(July 31, 2002) Geologists fear the weight of the world’s tallest building may have transformed a stable area into one susceptible to seismic activity. But compared with dams, they say, buildings such as Taipei 101 are mere pinpricks on the Earth’s surface.
Thailand, Myanmar agree controversial dam scheme
Chinese firms may take part in the construction of a dam on the Salween (Nu) River across the border in Burma.
Cleanup tackles radioactive waste, graves, and rats
(July 23, 2002) Three Gorges clean-up: Wanzhou tackles radioactive waste and prepares to move graves, while Chongqing prepares to exterminate rats.
Frequent afterschocks fracture Yangtze River levee
(July 23, 2002) The 385 aftershocks that followed the Nov. 26 Jiangxi earthquake have opened cracks, some about three inches wide, in the Jiujiang embankment, Epoch Times reports.
Ancient town faces a watery grave
Archeologists scrambling to excavate a well-preserved Song dynasty town due to be submerged by the Three Gorges reservoir next year have so far completed only a fraction of the work, the Yancheng Evening News reports.
Dam the consequences
(July 11, 2002) Building yet another dam could threaten an ages-old engineering marvel in Sichuan and a key part of China’s heritage. But the project is going ahead as authorities smother public debate on its impact.
Time running out for Yangtze dolphin
Chinese scientists racing to save the world’s most endangered marine mammal from extinction may have only three to five years left before their efforts are futile, People’s Daily reports.
A tale of two scientists
Water engineer Zhang Guangdou’s support for China’s big dams ensured a smooth career, capped now by a million-yuan prize. Huang Wanli, meanwhile, spoke out about the projects’ risks, and endured harsh punishment.
Ten die in Chongqing garbage-mountain collapse
(June 20, 2002) Ten people were killed when a massive garbage mountain collapsed in urban Chongqing last week, burying them alive, the Chongqing Morning Post (Chongqing Chenbao) reported.
Rainstorms trigger hundreds of rockfalls in Chongqing area
(June 19, 2002) Torrential rain in recent weeks has caused a spate of serious geological incidents, a local newspaper reports.
Landslide threatens Chongqing apartment building
(June 12, 2002) A big landslide that fell into downtown Chongqing last week is still hanging on the hillside just a few metres above a 10-storey apartment building, which is liable to be engulfed at any moment, China News Service (Zhongguo xinwen she) reports.
Second-largest hydropower project to start construction
Work is scheduled to begin on the Xiluodu dam in late December, the vice-governor of Sichuan province has announced.
Environmentalists divided over future of environmental protection in China
(June 8, 2002) A lot of China’s celebrated economic growth is made at the cost of human health,’ says Wen Bo, Beijing representative of Pacific Environment.
Communities race to save ‘the king of trees’
(June 5, 2002) Local governments are scrambling to raise money to relocate hundreds of rare and ancient trees from the area due to be flooded next year by the Three Gorges reservoir. So far, four of the trees have been moved to higher ground, but officials say they lack funds to continue the work.
Massive landslide near dam forces emergency evacuation
(June 5, 2002) A huge landslide, reactivated by the heavy rain of recent weeks in the Three Gorges dam area, is still sliding down the mountain, China Central Television (Zhongyang dianshi tai) reported last week. Residents of the danger zone are being moved to safety and no deaths or injuries have been reported, CCTV said.
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