(February 26, 2011) Official Chinese media reports that 190,000 more people will be relocated this year as part of the south-north water diversion project.
Chinese dams are seeking to outshine the stars in the sky
(February 25, 2011) French journalist Claude Arpi writes that the Chinese dam lobby is using global warming to ram through catastrophic dam projects.
PI Exclusive: The Yongding River’s lavish funeral
(February 24, 2011) Beijing-based water expert Wang Jian recounts how decades of environmental degradation have dried up Beijing’s “Mother River.”
Pollution fear cancels Beijing power plant plan
(February 11, 2011) According to Chinese official state media, plans to build a power plant near Beijing have been halted over environmental concerns. The plant would have been one kilometer from a canal that diverts water into drought stricken Beijing.
Prominent Chinese activist and wife beaten
(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.
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.
An Inconvenient Truth: China Uses Global Warming to Justify Controversial Nu River Dams Project
(February 3, 2011) The Government of China is using international pressure to reduce carbon emissions as a pretense to build a series of controversial power stations on the pristine Nu River—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—despite opposition from environmentalists and human rights advocates.
Environment officials claim hydroelectric power is dirtier than thermal power, not a clean solution at all
(January 27, 2011) China’s ministry in charge of environmental protection says hydropower can be dirtier than coal power. Chinese Hydroelectric Engineering Association accuses them of slander.
China gung-ho over hydropower
(January 24, 2011) Canadian Consulting Engineer cites a report by Probe International on the Chinese government’s recent push to support the hydro power sector.
China’s coming fall
(January 22, 2011) Lawrence Solomon writes that, like the Soviet Union before it, China’s supposed boom is illusory—and just as likely to come crashing down.
Last refuge of rare fish threatened by Yangtze dam plans
(January 18, 2011) Developers of hydroelectric plant have redrawn the boundaries of a crucial freshwater reserve for rare and economically important species, writes the Guardian’s Jonathan Watts.
Whitewash: Beijing uses water to create fake snow as drought continues
(January 17, 2011) As Beijing suffers through its decades-long drought—with no precipitation for the last ten weeks—officials think it wise to use water from nearby lakes to provide residents with what is becoming a novel experience: snowfall.
MSNBC: As US debates, China acts with a building boom
(December 19, 2010) Gravel-laden barges glide past the willow-fringed banks of the Grand Canal, plying a trade route built 2,500 years ago to bring grain from China’s fertile south to its rulers in the north.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
Probe International 