The crush of refugees, straining governments to the breaking point, now represent 4 per cent of Sweden’s 2016 budget.
“Carbon Crooks” now available to US viewers
“Carbon Crooks,” the compelling 2013 documentary on fraud in carbon markets and the failure of carbon trading to address climate change, is now available to U.S. viewers.
China’s smog battle ongoing but skies are clearer for Beijing
The problem of smog is declining faster in Beijing than elsewhere in China, where air pollution remains at hazardous levels, reports Greenpeace. Chinese authorities, meanwhile, are making a “big deal” of going after small-time or individual polluters rather than industrial polluters. Why the smoke screen?
China initiates enormous Yangtze water diversion scheme
The Yangtze River has been slated to accommodate yet another project in the name of “development” and “drought prevention”: the Dian Zhong Water Diversion Project, a 661-kilometer endeavour with some high hopes pinned to it.
Cold War II? Nyet
Putin knows where Russia’s real threats lie.
A year as a wife
A profile of Meng Qun, wife of prominent civil rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, detained in May 2014 for attending a Tiananmen protest discussion.
Safety within Syria
Safe zone for migrants are far-fetched ideas with little prospect of success.
China releases two NGO activists ‘on bail’ ahead of president’s US trip
Guo Yushan and He Zhengjun, detained former members of the influential Beijing Transition Institute (now shuttered), have been released on bail by Chinese authorities. Some analysts see the move as a symbolic concession to US concerns over Beijing’s human rights record. What might their release mean going forward? Radio Free Asia reports.
Obama’s migrants
The chaos in Europe over migrants from the Middle East began with the Obama-promoted Arab Spring.
Uncertainty over Barro Blanco’s CDM approval
As tensions rise over western Panama’s UN-approved Barro Blanco dam project, the highly contested dam looks set for completion … eventually. Carbon Market Watch reports.
Uncivil society
A new draft law spooks foreign not-for-profit groups working in China.
Dams ‘destroying Mekong fish stock’
Hydro development of the Mekong River is causing downstream flow to become uneven, driving fish away and throwing the region’s food security into jeopardy. The Nation reports.
Tianjin and China’s industrial calamities
This terrific opinion piece by Xiao Shu, a former columnist for China’s outspoken Southern Weekly newspaper, gets right to the point in saying the country’s “calamitous cycle of man-made disasters is the direct result of a dysfunctional government.” The answer: Give power back to the people.
OPIC should go next
Ex-Im is one of dozens of corporate welfare programs that should end. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), like Ex-Im, hurts domestic competitors, privileges big lenders and is also known to fund questionable projects. Reason.com reports.
Beijing: Enough snow for 2022 Winter Olympics
Now that Beijing has won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, talk has moved from the problem of snow in a city distinctive for its arid climate, sandstorms and perpetual lack of water, to the virtues of artificial snow (despite the amount of water fake snow takes to manufacture). Meanwhile, a long-long range weather forecast, conducted by the city’s meteorological bureau, predicts natural snowfall is likely to increase in the areas slated for competition action in seven years’ time.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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