(February 10, 2009) When the Chinese state media reported last week that China’s wheat-producing provinces have been hit by the worst drought in 50 years, the story immediately went global. But when we checked official Chinese news sites we noticed something odd. Many of the photos and video clips popping up under the “worst drought in 50 years” banner showed soldiers and farmers hosing down wheat fields with water. Lots of water.
Chinese Official Defends Construction of Schools Felled in Quake
(March 9, 2009) A vice governor of the Chinese province hardest hit by the earthquake last May said Sunday that many schools collapsed then because of the strength of the 7.9 magnitude quake, and not because of shoddy construction.
Was China’s deadly earthquake man-made or an act of God?
(March 4, 2009) Chinese government must learn the lessons of Zipingpu.
Chinese displaced by Three Gorges Dam protest
(March 4, 2009) More than 2,000 people displaced by construction of the Three Gorges Dam clashed with police in central China during a protest Wednesday over missing resettlement payments, leaving 30 protesters injured, a Hong Kong-based group said.
A faultline runs through it: Exposing the hidden dangers of dam-induced earthquakes
(March 1, 2009) Besides posing a major risk to dams, scientists are increasingly certain that earthquakes can be triggered by the dams themselves. Globally, scientists believe that there are over 100 instances, strewn over six continents, of dam reservoirs inducing earthquakes. The most serious case could be the magnitude-7.9 Sichuan earthquake in China in May 2008, which some experts believe may have been induced by the Zipingpu Dam.
FACT SHEET: Triggering Earthquakes
(January 5, 2011) Earthquakes Caused by Dams: ‘Reservoir-Triggered/Induced Seismicity’
Damaged dams to be fixed
(February 20, 2009) About half the 2,125 reservoirs damaged by the massive earthquake in southwest China will be repaired this year, state media on Friday quoted a water resources official as saying.
Chinese press finally covers story that Zipingpu reservoir may have induced deadly quake
(February 20, 2009) After several weeks of widespread international media coverage of the theory that the Zipingpu dam reservoir played a role in triggering the deadly Sichuan earthquake of May 2008, China’s official Xinhua news agency has finally published an article online discussing the theory.
Major U.S. media report on theory that the deadly Sichuan earthquake was man-made
(February 18, 2009) As speculation has grown over whether the Sichuan earthquake, which killed 80,000 people last May and left more than 5 million people homeless, was triggered by the 315 million tonnes of water held in the Zipingpu dam reservoir, so too has press coverage of that theory. Here, Probe International provides a roundup of what that coverage is saying.
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Yangtze! Yangtze!
(February 17, 2009) An extraordinary collection of interviews, essays, and statements by Chinese scientists, journalists, and intellectuals opposed to the massive Three Gorges dam on China’s Yangtze River. Originally published in 1989 as the democracy movement was gathering momentum, Yangtze! Yangtze! is credited with pressuring the State Council to postpone the dam, and inspired the democracy movement by striking an unprecedented blow at powerful state authorities promoting the dam. This pioneering critique is now available in English, expanded to include post-Tiananmen events.
Probe corrects Mother Jones
(February 11, 2009) Probe International has called for an investigation into the role of the Three Gorges dam in the Chinese earthquake. Incorrect reporting had Probe claiming that the Three Gorges dam was responsible for the devastating earthquake
Probe International 