(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.
Seismic Aspects of Large Dams
(April 19, 2010) A presentation by Dr. Martin Wieland, Chairman of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) Committee on Seismic Aspects of Dam Design, on the seismic aspects of dams. Contains stunning photographs of the damage to the Zipingpu dam in the wake of the Wenchuan Earthquake in China’s Sichuan province on May 12, 2008.
Beijing court rejects Three Gorges lawsuit filed by Ren Xinghui
(April 17, 2010) His bid to obtain Three Gorges Fund information may have been thwarted but applicant Ren Xinghui vows to carry on.
Building dams in China’s seismic regions always a risk
(April 16, 2010) Fears of a potential collapse of the Changu dam, once again, highlight the problems of constructing dams in seismically active regions – especially so in China, where the quality of dams has been questioned.
Beijing court rejects Three Gorges lawsuit filed by Ren Xinghui
(April 16, 2010) This is a summary of an article originally published April 12, 2010 in the Outlook Weekly (Liaowang xinwen zhoukan). After waiting for more than two months, and making three trips seeking a reply from the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court, Ren Xinghui finally got a clear answer. On April 8, Ren Xinghui was told the Court had decided not to accept his lawsuit and that a written order would be sent him within seven days.
Cleanup Commences on Rubbish Clogged Three Gorges Dam
(April 11, 2010) The large amounts of floating garbage brought by the summer floods which had accumulated at China’s Three Gorges Dam has reportedly been cleared to ensure the normal operation of its generators and system of boat channels, the local authorities said.
The next big idea in conservation: Improving dams for nature and people
(April 6, 2010) Dams block the fluid highways used by migrating fish, and rearrange natural water-flow patterns that have choreographed aquatic life cycles for millennia. Analogs to human health are instructive: While water pollution is as harmful as excessive cholesterol in a bloodstream, the construction of dams has in many rivers been as fatal as cardiac arrest.
Worries related to China’s “Going Out”
(April 5, 2010) In recent years China has become a regional leader in Southeast Asia for the financing of major infrastructure projects, particularly dams—overtaking traditional sources like the World Bank. But China is quickly learning that the rules of investment outside its borders are drastically different than those within it. This report by Wu Aoqi, a researcher based in Beijing, analyzes a number of problems facing both Chinese firms and the central government as they pursue a “going out” policy.
Prediction of reservoir-induced earthquake based on fuzzy theory
(April 4, 2010) Abstract—With more and more reservoirs have been and are being built all over the world, reservoir-induced earthquake has received a great deal of attention from geoscientists mainly because of its potential to damage constructions and to cause human losses. Based on the previous researches on the environmental conditions of reservoir-induced earthquake, a criteria hierarchy model has been constructed.
Zipingpu and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake: The debate continues
(April 1, 2010) More scientists are joining the debate over whether China’s Wenchuan May 2008 earthquake was triggered by the Zipingpu dam.
China’s drought regions are turning into Venezuela
(March 31, 2010) Southwest China is enduring a savagely long drought, forcing the government to resort to cloud-seeding measures. Yet artificial rain has been slight, and not enough for the farmers who haven’t seen natural rain since October.
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