(September 27, 2007) Probe International Fellow Dai Qing told The Times “We have never stopped talking about the problems but our voice was too weak. The system does not listen to the voices of civic activists or dissidents. But now, at last, they are starting to hear. … The Government knows it has made a mistake. Now they are afraid that the environmental catastrophe that they cannot prevent will spark civil unrest. So they want to go public before the troubles start.
Three Gorges: China is warned of ‘catastrophe’
(September 27, 2007) For environmental activists such as the journalist Dai Qing, whose book Yangtze! Yangtze! earned her 10 months in a maximum security prison and the threat of the death sentence, the official admission that the Three Gorges dam is a potential environmental disaster was received with bitter irony. (The Independent UK)
Experts warn of Three Gorges dam 'catastrophe'
"We absolutely cannot sacrifice our environment in exchange for temporary economic prosperity." (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
China warns of ‘catastrophe’ from gigantic dam
(September 26, 2007) Chinese officials and experts have admitted the Three Gorges Dam project has caused an array of ecological ills, including more frequent landslides and pollution, and if preventive measures are not taken, there could be an environmental "catastrophe"
1948: How Peaceful was the Liberation of Beiping?
(September 5, 2007) In June 1966, at the start of the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards set about ransacking houses all over Beijing. One of their targets was the philosopher and former political activist Zhang Dongsun.
Europe sees high fences around China energy
(September 5, 2007) A strong bias toward local producers and rigid price controls hinder European investors from making significant inroads into China’s vast energy sector.
China shuts down 400 heavy polluting factories
(September 5, 2007) The country’s environmental watchdog has shut down 400 factories since the July launch of a national campaign to tackle water pollution and clean up industries along major waterways, including the Yellow and the Yangtze rivers.
China’s renewable energy targets will include large-scale hydro – state planner
(September 4, 2007) Large-scale hydropower development in the country’s southwest will be integral to China’s plans to lift the proportion of renewable energy in its total energy mix to 15% by 2020, said Chen Deming, vice-director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
China plans $265 billion renewables spending
(September 4, 2007) China plans to invest RMB ¥2 trillion (US$265 billion) in renewable energy by 2020, most of it corporate cash, to wean itself off polluting coal as it aims for cleaner growth. Over half the proposed investment will go into large dams.
Crude oil pipeline leak pollutes entire city’s water supply
(September 3, 2007) Wangyao Reservoir, the main water supply for 2.15 million residents in Yan’an, was polluted by crude oil leaking from a broken pipeline on Saturday. The pipeline, which belongs to the Changqing Oil Field, was broken by a landslide. The leaked oil quickly spread over eight kilometres of the Xingzihe River.
China steps up ‘green power’ pressure
(September 2, 2007) China’s State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has stepped up the pressure on electricity suppliers to ‘go green’. It will assume nationwide oversight over power companies that are required under the country’s renewable energy law to prioritize purchases of the maximum amount of ‘green’ electricity.
Three gorges dam exacts its toll
(August 29, 2007) The Three Gorges Dam project is suffering from unforeseen problems including landslides and water pollution, raising new doubts about a project that has come to symbolize the country’s effort to control its environment.
In China, New Risks Emerge At Giant Three Gorges Dam
(August 29, 2007) China’s vaunted engineering marvel, the Three Gorges Dam, drew fierce criticism during its construction for uprooting more than a million people and manhandling the Yangtze River basin. Now, a year after completion, the project has new problems — including landslides, water pollution and suggestions that the dam could contribute to the very flooding it was built to prevent.
Voith Siemens wins Yangtze hydro contract
(August 20, 2007) International Water Power & Dam Construction reports that Voith Siemens has won a US$120 million electro-mechanical equipment contract for the Jinping II hydro plant on the Yalong river, a major Yangtze tributary in western China. 4800-MW Jinping II is part of a major cascade development by Ertan Hydropower Development Corporation.
Yangtze dolphin is no more
(August 17, 2007) The Yangtze river dolphin (or baiji) made headlines last week after an international team of researchers announced the “functional extinction” of the species.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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