(September 4, 2007) China plans to invest RMB ¥2 trillion (US$265 billion) in renewable energy by 2020, most of it corporate cash, to wean itself off polluting coal as it aims for cleaner growth. Over half the proposed investment will go into large dams.
Crude oil pipeline leak pollutes entire city’s water supply
(September 3, 2007) Wangyao Reservoir, the main water supply for 2.15 million residents in Yan’an, was polluted by crude oil leaking from a broken pipeline on Saturday. The pipeline, which belongs to the Changqing Oil Field, was broken by a landslide. The leaked oil quickly spread over eight kilometres of the Xingzihe River.
China steps up ‘green power’ pressure
(September 2, 2007) China’s State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has stepped up the pressure on electricity suppliers to ‘go green’. It will assume nationwide oversight over power companies that are required under the country’s renewable energy law to prioritize purchases of the maximum amount of ‘green’ electricity.
Towards negotiated flows in the transboundary Mekong river basin: Se San River
(September 1, 2007) See this slide show presented to the River Symposium in Brisbane, Australia.
Facts on the South-North Water Diversion Scheme – Western Route
(August 31, 2007) A series of at least six high dams and seven long tunnels taking water from the upper reaches of the Yangtze over hundreds of kilometres through unstable terrain to the upper reaches of Yellow River.
Three gorges dam exacts its toll
(August 29, 2007) The Three Gorges Dam project is suffering from unforeseen problems including landslides and water pollution, raising new doubts about a project that has come to symbolize the country’s effort to control its environment.
In China, New Risks Emerge At Giant Three Gorges Dam
(August 29, 2007) China’s vaunted engineering marvel, the Three Gorges Dam, drew fierce criticism during its construction for uprooting more than a million people and manhandling the Yangtze River basin. Now, a year after completion, the project has new problems — including landslides, water pollution and suggestions that the dam could contribute to the very flooding it was built to prevent.
Polluted China rivers threaten “sixth” of population
(August 27, 2007) Polluters along two of China’s main rivers (the Huai and the Liao) have defied a decade-old clean-up effort, leaving much of the water unfit to touch, let alone drink, and a risk to a sixth of the population, according to state media.
Voith Siemens wins Yangtze hydro contract
(August 20, 2007) International Water Power & Dam Construction reports that Voith Siemens has won a US$120 million electro-mechanical equipment contract for the Jinping II hydro plant on the Yalong river, a major Yangtze tributary in western China. 4800-MW Jinping II is part of a major cascade development by Ertan Hydropower Development Corporation.
Chinese activists champion human rights in lead-up to Beijing Olympics
(August 17, 2007) Probe International Fellow Dai Qing, one of 40 prominent Chinese activists and writers, called on Chinese and world leaders last week asking them to respect human rights in the lead up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics on the eve of the one-year countdown to the Games.
Yangtze dolphin is no more
(August 17, 2007) The Yangtze river dolphin (or baiji) made headlines last week after an international team of researchers announced the “functional extinction” of the species.
US firm supplies state-of-the-art river monitoring equipment to Three Gorges project
Sutron Corporation is supplying state-of-the-art river monitoring equipment to the Three Gorges project, according to an August 13 release from the NASDAQ-listed company.
Paying for the reconstruction of Iraq
(August 11, 2007) The real problem is that the holders of Iraq’s old foreign debt don’t want it subordinated to a mortgage secured by oil revenues.
Resentment builds in Lesotho highlands
(August 7, 2007) Lesotho’s action against international corruption in one of Africa’s largest engineering schemes holds little weight on the steep, bare mountain sides above the Katse dam and reservoir. Here, anger against the government is easy to find.
Public power and private purpose: odious debt and the political economy of hegemony
(April 3, 2007) This Article examines the process by which overlapping interests between private bankers and government translates into influence and power mediated through the use of bank loans as instruments of foreign policy.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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