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Water: Bigger Than Oil
July 31st, 2011
Courtesy of The Financial Times, an interesting report that water will become an even bigger commodity than oil in the years ahead, sparking massive geopolitical investment, audacious infrastructure schemes, and tensions along the way: In a 37-page note on Thursday, the bank’s global strategists recommend investors play the urbanisation trend by buying into water companies […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Bringing The Yellow River Back In The Flow
July 30th, 2011
Via China Dialogue, an interesting article on China’s efforts to regulate and restore China’s polluted, drought-ridden Yellow River which once struggled to reach the sea. As the report notes: “…On one wall of the control centre, a mosaic of TV screens flickers back and forth between the latest satellite photographs and rainfall projections. On another, a […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China Ignores Own Irrawaddy Dam Study
July 19th, 2011
Via The Asia Sentinel, a report that China is ignoring its own Irrawaddy dam study and going ahead with the project. As the article notes: “…The state-owned China Power Investment Corp. is continuing with the controversial Myitsone Dam on Burma’s Irrawaddy River despite its own 945-page environmental impact study calling for the project to be […]
Read more »UN Calls For More Water Cooperation In Central Asia
July 16th, 2011
Via Radio Free Europe, a report from the UN indicating that more cooperation among Central Asian states sharing the shores of a key river could be the key to future peace and security in the region: The Kokaral dam in the North Aral Sea In a fresh report, the UN Environmental Program, or UNEP, […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Why We Care About the Price of Water in China
July 14th, 2011
Via Bloomberg, an interesting article on the impact that water shortages in China are having around the world: An American trucker barreling down Interstate 95 bemoaning the high price of diesel fuel might never imagine that one of the things driving up his bill is the way water in China is being mispriced. But the […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Push For More Hydropower Tests Limits
July 14th, 2011
Via Reuters, a report that China’s plans to use massive new hydropower development to boost its power capacity by nearly half by 2015 will not dent coal demand enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions and could further damage the country’s strained river system: “…China wants to raise installed power capacity by 490 gigawatts (GW) to […]
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