should not have to repay the odious debts incurred by post-independence governments that borrowed money in their name but used the funds to terrorize citizens or were involved with corruption-tainted deals such as Anglo Leasing, writes prominent author Okiya Omtatah Okoiti in a recent op-ed. Using limited funds collected through taxation to repay odious debts incurred by the colonial, Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki administrations, he writes, must come to an end.
Three Gorges dam fails to provide during winter storm
(January 6, 2010) The much-promised electricity from the Three Gorges dam is failing China’s citizens when they need it most—during one of the most intense winter storms the country has experienced in decades. According to recent reports, the Chinese government is now urging the country’s factory operators to scale back operations to ensure sufficient power to heat homes, as demand has surged with the below-freezing temperatures.
Drought poses a risk to reservoir and people
(January 6, 2010) A severe drought around the Yangtze River has caused the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir to stay much lower than the anticipated level of 175 meters and that could complicate plans for farmers and millions of others who rely on the river to survive.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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Probe International 