(May 18, 2011) China’s drought has caused the Three Gorges reservoir level to drop precipitously, crippling the mighty Three Gorges Dam. Shipping on the Yangtze River has now halted, power generation has been compromised, and geological hazards are heightened.
China acknowledges downside to Three Gorges Dam
(May 18, 2011) The government of China has issued a rare acknowledgment of the issues dogging the country’s massive Three Gorges Dam project. Longtime dam critic and Probe International Fellow Dai Qing calls out the move as a likely “attempt to shirk responsibility”.
Chongqing’s biggest dam to start construction
(May 18, 2011) Chongqing’s biggest hydropower development is set to begin construction after adjustments to a fish conservation area on the Yangtze river were agreed to by the State Council.
Garbage Country
(May 14, 2011) If China has a garbage crisis, and it does, then Three Gorges is likely its biggest dump.
Detained artist a further blow for China quake parents
(May 12, 2011) Chinese farmer Liu Jiuchuan is perhaps an unlikely supporter of activist and artist Ai Weiwei, whose detention last month on suspicion of economic crimes sparked uproar around the world.
China and the Cascading Geopolitics of Lower Mekong Dams
(May 10, 2011) Much has been written on the downstream impact of China’s dams on the Lancang-Mekong River, which flows through or along the borders of five other countries after exiting China. Most of the discussion relates to the hydrological impact of impounding water in the eight dams along the mainstream Lancang Jiang in Yunnan Province.
China to uproot 240,000 from disaster-prone areas
(May 7, 2011) Authorities plan to move nearly a quarter of a million people this year from disaster-prone areas in northern China into newly-built homes, state media reported Saturday.
Farming with China’s toxic soil
(May 6, 2011) Peasant farmer Wang Tao used to grow corn, potatoes and wheat within a stone’s throw of a dumping ground for rare earths waste until toxic chemicals leaked into the water supply and poisoned his land.
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.)
Dam on Brahmaputra won’t affect India: China
(April 29, 2011) China on Friday said its proposed dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet is not a “very big one” to cause concern in India and Bangladesh, claiming that it would not lead to any major change in the quantum of the water flow to the countries downstream.
Anatomy of a dam failure
(April 27, 2011) In the world of engineering, standards are the foundation on which everything else rests. An investigation following a catastrophic explosion at Russia’s largest hydropower station in the summer of 2009 revealed poor management and technical flaws to be at the root of the dam’s failure. A repaired turbine almost at the end of its life span, taken offline again because it still didn’t work, was forced back into service in an emergency: a move that would cost 75 people their lives. This Popular Mechanics investigation asks whether the United States, a country with hundreds of hydro plants in operation, might also be at risk of a Russian-style dam disaster. U.S. experts say not likely: the two countries are separated philosophically when it comes to safety and human life.
China’s dams threaten livelihoods
(April 26, 2011) The damming of every major river flowing from the Tibetan plateau will trigger natural disasters, degrade fragile ecologies and divert vital water supplies.
Prominent Three Gorges critic Lu Qinkan passes away at 97
(April 21, 2011) Chinese hydrologist Lu Qinkan passed away April 11 in Beijing at the age of 97. Lu was known to the west as one of the most vocal critics of the Three Gorges Dam.
Rush to Build Hydropower Poses Risks
(April 19, 2011) Experts warn of the dangers posed by China’s rush to build dams in seismically active areas.
China defends its dam projects on rivers from Tibet that worry neighbours who live downstream
(April 19, 2011) China defended its ambitious network of dams Tuesday, saying that it is developing its rivers in a responsible way and would never do anything to harm the interests of neighbours who live downstream of the Tibetan plateau.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
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Probe Media
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