Monthly Archive for November, 2010

How We Lost Our Best Opportunity to Ensure Safer Dams

Published on 11/30/2010 in agriculture, dams, greenwashing, policy and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: dam building practices, Jacques Leslie, WCD(world commission on dams), world bank.

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“When Nelson Mandela heralded the release of the World Commission on Dams final report in a London speech on November 16, 2000, he congratulated its authors for delivering a socially and environmentally sensitive blueprint for dam-building and for providing a model of respectful negotiation among the many groups with a stake in dams. “You have shown us the way forward for dealing with such complex issues,” he said.

The accomplishment seemed outsized, for dams are magnets for conflict. How could they not be? Their reservoirs are the world’s largest manmade things, shifting so much weight that geophysicists believe they have slightly changed the velocity of the earth’s rotation, the tilt of its axis, and the shape of its gravitational field. On the one hand, they generate so much electricity and irrigated water for agriculture that economic development has seemed inconceivable without them. On the other, they have produced vast disarray, displacing or impoverishing hundreds of millions of people and inflicting permanent damage on most of the world’s 200-plus major river ecosystems.”

China Approves More Hydropower Amid Clean Energy Push

Published on 11/29/2010 in dams, hydropower and policy. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.oneinamillion.com

“The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Monday in reports on its website (www.ndrc.gov.cn) that it had approved the construction of the 2.6-gigwatt (GW) Changheba hydropower project in Sichuan province this month.

The commission said it had also approved the 2.4-GW Guan’di hydropower station and the 600-megawatt Tongzilin hydropower project, both in Sichuan, in September.

The approvals come after the NDRC agreed in late October for China Three Gorges Power Corp (CTGPC) to proceed with early-stage studies for the 8.7-GW Wudongde and 14-GW Baihetan hydropower projects. [ID:nTOE6AE05G]

Approvals for big hydropower projects had almost come to a halt in recent years amid complaints about the environmental impact and economic viability of large dams, as well as the treatment of migrants displaced during the impoundment of reservoirs.

But energy officials have raised an alarm this year that the nation’s carbon emission cuts and clean energy goals will be not be met unless more approvals were given for large hydropower projects.”

Lluvias Ponen En Emergencia a Venezuela y Colombia

Published on 11/27/2010 in climate change, drought, floods, hydropower, rivers, spanish and water technology. 1 Comment Tags: cambio climatico, generación hidroeléctrica, inundaciones.

Foto encontrado en: www.bbc.co.uk

“En Colombia, que había superado años antes los problemas con la electricidad con el uso de fuentes alternativas de energía, el llamado era a ahorrar agua.

En contraste, agua es lo que sobra este año en los dos países. El 54% del territorio colombiano está siendo afectado por las lluvias, con la zona norte del país, de cara al Mar Caribe, como la más golpeada.

En Venezuela, se reportan inundaciones en poblados del centro y occidente del país, principalmente.

Aunque hasta ahora las autoridades no han calificado la situación como de crítica, están en alerta, debido a la vulnerabilidad de ciertas áreas, en especial en las zonas de mayor pobreza, caracterizadas por construcciones precarias sin mayores consideraciones de estabilidad del terreno.

Saldo

En Colombia, hasta el momento se contabilizan 154 muertos, más de 150 mil hectáreas inundadas, más de 2.000 viviendas destruidas y casi 200.000 viviendas con algún tipo de afectación.”

Leér más: BBC Mundo

lily victoria

Cabinet To Receive Emergency Water Plan

Published on 11/27/2010 in climate change, desalination, drought, oceans, policy, tap water and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: Israel's water supply.

Photo retrieved from: www.jpost.com

“The plan is meant to cover the gap until all the desalination plants are up and running and the water supply begins to stabilize.

This could be Shani’s last appearance before the cabinet as he finishes up four years in the position in January. A search committee has been set up to find a replacement, although there remains a possibility that a temporary head from within the authority will serve for a few months until the committee finishes interviewing candidates and presenting their recommendations to the national infrastructures minister, sources told the Post.

