BLOG
The Thirsty Dragon: Drought, Dams, and Border Tensions
March 17th, 2010
Via Science (subscription required), a report that – as drought grips the Lancang-Mekong basin in Asia – tensions are growing over Chinese dams. As the article notes: “…The drought’s effects have spilled across China’s borders, stoking tensions with neighbors and prompting scientific debate. Rice yields in Thailand are expected to take a big hit, and […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: A Scramble For Water Amongst North & South and Farmers & Factories
March 16th, 2010
Courtesy of The Washington Post, an updated look at the status of China’s massive North-South water diversion scheme. As the article notes, the project is hampered by acrimony between competing industrial interests (i.e. industry vs. agricultural), as well as, concerns over costs and ecological impacts, leading to a scramble for water that is pitting downstream […]
Read more »The Mighty Mekong No Longer?
March 13th, 2010
A pair of articles examining the increased tensions between Thailand and China over Mekong River water. As the first report notes, the Thai government has been quick to blame Chinese dams on the upper stretches of the river, but that may not be fair. “…The Bangkok Post ran this story on 22 February: Ever since […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Hydropower Projects On Tibet’s Main Rivers
February 20th, 2010
Courtesy of The Tibetan Plateau, an updated report on hydropower projects on three of the major rivers that flow from Tibet: the Yangtze, the Salween and the Mekong. As the article notes: “…Tibetans proudly sing of their land as “the Land of Snows, the source of great rivers.” Indeed, Tibet is widely regarded as “Asia’s […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: An “Icy Water Tower” Melts
January 27th, 2010
While the source of this article (Conde Nast Traveler) is unusual for content that this blog normally features, the author – Dr. Orville Schell – is a long time China expert who has been increasingly focused on the gradual shrinking of the glacial, soaring, peaks of the Tibetan Plateau which act as the icy water […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Water Industrial Complex
January 24th, 2010
Courtesy of Tibetan Plateau, an interesting look at China’s “water industrial complex”, a term they use to describe the professional and ideological alliance of technocratic Communist Party elites with water-related bureaucracies and businesses that influence government policy. The article concludes that the Peoples Republic of China – which has built 22,000+ large dams since it […]
Read more »