(May 9, 2011) The HidroAysen dam project in Patagonia is awaiting government signoff.
China to uproot 240,000 from disaster-prone areas
(May 7, 2011) Authorities plan to move nearly a quarter of a million people this year from disaster-prone areas in northern China into newly-built homes, state media reported Saturday.
Cancel the Xayaburi Dam
(May 6, 2011) The Save the Mekong coalition and its alliances have called for the halt of construction activity at the dam site and for the Government of Thailand to cancel its plans to purchase the dam’s electricity. Many groups from around the Mekong region have also called for cancellation of the Xayaburi Dam as it would jeopardize the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in the region.
Farming with China’s toxic soil
(May 6, 2011) Peasant farmer Wang Tao used to grow corn, potatoes and wheat within a stone’s throw of a dumping ground for rare earths waste until toxic chemicals leaked into the water supply and poisoned his land.
Beijing off the deep end
(May 6, 2011) Beijing really is trying to turn its water dilemma around. This Circle of Blue – Reporting the Global Water Crisis spotlight looks at what action the city’s municipal government is taking to reverse the capital’s water crunch but finds, in spite of acting with speed and authority, current measures are not fast or strong enough. Zhang Junfeng, a Beijing-based engineer and environmental activist, who has been researching Beijing’s water crisis for years, tells Circle of Blue the government still doesn’t clearly recognize the true extent of its problem and seems to think that as long as the country’s GDP is growing, the capital “can just buy the water” it needs. Not realizing that without water, hoped-for growth will falter.
Water woes to dry out bathhouses
(May 5, 2011) Beijing water authorities have revealed a plan to keep the capital’s wells running until 2014. Meanwhile they will cease offering approval for the development of luxurious bathhouses in order to tackle Beijing’s worsening water supply shortage.
Bankers join environmentalists in alarm over Beijing’s water crisis
(May 5, 2011) Beijing’s water shortage is one of the main factors thwarting the region’s sustainable economic growth, say bankers who have joined environmentalists in sounding the alarm over the city’s “chronic water deficit.”
Beijing Limits Water Consumption by Enterprises
(May 4, 2011) The Beijing municipal government will tighten controls on water consumption by enterprises this year to ensure they continue to economize on water usage, a Beijing Water Authority official said Tuesday.
Sudden Sinkhole
(May 3, 2011) Onlookers in Beijing, China, keep a safe distance from a giant sinkhole that opened in the middle of a busy street last Tuesday, swallowing a truck. Several news reports say the sinkhole formed above a tunnel being dug for construction of a subway line. (See pictures of a huge sinkhole in Guatemala City.)
North Korea wants carbon cash
(April 29, 2011) When Kim Jong-il wants a piece of the action, it’s time to stop.
Dam on Brahmaputra won’t affect India: China
(April 29, 2011) China on Friday said its proposed dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet is not a “very big one” to cause concern in India and Bangladesh, claiming that it would not lead to any major change in the quantum of the water flow to the countries downstream.
Tri-Tech Holding to Showcase High-Tech Emergency Water and Water Monitoring Technology at Beijing International Disaster Reduction and Emergency Technology & Equipment Expo
(April 29, 2011) Tri-Tech Holding Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIT), a premier Chinese company that provides leading turn-key solutions in China for water resources, water and wastewater treatment, industrial safety and the pollution control markets, announced today that the company will attend the 2nd Beijing International Disaster Reduction and Emergency Technology & Equipment Expo at the China World Trade Center in Beijing from May 8 to May 10, 2011. The theme of this year’s expo is to “promote industrial development and contingencies for disaster prevention and relief.”
Ski resorts gulp Beijing’s water supplies
(April 29, 2011) In a new report published by the Beijing-based Friends of Nature and Canadian environmental group Probe International, Chinese environmental researcher, Hu Kanping, documents the impact of ski resorts on drought-stricken Beijing.
Odious debt and Egypt: revolt citizens, revolt!
(April 27, 2011) Egypt’s period of political transition presents an ideal time to examine the odious nature of debt accrued by deposed President Hosni Mubarak’s government, whose time in power amounts to almost 30 years in the borrowing.
Anatomy of a dam failure
(April 27, 2011) In the world of engineering, standards are the foundation on which everything else rests. An investigation following a catastrophic explosion at Russia’s largest hydropower station in the summer of 2009 revealed poor management and technical flaws to be at the root of the dam’s failure. A repaired turbine almost at the end of its life span, taken offline again because it still didn’t work, was forced back into service in an emergency: a move that would cost 75 people their lives. This Popular Mechanics investigation asks whether the United States, a country with hundreds of hydro plants in operation, might also be at risk of a Russian-style dam disaster. U.S. experts say not likely: the two countries are separated philosophically when it comes to safety and human life.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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