Landslide Risk at Reservoir Cited in China
(A view from atop the Three Gorges Dam from July, 2010. The 600-foot-tall dam on the Yangtze River was completed in 2006. Photo by Cheng Min/Xinhua, via Associated Press)
A growing threat of landslides on ground surrounding the massive Three Gorges Dam reservoir could force the government to relocate 100, 000 more residents of the area, from which 46,000 were moved earlier, an expert with China’s land and resources ministry said this week.
The official, Liu Yuan, told China National Radio that rising water levels in the reservoir had made adjacent land increasingly unstable. Since the reservoir reached its high-water mark in 2010, landslides and other accidents have risen 70 percent.
“Due to the complexity and uncertainty of the problems, the pattern of geological disaster cannot be accurately predicted,” he said. “It’s difficult to know what’s going on.” (New York Times via Alvaro Leonardo)
1 month ago
Full-scale geothermal use planned for city buildings
Shanghai will use shallow geothermal energy to heat and cool buildings covering a total of 4 million square meters by 2015 across the city. By using the geothermal energy in every square kilometer, the city can save 28,000 tons of coal, cutting the emission of 245,000 tons carbon dioxide and 2,000 tons of sulfur dioxide every year. (Shanghai Daily) (Thanks for the tip Alvaro!)
1 month ago
114 war-time bombs found in Suzhou Creek
Over one hundred unexploded war-time bombs, and possibly treasure, have been discovered in Suzhou Creek during the final phase of the 14 billion RMB clean-up project, which began in 1998.
1.3 million cubic metres of what we believe is known as ‘goo and icky stuff’ have been dredged since last January, with firefighters remaining on permanent stand-by in the event of any bombs being found. Yuan Yunfeng, a senior engineer with the company conducting the dredging, reassuringly said, “We knew that we would find that type of thing,” then, somewhat less reassuringly, “But never thought that there would be so many bombs.” (Shanghaiist via Alvaro Leonardo from POLIFACTORY)
2 months ago
Shanghai to spend $1.6b to curb air pollution
Shanghai will spend 10.3 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) on air pollution reduction over the next three years, local environmental protection authorities said Wednesday. The amount represents a 40% increase over the amount spent over the last three years combined, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection said in a statement. (China Daily)
3 months ago
Shanghai offshore wind farm claims world first
(Huaneng Renewables will take 17 of the SL6000 model. Photograph: Sinove)
Sinovel, China’s largest wind turbine maker, will put a set of 6-megawatt (mw) wind turbines into operation off the coast of Shanghai in what is claimed to be the world’s first large-scale commercial application of such powerful offshore wind turbines.
Sinovel will supply Huaneng Renewables, a leading Chinese wind farm developer, with17 units of 6-mw offshore wind turbines in the first stage of a pilot offshore wind farm in the Lingang sea area of Shanghai, Sinovel said on Thursday. (People’s Daily Online)
4 months ago
Shanghai to begin PM2.5 pollution monitoring
Shanghai will finally install PM2.5 air-quality monitoring equipment after more than two months since it pledged to do so.
With the system’s launch, the city will join a league of regions spanning Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Yangtze River Delta, Zhujiang River Delta and elsewhere preparing to employ the PM2.5 monitor this year. Next year, the standard will encompass 113 new cities and by 2016, all of China will be covered. (Shanghaiist)
4 months ago
12 months ago
From sham to reality
China’s existing “low-carbon cities” are mostly fakes, energy researcher Jiang Kejun tells Liu Jianqiang. For the sake of future economic strength, the government must give meaning to this slogan. (chinadialogue via Shanghaiist)
1 year ago
China hopes 'eco-city' will prove a model alternative
At a construction site in northern China, a billboard boasts of a “liveable city” where residents can drink tap water, travel on clean energy public transport and enjoy acres of parkland. For now, the ambitious “eco-city” covering 30 square kilometres (11.6 square miles) of non-arable salt pans and former fishing villages has more cranes than wind turbines and will not be finished for at least another decade. But its developers hope the settlement near the port city of Tianjin will serve as an ultra-efficient alternative to ill-planned and heavily polluting mega-cities not only elsewhere in the country, but around the world. (The Independent via Shanghaiist)
Is this Dongtan 2.0? Hopefully it is more successful that the attempt in Chongming Island.
1 year ago
