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The Thirsty Dragon: Water Wars – China’s New ‘Political Weapon’?
April 16th, 2011
Courtesy of The San Francisco Chronicle, an interesting article looking at how China’s vast thirst for power and water and its control over the sources of the rivers is giving it significant potential leverage it can use to keep any riparian neighbors on good behavior. As the article notes: “…The wall of water raced through […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Fossil Fuel Wealth, Water, and Poverty in Xinjiang
April 15th, 2011
Via Circle of Blue, a brief look at the tension between China’s desire to promote growth in its Xinjiang region and the lack of water there. As the article notes, Xinjiang has few local water sources, and even those are complicated by international politics. The Irtysh River and the Ili River originate in Xinjiang, before […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China Plans To Build Seven Dams in Laos
April 15th, 2011
Via The Vientiane Times, a report that a Chinese company plans to build seven hydropower plants along the Nam Ou River, one of the largest tributaries of the Mekong. As the article notes: “…Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Thongmy Phomvixay and Sinohydro Ltd Deputy Managing Director Sen De Cai signed a master plan for […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Need to De-couple Growth From Resource Consumption
April 14th, 2011
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, an interesting interview with Ma Jun – director of the Institute for Public and Environmental Affairs, and author of “China’s Water Crisis,†a comprehensive look into the water scarcity and pollution problems confronting China’s rapid economic development – discussing how China is still on the track of a highly energy- […]
Read more »Thirsty Dragon: New Dams in Southwest China Produces Power and Public Ire
March 24th, 2011
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, a detailed look at the political, civil, and environmental impact of a surge of new dams in southwest China: Jiangbian, China – November 30, 2010: A dam under construction begins to redirect the flow of the Jiulong River into underground tunnels for power generation. Even in China, where power plants, […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Water A Winner In 12th 5-Year Plan?
March 17th, 2011
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, a detailed look at China’s new five-year plan which calls for reducing water use by 30 percent for every new dollar of industrial output, which is the same water target as was in the 11th Five-Year Plan: “…In an era of economic turmoil that has produced massive unemployment, accelerated industrial […]
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