(July 15, 2010) It is tempting to suggest that a country’s ability to prepare for disasters is a matter of money. But although wealth certainly matters, politics are more important.
Evidence for surface loading as trigger mechanism of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
(July 14, 2010) Abstract: Two and a half years prior to China’s M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake of May 2008, at least 300 million metric tons of water accumulated with additional seasonal water level changes in the Minjiang River Valley at the eastern margin of the Longmen Shan. This article shows that static surface loading in the valley induced Coulomb failure stresses on the nearby Beichuan thrust fault system at <17km depth.
Not what you bargained for: China’s massive water scheme delivering polluted goods
(July 12, 2010) While Chinese officials continue to forge ahead with an expensive scheme to move water from the Yangtze river in the south of the country to water-starved cities in the north, fears concerning its cleanliness are surfacing once again. According to a recent report, authorities are concerned over the poor water quality in the eastern leg of the South North Water Diversion project.
The IPCC’s First Test in “a New World of Openness”
(July 12, 2010) “Climate science is a matter of such global importance, that the highest standards of honesty, rigour and openness are needed in its conduct,” stated the Muir Russell report into the Climategate scandal after it found the Climatic Research Unit at the UK’s East Anglia University guilty of “a consistent pattern of failing to display the proper degree of openness.”
9,000 people evacuated from northwest China city near risky reservoir
(July 11, 2010) More than 9,000 people have been evacuated Sunday from Golmud City in northwest China’s Qinghai Province as water level continued to rise in a nearby risky reservoir, the municipal authorities said.
House of cards: China’s development rush may be behind slew of geological disasters, says scientist
(July 9, 2010) The potential environmental fallout from China’s super-heated development may be putting lives at risk, says a Chinese geologist in an exclusive report for Probe International.
Chinese dam played role in deadly landslide
(July 9, 2010) An exclusive report for Probe International from Fan Xiao, chief engineer of the Regional Geology Investigation Team of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau, detailing the potential role a nearby dam played in a deadly landslide in China’s southwest Guizhou Province.
‘Modern homes’ may not satisfy shifted farmers
(June 3, 2010) Moving water from the Yangtze River across half of China to its parched north is a massive technical and engineer undertaking – but authorities are finding a greater challenge in resettling the people whose homes are in the path of the project.
Power use peaks
Dai Tian Global Times Wednesday, July 7, 2010 According to the Beijing Electric Power Company, demand for electricity at 3:51 pm on Monday rocketed to 14.354 million kilowatts, setting a new record […]
Paying the polluters: The carbon credit way
(July 6, 2010) Brady Yauch writes that, far from failing to prevent carbon emissions, new allegations say the U.N’s carbon credit scheme is actually paying polluters to increase their polluting ways.
Health charity spent millions to raise thousands
(July 6) A charity in charge of collecting funds for medical programs in the developing world can’t raise enough money to come near covering its operating costs, writes Andrew Jack in the Financial Times.
Pollution hinders South-to North water diversion
(July 6, 2010) Authorities are still struggling with concerns about the poor water quality of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) project eight years after the eastern route’s construction began.
To little surprise, environmental programs at Three Gorges are falling short
(July 5, 2010) As the environmental problems continue to plague the massive Three Gorges dam, officials are falling way behind on programs to contain the pollution caused by its construction. Less than a fifth of the “water environment” programs laid out in a ten year plan in 2001 have been completed, while all nine of the projects to control pollution from ships have not begun, according to Vice-Minister of Environmental Protection Zhang Lijun.
Foreign aid to Pakistan is a victim of nepotism
(July 5) Writing in The National, Tom Hussain reports that international aid flowing into Pakistan is being abused, as the country suffers from extreme nepotism within its government and non-government organizations.
Banking on the hand that feeds: Food aid is big business in the US
(July 1, 2010) The food aid business is not simply for charity, it’s also a major source of jobs for businesses across the United States. According to a recent report from consultancy group Promar International, the overall economic impact of moving food aid from the nation’s farms to the ports and then on to foreign countries accounts for more than 13,000 jobs and amounts to almost $2-billion in goods and services, or output.
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Lawrence Solomon
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