(December 29, 2009) Guy Lanza, director of UMass Amherst’s Environmental Science Program, says the hydro electric industry has mounted a public relations offensive to promote itself as green, and powerful institutions like the World Bank are buying it, but the reality is these projects are just the opposite of green and can cause severe, long-lasting damage. “I have real reservations about promoting hydropower as green power when in most cases it’s not,” he says.
China redirects trillions of gallons of water to arid north
(December 25, 2009) The villagers of Machuan, whose houses were bulldozed in August this year, were just the first of more than 330,000 Chinese peasants who will have to be delivered to new homes before the South-North Water Project is complete. At £37bn the project will cost more than twice as much as the Three Gorges Dam, delivering nearly 12 trillion gallons of water along three networks of tunnels and canals that will branch out into northern, eastern and central China.
Beijing raises water prices to fight shortage
(December 22, 2009) Beijing authorities said the water price for residential use will go up 8 percent, an increase that follows a jump of almost 50 percent in the price of water for nonresidential use last month, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Black day for Burma’s Irrawaddy: junta ministers host Myitsone dam “celebration”
(December 22, 2009) Hundreds of local villagers were forced to greet the Minister of Electric Power and Minister of Energy today at an official “celebration” ceremony to launch the construction of China’s Myitsone dam, which will block the Irrawaddy River for the first time and impact millions living along Burma’s main waterway.
Russian Roulette: Russia’s surplus of carbon credits too big of a gamble for some
(December 23, 2009) A recent article in the Wall Street Journal details one of the many problems facing the implementation of carbon markets: the political tampering of an artificial market. According to the story, Russia is demanding that it be able to retain its massive surplus of emissions permits after they expire in 2012. Yet, critics argue that if Russia were to off-load these credits on international carbon markets, it would lead to a collapse in the price of carbon.
China’s green energy goes to waste in distribution bottleneck
(December 23, 2009) Green electricity from north China’s growing wind power generators is being wasted because the country’s power grid cannot absorb it, power experts said.
Trial today, prison tomorrow: China’s rites of Christmas (Update 1)
(December 23, 2009) Today, China tried that country’s most prominent dissident, Liu Xiaobo. Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, it will sentence him. He is expected to get 15 years for “inciting subversion of state power” for co-authoring “Charter 08” — a petition signed by some 10,000 fellow citizens calling for democratic reforms and the rule of law.
Prominent city lakes fail water safety test
(November 16, 2009) Three lakes in Beijing were seriously polluted in October, the Beijing municipal water resources bureau website said on Nov 12.
Beijing to spend US$22 mln to plant water-source forests
(July 29, 2009) Beijing has started to plant water-source forests in its neighboring Hebei Province to protect two of the city’s largest reservoirs, official said Wednesday.
Thirsty Beijing awash in water woes
(December 22, 2008) This capital’s growing thirst for clean water is clashing with provincial demands and concerns that plans to tap China’s rivers will hurt an already troubled environment.
Beijing hikes water price to ease shortage
(December 22, 2009) Beijing will raise water price by 8 percent starting Tuesday to encourage saving in the Chinese capital, local authorities said Monday.
Reluctant support for staggered rise
(December 18, 2009) Most public representatives at a hearing on water costs yesterday said they supported an increase in the cost of tap water for next year because they had “no alternative”.
More Three Gorges migrants returning home
(December 18, 2009) Migrants displaced by the construction of the Three Gorges dam are returning to their hometowns after they struggled to make a living in their new homes, says a recent report in Shanghai Daily. According to the report, almost 200,000 residents from the Hubei Province and Chongqing Municipality were forced to move last year after the Three Gorges reservoir submerged 20 districts or counties.
Dams and Development Threaten the Mekong
(December 18, 2009) Environmentalists worry that the rush to develop the Mekong, particularly the dams, is not only changing the panorama of the river but could also destroy the livelihoods of people who have depended on it for centuries. One of the world’s most bountiful rivers is under threat, warns a series of reports by the United Nations, environmental groups and academics.
Beijing water price hikes ‘forced on public’
(December 17, 2009) The government’s decision to raise water prices drew criticism from local residents who voluntarily attended the public hearing on Wednesday.
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