(May 26, 2009) Ahead of the publication of my book Dead Aid, an author friend of mine cautioned me about responding to opponents who found it necessary to color their criticism with personal attacks. This, he argued, is a tried and tested way of side-stepping the issues and providing a smoke screen when faced with a valid argument.
UN says dams are the biggest threat to the Mekong River
(May 25, 2009) The UN is warning China that its desire to pursue hydro-electric projects may pose the biggest threat to the Mekong River– one of the most vital sources of freshwater for countries in South East Asia. The Chinese government is planning to build as many as eight dams on the upper half of the Mekong as it winds through Yunnan province.
Sachs ironies: why critics are better for foreign aid than apologists
(May 25, 2009) Official foreign aid agencies delivering aid to Africa are used to operating with nobody holding them accountable for aid dollars actually reaching poor people. Now that establishment is running scared with the emergence of independent African voices critical of aid, such as that of Dambisa Moyo.
Blogger discredits claims there are two undammed rivers in China
(May 25, 2009) There’s an interesting posting over at the Asian Energy blog. The author quickly discredits claims that there are two undammed rives in China. He also credits Probe International as being one the leading voices of criticism concerning the central government’s quest to build large dams.
Asian stimulus packages should fund job-creating infrastructure
(May 24, 2009) Legislators, trade unionists and civil-society groups in Asia have urged governments to focus their stimulus packages on community-based infrastructure investments to create jobs and address poverty that has been deepened by massive retrenchments.
Three Gorges Power Corp admits hydro dams too costly
(May 23, 2009) China Three Gorges Project Corporation vice-general manager has made a stunning admission: Relocating people and protecting the environment has made large-scale hydro projects too costly to warrant further investment.
5.2-magnitude earthquake shakes northwest China
(May 22, 2009) An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale jolted China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at 8:33 p.m. Thursday, according to China’s seismological network.
May 2009 Campaign Letter
Just one year ago, China’s deadly earthquake struck with abnormal power, leaving close to 90,000 dead or missing. Could China’s unrestrained dam building have triggered this “sleeping dragon,” we wondered.
Environmentalists cheer Premier Wen Jiabao’s call to stop construction on Liuku dam
(May 22, 2009) Environmentalists welcomed China’s Premier Wen Jiabao’s call for a stop to construction of the Liuku hydropower station on the Nu (Salween) river in Yunnan—one of only two rivers in China that has not been dammed.
The great Three Gorges turbine sell-off
(May 21, 2009) Shares of the Yangtze Power Company – operator of the Three Gorges dam – shot higher this week after the company announced that it will acquire the remaining 18 turbines at the Three Gorges dam from its parent, China Three Gorges Project Corporation.
The drag of the South-North Diversion Project
(May 21, 2009) A recent announcement that the much-criticized South-North Diversion Project is facing further delays may be the first sign that the Chinese government is reconsidering its penchant to pursue massively ambitious infrastructure projects.
Ending Ghana’s odious debts
(May 21, 2009) Political activist and anti-corruption campaigner, Lord Aikins Adusei, is calling on Ghana’s new government to put politics aside and start initiating economic and development programs. His remarks come after the country elected a new president, John Atta Mills, in a tightly contested vote last December.
Odious debts on YouTube
(May 20, 2009) Odious debt-like challenges have been happening under our very noses – we just haven’t been looking for them. That, says Probe International’s Executive Director Partricia Adams, is the underlying theme of a 2007 paper by Professor Robert Howse of the University of Michigan Law School.
Bracing for the unknown
(May 14, 2009) Last year’s earthquake in China is a salutary reminder about preparing for risk in the face of uncertainty.
More landslides in the Three Gorges Dam area
(May 19, 2009) Dramatic images of the moutainside after a landslide in the Three Gorges dam area dumps around 20,000 cubic meters of rock and mud into the Yangtze River.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Patricia Adams and Lawrence Solomon
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