(June 8, 2011) A brief reminiscence of a once free-flowing and bountiful river from the author’s youth is now a tragedy writ large: a microcosm of the woes – many of which are preventable – that currently beset China’s waterways.
Zhanghe
Amid severe drought, Chinese government admits mistakes with Three Gorges Dam
(June 4, 2011) The Washington Post features Probe International Fellow Dai Qing and cites Probe International’s expose of a 30-fold increase in earthquakes caused by China’s Three Gorges Dam.
The Three Gorges Dam ‘failure’
(June 3, 2011) The Three Gorges Dam project failed to consider the full impact it would have on the ecological environment during its early design, an official admitted yesterday.
Golf courses proliferate in China, defying gov’t ban
(May 22, 2011) Spurred by China’s rapid economic growth and soaring living standards, golf is now enjoying an explosion in popularity in the world’s second-largest economy with a number of golf courses being built in recent years, despite the country’s ban on golf course construction due to land use concerns.
Severe water shortage hits China’s capital
(May 21, 2011) Recently, Beijing Water Authority revealed that the city’s per capita water resources has declined to 100 cubic meters, far lower than the international warning line for water shortage — 1,000 cubic meters.
Low water prices fuel Beijing’s water shortage
(May 20, 2011) In addition to natural conditions, the water shortage in Beijing is aggravated by low water prices which do not reflect the scarcity of water resources. Low water prices are equivalent to subsidizing those enterprises which consume more water, says Fu Tao, Director of the Water Policy Research Center at Tsinghua University.
Drought at source
(May 20, 2011) China’s South-North Water Diversion project may have little water to spare for Beijing.
Fengtai Sinkhole Sparks Worries of Future Catastrophes
(May 19, 2011) Beijing’s Fengtai District grabbed headlines in April when the ground beneath Shiliuzhuang Lu opened up suddenly and swallowed a passing truck. This isn’t the first time sinkholes have appeared in the capital. In 2007, and again in 2009, sinkholes opened up near Dawang Bridge in the CBD, leaving residents to wonder if the great Fengtai sinkhole of 2011 might not be the last time the capital’s ground drops out from under it.
Beijing off the deep end
(May 6, 2011) Beijing really is trying to turn its water dilemma around. This Circle of Blue – Reporting the Global Water Crisis spotlight looks at what action the city’s municipal government is taking to reverse the capital’s water crunch but finds, in spite of acting with speed and authority, current measures are not fast or strong enough. Zhang Junfeng, a Beijing-based engineer and environmental activist, who has been researching Beijing’s water crisis for years, tells Circle of Blue the government still doesn’t clearly recognize the true extent of its problem and seems to think that as long as the country’s GDP is growing, the capital “can just buy the water” it needs. Not realizing that without water, hoped-for growth will falter.
Water woes to dry out bathhouses
(May 5, 2011) Beijing water authorities have revealed a plan to keep the capital’s wells running until 2014. Meanwhile they will cease offering approval for the development of luxurious bathhouses in order to tackle Beijing’s worsening water supply shortage.
Bankers join environmentalists in alarm over Beijing’s water crisis
(May 5, 2011) Beijing’s water shortage is one of the main factors thwarting the region’s sustainable economic growth, say bankers who have joined environmentalists in sounding the alarm over the city’s “chronic water deficit.”
Beijing Limits Water Consumption by Enterprises
(May 4, 2011) The Beijing municipal government will tighten controls on water consumption by enterprises this year to ensure they continue to economize on water usage, a Beijing Water Authority official said Tuesday.
Sudden Sinkhole
(May 3, 2011) Onlookers in Beijing, China, keep a safe distance from a giant sinkhole that opened in the middle of a busy street last Tuesday, swallowing a truck. Several news reports say the sinkhole formed above a tunnel being dug for construction of a subway line. (See pictures of a huge sinkhole in Guatemala City.)
Tri-Tech Holding to Showcase High-Tech Emergency Water and Water Monitoring Technology at Beijing International Disaster Reduction and Emergency Technology & Equipment Expo
(April 29, 2011) Tri-Tech Holding Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIT), a premier Chinese company that provides leading turn-key solutions in China for water resources, water and wastewater treatment, industrial safety and the pollution control markets, announced today that the company will attend the 2nd Beijing International Disaster Reduction and Emergency Technology & Equipment Expo at the China World Trade Center in Beijing from May 8 to May 10, 2011. The theme of this year’s expo is to “promote industrial development and contingencies for disaster prevention and relief.”
Ski resorts gulp Beijing’s water supplies
(April 29, 2011) In a new report published by the Beijing-based Friends of Nature and Canadian environmental group Probe International, Chinese environmental researcher, Hu Kanping, documents the impact of ski resorts on drought-stricken Beijing.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Patricia Adams and Lawrence Solomon
Other News Sources
