(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.
Guiding Iraq on a road to recovery
(Augest 3, 2007) Daily attacks on U.S. soldiers, infiltration of terrorists, and mischief-making by Iran and Syria have dominated the postwar headlines over the last two months – creating an image of a quagmire in the making.
China withdraws credit from polluting companies
(August 2, 2007) A blacklist of polluting companies, including two well known food processors, was issued by China’s environmental watchdog yesterday, which denies bank loans in attempt to punish those that flout regulations.
Where will Beijing get its drinking water?
(August 2, 2007) An article by Science Times reporter Yi Yongyong based on a recent talk by Chinese environmentalist Wang Jian takes us through some of the water supply problems facing Beijing. Starting from the city’s pre-PRC history and moving through the half-century since, he brings us up to the present situation and speculates on the future. He focuses on two of the largest reservoirs that have until recently been among Beijing’s primary sources.
Three Gorges Dam withstands largest flood peak
(August 1, 2007) The Yangtze River’s highest flood peak this season has passed through the Three Gorges Dam as of Sunday. Seventeen sluice gates have been opened to keep water level below the designed 144 meters and to ease the flood pressure on the mid-lower reaches.
Poor profit growth for China Yangtze
(August 1, 2007) China Yangtze Power, operating power plants at the Three Gorges Dam, reported a measly 4.26% increase in its first-half underlying profit as gains in overall generation were hampered by narrowing margins.
Chicago engineering firm MWH awarded hydroelectric contract in China
(August 1, 2007) MWH, a Chicago-based engineering firm, has signed a deal with China’s Ertan Hydropower Development Corporation to help build the Jinping I Hydropower project on a large Yangtze tributary in Southwest China.
Flood closes down Yangtze Three Gorges ship lock
(July 30, 2007) The Yangtze River Three Gorges Navigational Bureau halted two-way traffic at the Three Gorges ship lock earlier this month as water influx into the dam measured an alarming 51,000 cubic meters per second, a result of continuous rainfall in the upper reaches. The lock, 6.4 km long and costing RMB ¥6.2 billion (USD $810 million), was built into the mountainous terrain on the northern bank of the Yangtze and has been the only navigable route past the dam since 2003.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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