(June 11, 2010) This is the third investigation into Climategate and the universal expectation is that it will be as much a snow job as the previous two, though those precedents will be hard to beat: not since Tom Sawyer manipulated his friends into whitewashing his aunt’s fence has a team worked harder than the successive establishment figures who have exonerated the Decline Hiders from any culpability.
Set for failure: As money for carbon-reducing forestry programs increases, so too does fraud and corruption
(June 10, 2010) As rich countries continue with plans to pour money into forestry programs in the developing world as a way to combat climate change they should heed warnings that the programs will fail to reduce carbon emissions, strip local citizens of their ownership rights, and be ridden with fraud and corruption.
Jailed China earthquake activist’s appeal declined
(June 9, 2010) Amnesty International has condemned Wednesday’s court decision to uphold a five year sentence imposed on a Chinese activist who tried to publicize the number of children who died during the Sichuan earthquake and the corruption that led to their deaths.
It’s official: global warming solutions will destroy the environment
(June 8, 2010) Solutions to solve global warming may actually cause more environmental damage.
Environmental group petitions Beijing government for stronger water regulations
(June 8, 2010) On Saturday, Friends of Nature (FON)—China’s oldest environmental organization—hosted a Conference for the release of their survey on public opinion regarding Beijing’s ongoing water crisis. As part of the conference, FON also issued a petition to the government, calling for urgent action from officials to help increase the city’s water-use efficiency and reduce pollution.
Thousands march in Chile against dams in Patagonia
(June 8, 2010) This past Saturday, June 5, colleagues in Chile marked the annual International Day for the Environment (el Día Internacional del Medioambiente) with a nationwide day of action.
Liberty endures in two-system China
(June 7, 2010) While China still often treats dissent with a mailed fist, the lesson of Hong Kong over the last 13 years is that Beijing is also capable of using the velvet glove, writes Gideon Rachman in The Financial Times.
Seeing is believing
(June 7, 2010) Li Yuling, the narrator of the most recent Oral History “A River Returns,” is featured in this China Daily report detailing the activities of Beijing citizens as they raise awareness on the dire state of the city’s once pristine rivers.
Beijing residents worry their city is running out of water, looking to government for action
(June 5, 2010) Three-quarters of those interviewed in a recent survey about Beijing’s water crisis say that they are concerned about the capital city’s water shortages and that they feel pollution and overexploitation of water are to blame. The survey, commissioned by Friends of Nature, China’s oldest environmental organization, was released in Beijing today, World Environment Day.
Friends of Nature petition to the Beijing government
(June 5, 2010) Friends of Nature (FON)—China’s oldest environmental organization—is hosting a Conference for the release of their survey on public opinion regarding Beijing’s ongoing water crisis. As part of the conference, FON has also issued this petition to the government, calling for urgent action from officials to help increase the city’s water-use efficiency and reduce pollution.
Trampled under the foot of development: Chinese citizens fight for fair compensation
(June 4, 2010) Chinese citizens being forcefully evicted from their homes are continuing their fight to receive fair compensation from developers and local officials. A month after homeowners were pushed from their homes to make way for the Pubugou dam reservoir in China’s Sichuan province, 700 homeowners in Beijing’s Laogucheng neighbourhood are refusing to leave—even as they face assaults by window-smashing thugs—until they receive fair compensation from a powerful developer.
Three Gorges: Privatizing the profits, socializing the costs
(June 3, 2010) A recent restructuring by China’s Yangtze Power Co., the Shanghai-listed subsidiary of the Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, will see the company acquire full ownership of the only profitable part of the controversial dam—the generators—while assuming little-to-none of the environmental and social costs.
Mozambique typifies aid dilemma
(June 1, 2010) Questions about the effectiveness of aid have given rise to a lively debate. Conventional wisdom holds that it is still essential if Africa is to have any chance of reducing poverty. But some development economists dissent from this view, arguing that aid fosters dependency, encourages corruption and undermines the ability of Africans to manage their own economies.
Standing tall: New oral history shows citizens taking a stand for Beijing’s rivers
(June 1, 2010) Beijing, once famous for its sweet spring water and clear-flowing rivers is now infamous for its polluted canals and dried up riverbeds. But one small river, that once suffered decades of insults and was among the city’s dirtiest, is making a comeback.
Landslides and seismic activity rock Three Gorges reservoir
(June 1, 2010) As the rainy season arrives and the Three Gorges reservoir is lowered, the controversial project is once again making headlines. This time, it’s because of the increasing number of landslides and seismic activity occurring along the 410-mile long reservoir.
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