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The Thirsty Dragon: Dam Building Plans For China
December 1st, 2011
Courtesy of Meltdown in Tibet, a survey of Chinese dam building plans: This map shows a projected dam at Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo river with capacity of 38,000MW, which would be more than double that of the Three Gorges Dam (shown on this map at 18,200MW). The map shows plans for dams in […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Tibetan Rivers At Risk And The New Great Walls (Of Concrete)
December 1st, 2011
Via Meltdown in Tibet, some interesting comments and charts on hydropower development on the Tibetan Plateau: “The world is facing a massive freshwater crisis, which has the potential to be every bit as devastating as climate change. We need business leaders and governments to recognise that climate change is not the only urgent environmental issue […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Damming the Mother of Asian Civilization
November 29th, 2011
Via OnEarth magazine, an article looking at the impact of dams on Tibetan watersheds: Ten million years ago, Asia and the Indian subcontinent collided giving rise to the world’s highest mountains with the largest plateau, Tibet. Only recently have scientists pieced together the workings of the complex planetary engine that drives climate, in which the […]
Read more »Hydro-Hegemony: The Power Politics of Water Struggles
November 29th, 2011
Via The New York Times, an article on an innovative way of analyzing international water tensions, departing from the idea that water struggles are characterized either by peaceful cooperation or armed conflict: Israelis destroying a water reservoir used by Palestinian farmers in the West Bank town of Hebron. Israeli officials said the operation was aimed […]
Read more »Africa’s Great ‘Water Grab’
November 24th, 2011
Via The Guardian, an interesting look at what they term Africa’s great ‘water grab’. As the article notes: The banks of the Niger river, in southern Mali, have been flooded by a steady stream of foreigners. Coveted by foreign investors eager to snap up large tracts of fertile farmland, the river basin has been at […]
Read more »Regional Tensions Limit Bhutan Climate Summit Aims
November 23rd, 2011
Via CBS News, a report on the recent Bhutan Climate Summit: Four Himalayan nations, faced with erratic weather and the threat of melting glaciers and catastrophic floods, are hashing out a plan for preserving the vast mountain range and helping millions living in the foothills cope with climate change. But as India, Nepal, Bangladesh and […]
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