(March 18, 2009) Friends and colleagues have been exceptionally generous in helping me finish this book. Margaret Barber deserves special thanks for her painstaking research, and for her good cheer throughout. I am also especially grateful to Susan Fitzmaurice for her artistic judgement and for her commitment to the complicated task of producing this book. Both made an otherwise stressful job a joy.
Odious Debts: Loose Lending, Corruption, And the Third World’s Environmental Legacy
(March 18, 2009) We’ve all heard of the Third World’s debt crisis, of hopelessly poor nations unable to pay their debts, and of the human suffering and environmental consequences of their desperate predicament. Amid emotional calls from some to forgive the debt outright come the sober solutions from bankers and bureaucrats, with their seemingly unending stream of Brady and Baker Plans, and bewildering variants of them.
With increasing water needs, will China dehydrate India?
(March 10, 2009) China—and not Pakistan—is a bigger threat to India simply because it does not have enough water.
Water level at Three Gorges Dam lowered to ensure downstream water use
(March 9, 2009) The water level at the Three Gorges Dam has been lowered by about nine meters this year as the hydroelectric project is discharging more water to ensure navigation and water use for cities downstream.
Keep polluters from Yangtze River, says Chinese political advisor
(March 7, 2009) China should keep potential polluters away from the industry-heavy Yangtze river, the country’s longest, by raising threshold and readjusting industrial layout, a political advisor said in Beijing today.
Three Gorges chief rejects scientific link between Sichuan quake and Zipingpu reservoir
(March 6, 2009) According to reports from the South China Morning Post, the Chinese government official in charge of the Three Gorges Dam has dismissed the theory linking the Zipingpu dam reservoir with the M7.9 earthquake that killed an estimated 88,000 people last May and left millions more homeless; referring to published geological analyses as “personal opinions at most.”
Father of Three Gorges’ death would open door for criticism
(March 2, 2009) Rumours have begun to circulate that Li Peng, the now 80 year-old former Premier of China who was the major driving force behind the Three Gorges project, may be seriously ill. An NGO worker in China recently told John Bishop of the China Economic Review that if the ex-leader, seen by many as the ‘Father’ of Three Gorges, were to die that critics would be able to “more openly express negative views about the project.”
Drought plagues China’s crops
(March 1, 2009) Northern China is dry at the best of times. But a long rainless stretch has underscored the urgency of water problems in a region that grows three-fifths of China’s crops and houses more than two-fifths of its people – but gets only one fifth as much rain as the rest of the country.
Water service resumes in Chinese city after acid pollutes river
(February 23, 2009) Water service resumed Monday after more than 1 million people in the eastern Chinese city of Yancheng went without tap water for three days when a river was polluted with a toxic chemical. The owner and manager of the Biaoxin Chemical Co were arrested after an unknown amount of carbolic acid was released into the Mangshe River, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Behind China’s drought
(February 10, 2009) When the Chinese state media reported last week that China’s wheat-producing provinces have been hit by the worst drought in 50 years, the story immediately went global. But when we checked official Chinese news sites we noticed something odd. Many of the photos and video clips popping up under the “worst drought in 50 years” banner showed soldiers and farmers hosing down wheat fields with water. Lots of water.
Beijing’s water supply unaffected by 100-day drought
(February 9, 2009) Beijing’s water supply has been unaffected by the drought that has hit central and eastern parts of China, according to the Beijing Water Bureau. Ample rainfall last summer and the diversion of water from surrounding regions has kept the city’s reservoir levels high despite the latest 100-day dry spell.
Where are Africa’s Obamas?
(March 16, 2009) The president’s fairness and honesty should serve as a powerful example to the continent’s leaders.
Chinese Official Defends Construction of Schools Felled in Quake
(March 9, 2009) A vice governor of the Chinese province hardest hit by the earthquake last May said Sunday that many schools collapsed then because of the strength of the 7.9 magnitude quake, and not because of shoddy construction.
MOZAMBIQUE: Biofuel companies line up for land and carbon credits
(March 6, 2009) Despite shrinking demand for biofuels globally, the government of Mozambique may soon grant millions of hectares of land to biofuel developers chasing UN-brokered carbon credits.
Sen. Navarro calls for nationalization of Chile’s water
(March 5, 2009) Behind Chile’s controversial plans to further dam the rivers of its ecologically delicate Patagonia region, which may soon be partially funded by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), the Chilean government must first settle a growing debate over who actually controls Patagonia’s rivers. A number of companies were granted legal rights to Patagonia’s rivers during the final years of the infamous Pinochet regime, and the current plan is to build five large dams in the region. Now, the people of Patagonia want control of their rivers back.
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