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.

Three Gorges Dam Project, Yangtze River, China

(2008) Large reservoirs can cause seismic events as they fill and as the pressure on local faults increases. Such reservoir-induced seismicity was predicted for the Three Gorges region, which is already seismically active and indeed, there has been an increase in reported seismic activity in the region following construction of the dam and the filling of the reservoir.

SNC-Lavalin official arraigned in ‘Lavalingate’ – Indian hydro dam scandal: Export Development Canada provided funding

(February 5, 2009) According to recent Indian press reports, the country’s Central Bureau of Investigation has arraigned Claus Trendl, a senior vice president with Canada’s SNC-Lavalin, for the engineering giant’s role in a contract to overhaul three hydro-electric dams in the southwestern state of Kerala. It is alleged that irregularities occurred in the awarding of the contract and that Lavalin benefited from undue favour.

China Earthquake a Dam-Induced Disaster?

(February 4, 2009) Last year’s devastating Sichuan earthquake, which took at least 69,000 lives, may have been unleashed by the huge Zipingpu Dam. New scientific evidence links the impoundment of the Zipingpu reservoir to the activation of a fault line near the dam site. A thorough scientific assessment is needed before China builds more dams in earthquake-prone areas.

Scientists build case that Zipingpu dam triggered China’s devastating earthquake

(January 28, 2009) Since China’s deadly May 12 earthquake, Fan Xiao, China’s chief engineer of the Regional Geology Investigation Team of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau, has been a lone voice calling for an investigation into the possibility that the Zipingpu dam reservoir, just a few kilometers from the epicenter, might have induced the earthquake.

How Kyoto credit scams work

(January 27, 2009) In another striking expose of carbon credit lunacy, AP reporters Joe McDonald and Charles Hanley report that a German coal-fired utility is buying “carbon credits” from a Chinese hydro dam, displacing thousands of poor farmers in the process, driving up electricity costs in Germany, and yet doing nothing for the environment.