36 replies to this topic

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Update-
"China to flood nature reserve with latest Yangtze dam.
China's Three Gorges Corp. on Thursday marked the beginning of construction for a dam that will flood
the last free-flowing portion of the middle reaches of the Yangtze, the country's longest river.

The 30 billion yuan ($4.75 billion) Xiaonanhai dam is decried by environmentalists because it will flood a nature reserve designed to protect about 40 species of river fish.

Completion of the dam would turn the middle section of the Yangtze into a series of reservoirs,
leaving "no space for fish", said environmentalist Ma Jun, who has been active for over two years in trying to prevent the dam.

"This is the last one, the last section in 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) along the Yangtze that was left for endangered
or local fish species. This would be their last habitat," Ma told Reuters.

The Xiaonanhai dam would be the last in a series of 12 dams along the Yangtze, the rest of which are all completed or under construction.

The Three Gorges Dam is the world's biggest power project and was controversial well before it began construction in 1994.

Objections ranged from the destruction of rare species to the flooding of historic towns and displacement of millions
of people, to concerns that it would quickly silt up and lose its efficiency in generating power."

http://www.reuters.c...E82S0GG20120329

[aphil]

This report is another in the long list about the bad effects from dams. I have seen documentaries on various places and the hardships the people/populations suffer due to the dams and the lack of flow, etc. Then there is the underwater world that is suffering as well. Solutions are only real solutions when people and creatures don't suffer because of them.

[artistry]

This is one giant catastrophe, flooding all those areas, displacing so many people, who have to find new places to live. What happens to the older people?  This is so unfair to so many, even the fish will suffer. Awful situation.

[FamilyTreeClimber]

Several years ago, there was a documentary on the construction of the 3 Gorges Dam.  I recall how people were given little time to relocate from villages they had lived in all their lives and how archaeological sites were flooded before researchers could document their findings.  It was inevitable that there would be environmental issues once the dam was completed.

I'm curious as to how many people benefited from that lake.  What will happen to them if this lake continues eroding?  You mentioned fishermen not being able to work.  Is this also a water supply source?

I am hoping that with China moving into solar panel production that they will be thinking more in terms of conservation and environmental impact.  I have my doubts.  I'm not sure the Chinese government thinks that far into the future.  They may be more concerned with the financial gains by getting into solar panel production than anything else.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

As we have all seen, the Chinese government cares nothing for their people. This is just another example.

[artistry]

I understand that in the cities in China, the living standards are pretty good. But go outside the city a few miles away and the living standards and conditions, are abysmal and worse. They are already polluting the air so much, that the population has to wear face masks on a daily basis. What a way to treat your people. Basically inhumane.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

artistry, on 13 May 2012 - 01:56 PM, said:

I understand that in the cities in China, the living standards are pretty good. But go outside the city a few miles away and the living standards and conditions, are abysmal and worse. They are already polluting the air so much, that the population has to wear face masks on a daily basis. What a way to treat your people. Basically inhumane.

Not so much. Air pollution is China has been getting worse since the 70's.


"Air pollution in China is mostly attributed to the use of coal as its main source of energy.
Today, China’s skies are smog-filled, its rivers and coastal areas dark and murky and its citizens, particularly the children
are constantly at risk of dying from asthma and other respiratory diseases.
The beginnings of air pollution in China was during the turn of the 1970s decade.and the ensuing years
thereafter likewise saw the rapid economic success in China.
China is one of top energy users in the world. The country also belongs to the top contributors of global air pollution.
About 656,000 deaths are associated with air pollution, 400,000 of which are premature deaths while respiratory affliction reaches a figure of 20 million annually."
Source

More stats here.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"In March, as the Chinese city of Chongqing reeled from the ousting of its charismatic party secretary Bo Xilai,
the Three Gorges Corporation began preliminary construction work on the Xiaonanhai dam –
a project upriver of the city that Bo had strongly advocated in the face of environmental opposition,
and the last in a series of 12 new dams along the Yangtze river.

Green campaigners were dismayed.
Although some still hold out hope that the construction can be halted, many fear that the dam will ruin a crucial
reserve for rare and endangered fish species, including the Chinese paddlefish and the Yangtze sturgeon
– a "living fossil" that has survived since the time of the dinosaurs.

The construction work "basically means a death sentence for these endangered species", said Chang Cheng,
a campaigner for Friends of Nature (FON), China's oldest NGO."
Source

And how many people/towns will be relocated or lost entirely?

[dissn_it]

I think I may have seen the same documentary as FamilyTreeClimber! It really showed you just how little the Chineese government cared about anything else but making this dam a reality. I was really surprised that the historical artifacts of their culture didn't even matter.
I understand that they are wanting to get away from using coal but there are other ways to do it than this. They just seemed determined that this dam was the only way. I am not sure they even considered any other options.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

dissn_it, on 18 May 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

I think I may have seen the same documentary as FamilyTreeClimber! It really showed you just how little the Chineese government cared about anything else but making this dam a reality. I was really surprised that the historical artifacts of their culture didn't even matter.
I understand that they are wanting to get away from using coal but there are other ways to do it than this. They just seemed determined that this dam was the only way. I am not sure they even considered any other options.

Sad fact is that it's dams, and not just one big one but almost 20.

[artistry]

They are fastly becoming the largest economy in the world. But the health cost to the country, because of the poor air quality, causing  many of their citizens to be stricken with lung problems, asthma and other health problems, may be so high, that the differential will be lost in trying to pay for all the sickness, befalling the people in the communities.

[steph84]

This is sad for the people: "The government blames low rainfall levels, which are certainly a factor, but researcher
Ye Xuchun told the paper that the dam 500 kilometers upstream has dramatically reduced flow levels on the Yangtze River, which is linked to the lake." I really hope that there are independent researchers on this and not some government appointed team.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

History lost-

"Twelve hundred years
of low water marks on the river were recorded in the inscriptions and the carvings of carp at Baiheliang,
now submerged.
The Yangtze River is important to the cultural origins of southern China.
Human activity was found in the Three Gorges area as far back as 27 thousand years ago."
Source

Related

[saver]

It's what happens when a third world country = largest economy in the world.

So busy to get through that building stage that they don't or can't care about the environment.

If you look back at western cultures we pretty much ruined landscapes until...the early 20th century? I'm not sure.
But I can understand if not like why china is acting how it is.

[Isabellas2007]

I had read information about this recently. In fact it kind of had me worried about what is going to happen to the people who live in the impacted areas. I am sure the government will not care what happens to them, but at the same time even getting that many people relocated can be hard, not to mention having to retrain them to a new job and life style.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Isabellas2007, on 07 June 2012 - 05:56 PM, said:

I had read information about this recently. In fact it kind of had me worried about what is going to happen to the people who live in the impacted areas. I am sure the government will not care what happens to them, but at the same time even getting that many people relocated can be hard, not to mention having to retrain them to a new job and life style.

They were forced to leave, no help with relocation. And most were farmers, so retraining is not the issue. They
wouldn't work in the cities anyway.
(Similar to the gop's way of thinking-yoyo. You're on your own.)

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Another dam (damn) project; this one in Vietnam, has environmentalists up in arms. But according to this
article, it is moving forward; damn the consequences.
Reuters-Source