(February 11, 2011) According to CNN, blind Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng and his wife have been beaten and placed under house arrest. Chen had only recently completed a four year prison sentence for publicly criticizing government policies. Chen has been a prominent human rights activist since 1998, when he organized protests against water pollution from a local factory in Yinan County.
Is hydropower exploitation of the Nu river in China ‘a must’?
(February 10, 2011) Meng Si of China Dialogue wrote in today’s Guardian that damming the Nu River in an attempt to reduce emissions will devastate the local environment. Below is an excerpt, and link to the full story.
Ecologists dread new dam boom
(February 10, 2011) Global Times recounts the dangers of dam building that ecologists have been warning about for years.
International aid’s ‘dirty secret’
(February 10, 2011) Images from the protests in Egypt have put the relationship between funding security and development in the spotlight
UK nets €1bn in carbon permit auctions
(February 10, 2011) Revenues could bring in billions for the government each year, which campaigners say should fund green projects.
Razing the Last Refuge
(February 10, 2011) Just before the Chinese New Year, Beijing-based non-profit group Friends of Nature wrote an open letter to members of China’s top government bodies – the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – calling on them to urgently examine proposed changes to the boundaries of a national rare fish reserve on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Carbon Credit Watch: First credits for ‘forestry preservation’ cashed in; Philippines argues nuclear power should also qualify
(February 9, 2011) A Kenyan company has become the first recipient of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) credits. Meanwhile, the Government of the Philippines argues that carbon credits should be issued for nuclear power.
China Dialogue: Raizing the last refuge
(February 9, 2011) Han Ziyu at China Dialogue reports that the Chinese Government is downscaling a reserve for rare fish. Below is an excerpt, and link to the full article at China Dialogue.
Hernando de Soto: Egypt’s economic apartheid
(February 9, 2011) Renowned Peruvian economist and international development scholar Hernando de Soto wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal about how the lack of property rights in Egypt has led to widespread economic marginalization, fueling the current uprising.
China Dialogue: Cascade effect
(February 8, 2011) Philip Hirsh at China Dialogue writes about the downstream effects of Chinese dam projects. Below is an excerpt, and a link to the full article at China Dialogue.
Troubling similarities between carbon credits and mortgage derivatives
(February 8, 2011) Chuck Spinney at the Atlantic has written an interesting article comparing carbon credits to the complex mortgage dervativs that led to the financial meltdown.
Carbon Credit Watch: Austria refuses to publish serial numbers of stolen credits, vow they will not re-enter the market
(February 8, 2011) Austrian officials claim to have tracked down many stolen carbon credits, but have refused to disclose their serial numbers. They claim that they will not re-enter the system. Not everyone is satisfied with this assurance.
Chinese official media boasts of record number of Three Gorges tourists
(February 8, 2011) Chinese official media outlet Xinhua boasts that the Three Gorges Dam reported a record 1.45 million tourist arrivals last year. If accurate, this means that there are now as many annual tourists as there were local residents forcibly resettled to build the dam.
China’s Golden Waterway?
(February 7, 2011) Here is an article on the Three Gorges Dam we stumbled upon written by University of Victoria PHD student Trevor Williams. The article was inspired by a seminar by Probe International Fellow Dai Qing presented at the University of Victoria.
Carbon Credit Watch: Carbon trading resumes, trading volumes dismal
(February 7, 2011) Carbon trading has resumed in five EU Countries, though volumes have remained dismal due to concerns over the integrity of carbon markets.
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