BLOG
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: 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 »The Nubian Aquifer: A Rare Isotope Helps Track an Ancient Water Source
November 23rd, 2011
Via The New York Times, an interesting article on the challenges of measuring and managing the Nubian Aquifer, shared by Egypt, Libya, Chad and Sudan. As the report notes: The Nubian Aquifer, the font of fabled oases in Egypt and Libya, stretches languidly across 770,000 square miles of northern Africa, a pointillist collection of underground […]
Read more »How Melting Glaciers And ‘Mountain Tsunamis’ Threaten Himalayan Kingdom Of Bhutan
November 19th, 2011
Via WorldCrunch and LeMonde, a look at the dual water threats facing Bhutan: glacial floods and the possibility of reduced river flow in the years ahead: On the Druk Path Trek between Timphu and Paro in Bhutan The Kingdom of Bhutan, tucked between India and China in the foothills of the Himalaya mountain range, is […]
Read more »