Hasson formed the new lobby to ensure that water management policy was being developed for the long term. A respectable number of MKs from across the political spectrum put in an appearance and pledged to raise the water issue in the committees on which they sit such as Foreign Affairs and Defense and Economic Affairs Committees.

At the launch of the lobby, Shani described an increasing downward trend in precipitation over the years.

“When I was studying water resources at university in 1974, the commonly quoted number was 1.5 billion cubic meters of water from natural sources per year available to Israel. When I entered the Water Authority, I had that number checked and discovered it had not been accurate for a number of years. Lately, that number has shrunk to 1.17b. cubic meters per year.”

Investigative Report Exposes Fraudulent CDM Hydropower Project in China

Published on 11/26/2010 in contaminated water, dams, greenwashing, policy and rivers. 1 Comment Tags: carbon credits, dam-affected people, Kyoto Protocol.

Photo retrieved from: www.internationalrivers.org

“A field visit by Germany’s GEO Magazine finds that the Taijiang Yanzhai Hydropower Project located in Guizhou province, China, does not deserve to receive carbon credits through the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). GEO Magazine found that the project does not result in real greenhouse gas emission reductions and also violates the rights of the local population. Local dam-affected farmers assert that they were forcibly evicted from their homes.

The Project Design Document (PDD) for the project submitted to the CDM was marred by misleading and often patently false claims, according to GEO. For example, construction on the project began eight months earlier than reported in the PDD, and the importance of the income generated through the CDM to increase the financial viability of the project was grossly inflated.

The use of CDM credits from hydro projects within the European Union’s internal carbon trading scheme is regulated by the EU Linking Directive. They must comply with the criteria and guidelines of the World Commission on Dams (WCD), the most comprehensive framework for energy and water planning that protects dam-affected people and the environment, and ensures that the benefits from dams are more equitably distributed.

RWE, a German power company and one of the biggest CO2 emitters in Europe, is hoping to buy the credits from the Taijiang Yanzhai project to avoid having to reduce emissions from its coal plants. RWE paid for certification company TÜV SÜD to assess the WCD compliance of the Taijiang Yanzhai dam. TÜV SÜD found that the dam is WCD compliant.”

Front-Line City in Virginia Tackles Rise in Sea

Published on 11/26/2010 in climate change, floods, oceans, rivers and sink holes. 0 Comments Tags: Lafayette river, marshes, sea level rise.

Photo retrieved from: www.nytimes.com

“As sea levels rise, tidal flooding is increasingly disrupting life here and all along the East Coast, a development many climate scientists link to global warming.

But Norfolk is worse off. Situated just west of the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, it is bordered on three sides by water, including several rivers, like the Lafayette, that are actually long tidal streams that feed into the bay and eventually the ocean.

Like many other cities, Norfolk was built on filled-in marsh. Now that fill is settling and compacting. In addition, the city is in an area where significant natural sinking of land is occurring. The result is that Norfolk has experienced the highest relative increase in sea level on the East Coast — 14.5 inches since 1930, according to readings by the Sewells Point naval station here.

Climate change is a subject of friction in Virginia. The state’s attorney general, Ken T. Cuccinelli II, is trying to prove that a prominent climate scientist engaged in fraud when he was a researcher at the University of Virginia. But the residents of coastal neighborhoods here are less interested in the debate than in the real-time consequences of a rise in sea level.”

Cambio Climático: Las Dos Caras De La Moneda Para Los Mexicanos

Published on 11/26/2010 in climate change, contaminated water, desertification, drought, erosion, oceans, oil, spanish, water shortage and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: desertificación, incendios forestales, Pemex, turismo.

Foto encontrado en: www.wsj.com

“El aumento de la frecuencia y la intensidad de las tormentas extremas en México y otros países generan riesgo a las instalaciones turísticas, aumento de los costos deseguros, costos por la interrupción de negocios.

La reducción de las precipitaciones e incremento de la evaporación en algunas regiones genera escasez de agua, competencia por el agua entre el turismo y otros sectores, desertificación, aumento de incendios forestales que amenazan lainfraestructura y que afectan la demanda.

