(May 24, 2010) With extraordinary candour, Chinese officials are warning that severe rainstorms and gales this month will make efforts to prevent landslides in the Three Gorges dam area “formidable.”
Dams damaged in Yushu earthquake
(May 22, 2010) The April 13, 2010 Yushu earthquake damaged three dams on the Batang River, putting one at risk of collapse.
Chemical reactions on the Yangtze
(May 17, 2010) In the rolling hills alongside the Three Gorges reservoir, on a Tiananmen Square-sized plot of land, stands a sign marking the site of an “Integrated MDI Project” in the village of Baishi. On completion, this will be home to the world’s largest Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate plant and the villagers all know that German chemical giant BASF is on the way.
Hot wind in the desert
(May 13, 2010) The Chinese county of Guazhou, in north-western China, is famous for its honey melons. But it also produces wind. It blows in from the east through the high, narrow valley formed by the Qilian and Beishan mountains, on the southern edge of the Gansu Corridor.
China’s earthquake watcher
(May 12, 2010) An article about Yong Yang, a rabble-rousing independent geologist who has previously faced death threats from businessmen and local officials for raising concerns about the feasibility of lucrative proposed projects.
Clean energy’s dark side: safety of “green” dams in China called into question
(May 11, 2010) Dams are often presented as a clean source of energy. But, as Heather Gingerich, Probe’s Medical Geologist-in-Residence and current Director of the International Medical Geology Association in Canada, explains, they can trigger earthquakes.
China intent on building more dams in a seismically-active region in Tibet
(May 6, 2010) After months of rumours, Chinese officials have confessed to plans to construct dams in a seismically-active and politically-sensitive region in Tibet’s Jiacha Canyon. The first dam — the 500-megawatt Zangmu hydroelectric project — is currently under construction and is the first of five planned for the scenic, 100-kilometre canyon on the Yarlung Tsangpo River.
“What I asked for and why”: Ren Xinghui’s epic quest to track down the costs of the Three Gorges dam
(May 3, 2010) In the afternoon of October 12, 2009, Chinese citizen, taxpayer, electricity consumer, and law graduate, Ren Xinghui, using the law his government had enshrined to protect Chinese citizens’ rights to information about government expenditures, exercised his right: he went to the offices of the Ministry of Finance and submitted a formal and legal request for the monies raised and spent to build the world’s largest hydro dam, Three Gorges on China’s Yangtze River. Here he explains what he asked for, why, and what happened next.
Lights and action: China is parlaying its hunger for power into yet more economic clout
(Apr. 29, 2010) The huge expansion of generating capacity in China serves many purposes, not least of which is bolstering national pride, especially in rural areas that, not long ago, were consigned to darkness after sundown.
Controversial SW China dam sparks new showdown
(April 28, 2010) Chinese police have seized a farmer who doused himself in gasoline and threatened to blow himself up to stop the demolition of his house, in the latest showdown over the controversial Pubugou hydropower project.
Nail house families move after showdown
(April 27, 2010) After trying for several years to force a local government in Sichuan Province to leave his family’s home alone, Luo Qihui, 36 poured gasoline all over his body Saturday and threatened to light himself on fire soon after construction workers arrived to demolish his property.
Forced evictions over Pubugou dam
(April 26, 2010) Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan have begun demolishing houses and forcing people from their homes near the Pubugou hydroelectic power project, which is due to go into operation soon. Chinese geological expert says the dam will increase the risk of devastating earthquakes.
Violence erupts at Chinese dam: Exclusive Report from Probe International
(April 26, 2010) Violence erupts at Pubugou dam in China’s Sichuan province as authorities try to move people; homeowners threatened to blow themselves up if police move in to demolish homes.
The Zipingpu experiment: Dam engineers go back to the drawing boards
(April 20, 2010) Until the deadly Wenchuan earthquake in China in 2008, no large concrete face rockfill dam (CFRD) had ever been subject to a strong, ground shaking earthquake. But that changed on May 12, 2008 when the Zipingpu hydro dam, one of the largest CFRDs in China and sitting just 17 km from the earthquake epicenter, suffered higher than anticipated seismic forces, causing major damage to its concrete face and deflecting the giant structure 180 mm downstream. A leading scientist now says the earthquake should act as a wake up call for dam builders.
A Primer on Water
(April 19, 2010) Probe International has attached Luna B. Leopold and Walter B. Langbein’s report, “A Primer on Water” for our readers. Although the report is 50 years old, we believe it provides an excellent overview of water systems and water development.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
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