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The Thirsty Dragon: Beijing Water Shortage Worse Than The Middle East
August 29th, 2013
Via ChinaFile, a report on China’s water stress: Much of Beijing’s water comes from the Miyun reservoir, an hour-and-a-half drive north of the capital. Visibly drying up, the reservoir’s pale banks are exposed to the the sky; islands formerly submerged have sprouted trees. Beijing’s annual water consumption has reached 3.6 billion cubic meters, according to […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Majority of China’s Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plants Located In Water-Stressed Regions
August 29th, 2013
Via the World Resources Institute, a report on China’s coal fired power plant plans: To maintain its economic growth and provide for its massive population, China must reconcile two powerful, converging trends: energy demand and resource scarcity. One prime example of this tension is the country’s coal use and water supply. According to a new […]
Read more »A Grand Dam That Felled Morsi: The Ecological Roots Of Egypt’s Current Strife
August 29th, 2013
Via Down To Earth, an interesting look at the ecological/water roots of Egypt’s current strife: The bloodletting in Egypt, which was triggered by the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi on July 3, has foreshadowed its deeper ecological roots. Egypt cannot get past its present turmoil, at least in the long run, without spotlighting and comprehending […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Dam(n)ed Future
August 24th, 2013
Via China Water Risk, a report on China’s hydro power sector: Apparently it will be wetter in the North, thanks to a switch in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) from a warm to a cool phase (more on this in Food, Weather & Water Heading North). The bad news is that this switch will make […]
Read more »Geopolitical Risk Of Transboundary Rivers In Asia
August 24th, 2013
Courtesy of China Water Risk, an interesting review of transboundary rivers is Asia: The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, extends an impressive 2.5 million km2 constituting what is euphemistically known as the roof of the world. Â Often referred to as the Third Pole, the Plateau is home to the largest freshwater reserves outside the north and south poles. […]
Read more »Central Asia’s Valuable Hydropower Potential
August 24th, 2013
Via Forbes, a report on Central Asia’s hydropower potential and politics: Anyone who saw the recent social media backlash against Nestle knows that water access is becoming a global flash point. And that’s especially true in Central Asia, a region singled out by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence as having an “inadequate†ability to […]
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