El aumento de la frecuencia de fuertes precipitaciones en algunas regiones crea el riesgo de inundaciones y daños en la arquitectura histórica y cultural, daños a la infraestructura turística y alteración de la estacionalidad.

La elevación en el nivel del mar genera erosión en costas, pérdida de área de playas; costos más elevados para proteger y mantener las fronteras marítimas.

El cambio en la biodiversidad terrestre y marina pone en riesgo los atractivos naturales y de especies; mayor riesgo de enfermedades en zonas tropicales.”

Leér más: CNN

lily victoria

Pennsylvania Gas Drillers Dumping Radioactive Waste in New York

Published on 11/25/2010 in contaminated water, fracking, mining and policy. 0 Comments Tags: Marcellus Shale mining, natural gas drilling, Pennsylvania, radioactive waste.

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“Trucks hauling rock cuttings from drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania regularly cross the New York State border these days to dump in the Chemung County Landfill seven miles east of Elmira.

The Marcellus formation is characterized by unusually high readings of naturally occurring radioactive material, or NORM, so most of the cuttings are probably radioactive. The Chemung Landfill, a former gravel pit, has never been licensed to handle low-level radioactive waste.

So how can the landfill’s private operators get clearance from the county and state environmental regulators to become a regional dump for radioactive drilling wastes?

The short answer: Provide the revenue-hungry county a rich payout, exploit a legal loophole, and presto, it’s a done deal.

The longer answer: Regulations haven’t kept pace with the recent widespread use of an invasive new drilling technology used to tap the Marcellus.

“There are many aspects of this new industrial activity that outpace existing regs. Radiological regulation is just one of them,” said Anthony Ingraffea, a Cornell University geology professor who has tracked the evolution of natural gas drilling for decades.”

Utility Offers To Buy Homes Amid Chemical Plume Concerns

Published on 11/23/2010 in contaminated water, greenwashing, groundwater and tap water. 0 Comments Tags: CA, chromium, Hinkley, PG&E.

Photo retrieved from: www.gawker.com

“The problem arose after a chemical known as chromium 6 seeped into the groundwater. Chromium 6 was used between 1952 and 1966 to prevent rust in machinery at a nearby PG&E plant.

The chemical has been proven to cause a number of life threatening illnesses, including cancer.

According to Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, the chemicals have continued to spread and traces of chromium 6 have been recently detected in a previously untainted aquifer.

“The remediation itself has been very effective, but an underground aquifer is something that is just difficult to centralize and keep in one area,” said Greg Pruett, a senior vice president for PG&E.

The utility maintains that the drinking water meets safety standards set by California, but acknowledges that it needs to give residents a sense of confidence that it takes their concerns seriously.

To that end, PG&E is giving some residents free bottles of water.

In addition, residents who live over or next to the chemical plume will be able to participate in PG&E’s home purchase program. Pruett hopes residents view it as a good faith offer.”

Egypt says “amazed” by Ethiopia’s Nile remarks

Published on 11/23/2010 in dams, policy, rivers and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: the nile.

Photo retrieved from: www.ancient-egypt-online.com

“Ethiopia has built five huge dams on the Nile in the last decade and has begun work on a $1.4 billion hydropower facility.

Under the original pact Egypt is entitled to 55.5 billion cubic meters of water a year, the lion’s share of the Nile’s total flow of around 84 billion cubic meters, despite the fact that some 85 percent of the water originates in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya signed a new deal to share the waters in May.

In the statement that was e-mailed to Reuters, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said it was “regrettable” that Ethiopia and other states had sought a new agreement.

“Egypt is firmly behind its legal and political positions on the issue of the Nile water,” Zaki said, adding that Egypt had pursued dialogue and cooperation on the use of the Nile’s water.

The five signatories of the new deal have given the other Nile Basin countries one year to join the pact before putting it into action. Sudan has backed Egypt while Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi have so far refused to sign.”