(April 21, 2010) The Xiaowan dam in the hills of Yunnan province is one of eight hydroelectric projects that will bring China’s industrial revolution to the impoverished region. It is by far the biggest of the four dams built so far that when done this year will be the biggest arch dam in the world.
Carbon trading no cure-all: Detractors cite lack of enforcement, fraud potential
(April 20, 2010) Of all the systems pitched as environmental panaceas, few seem seem to be as mired in controversy and confusion as carbon trading.
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.
China’s role in Mekong River maintenance
(April 17, 2010) Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Song Tao told participants in the Mekong River Council Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand on April 5 that China is willing to promote cooperation with downstream countries in mitigating droughts and floods, sharing hydrographic technology and information, exchange and training of hydrographic experts, etc.
Foreign aid and under-development in Africa
(April 17, 2010) Foreign aid has generally benefited the ruling elites in Africa, by among other things, enabling and perpetuating corrupt governments’ hold on power, and by extension, entrenching the pervasive underdevelopment. Over the past five decades, foreign emergency assistance to Africa has helped to avert hardship for many of Africa’s poor, but failed to promote any significant economic development.
Paying water’s real costs
(April 16, 2010) Freshwater ecosystems are under siege in many parts of the world — and one often overlooked driver of this crisis is how we value and price water.
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.
‘Quiet corruption’?: The World Bank on Africa
(April 15, 2010) The ‘Africa Development Indicators 2010’ report on ‘quiet corruption’ is one more example of the World Bank’s distractive politics. Distractive because it seeks, wittingly or unwittingly, to sidetrack issues that are fundamental to understanding the continuing poverty and underdevelopment of Africa. Distractive also because it seeks, probably consciously and purposely, to exonerate the World Bank from its own role in perpetuating Africa’s mal-development.
Mounting tensions over the Mekong river
(April 15, 2010) Countries bordering the Mekong River have let the criticism flow unimpeded over China’s hydroelectric power expansion.
Beijing’s water consumption defies ongoing drought
(April 7, 2010) The number of businesses in Beijing that are using water lavishly continues to grow, despite a decades-long drought and a stressed watershed, say Chinese environmental researchers in a recent report.
Flushing it all away: Residents in Beijing caught wasting water
(April 1, 2010) Residents in drought-stricken Beijing are, literally, flushing their water resources away.
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