Tag Archive for 'displacement of people'

Can Coca-Cola Keep Growing?

Published on 02/09/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, bottled water, contaminated water, displacement of people, glaciers, greenwashing, groundwater, management, privatization and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Wikipedia

“Coca-Cola is a $156 billion nonalcoholic-beverage kingpin that sold more than $46 billion worth of drinks around the world in 2011. As if it needs underscoring, that’shuge. So when it comes to the future for Coca-Cola, is growth still possible?

“If you tuned into Coke’s fourth-quarter earnings release yesterday, you know that there was still growth to be had in the past year, at least. Comparable earnings per share — which adjusts the tally mainly for oddball adjustments from its bottler acquisition — increased 10% for the year to $3.84.

“There’s been no recession for Coke. In the chart below, you can see that earnings did dip in 2008, but when we consider the total earnings growth over the past five years, it’s clear that the Coca-Cola juggernaut is one that’s not easily knocked off course. 

anImageSource: S&P Capital IQ. 2010 earnings adjusted for gains from bottler acquisition. 

“If we break that total growth down to an average annual figure, we can say that Coke is still growing earnings at a clip of better than 11% per year. To deliver that kind of growth on a relatively consistent basis is no small matter no matter who you are, but it’s even more impressive when you’re a company the size of Coke.

“The company hasn’t been shy about deploying some of its ample cash flow to grow through acquisitions. Of note, in 2007 the company ponied up $4.2 billion to buy Vitaminwater maker Glaceau. More recently, the company took over the North American operations of bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises.”
Read more: Daily Finance
sammykayed

Riots over forced migration at Chinese dam project leave 50 hurt

Published on 03/30/2011 in dams, displacement of people, hydropower and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Photo retrieved from: treehugger.com

“Thousands of people clashed with police in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province over compensation for being forced to resettle for a dam project, a human rights watchdog and the government confirmed Wednesday.

“The Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said thousands of people blocked major traffic routes in Suijiang County from Friday until Tuesday when 1,500 paramilitary police, led by an armored vehicle, forcibly dispersed the crowd, leaving 30 protesters and 20 police injured.

“The Hong Kong-based center said an ambulance was wrecked after paramedics in it took care of injured police and ignored protesters.

“About 100,000 people in the region are to be moved to make way for the construction of a dam and power plant on the Jinsha River, but disputes over payment for grave removal and resettlement remain unresolved.

“The center said the government offered people 1,000 yuan ($152) for grave removal that cost more than 5,000 yuan and that the people are dissatisfied with the quality of resettlement houses that are located in an earthquake zone.”

Read more: iStockAnalyst

jenna cavelle

New Chinese Dam Project Fuels Ethnic Conflict in Sudan

Published on 01/21/2011 in dams, privatization, rivers and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.googlegroups.com

“The Sudanese government has contracted Sinohydro to build the Kajbar Dam on the third cataract of the Nile. The project would flood lands of ancient Nubia and displace an estimated 10,000 people. With support from International Rivers, the affected communities are calling on the Chinese company to withdraw from the contract. They warn that if built, the dam could unleash a second Darfur conflict.

Proposed to be built near Kajbar village in Northern Sudan, the new dam would generate electricity at a capacity of 360 megawatts. It would also create a reservoir of 110 square kilometers, submerge some 90 villages, and destroy an estimated 500 archeological sites. Much of Nubia’s territory had already been lost to the reservoir of the Aswan Dam. Yet another project, the Dal Dam, has been proposed to be built on the Nile’s second cataract. The construction of the Kajbar and Dal dams would bring the Nubian culture, which dates back over more than 5,000 years, closer to extinction.

The affected people are strongly opposed to the construction of the Kajbar and Dal dams. A statement of the committee of affected villages declares: “We will never allow any force on the earth to destroy our heritage and nation. Nubians will not sacrifice for the second time to repeat the tragedy of the Aswan Dam.”

The government never officially informed or consulted the affected people about the project. In April and June 2007, security forces brutally cracked down on peaceful protests against the planned project, killing four and wounding more than 20 people. The UN Special Rapporteur on Sudan deplored the “excessive force” and “arbitrary arrests and prosecutions to stifle community protest against the Kajbar dam” in a report in 2008.”

Read more: International Rivers

lily victoria

Potentially Saltier Than The Dead Sea, Iran’s Lake Orumiyeh Is In Trouble

Published on 12/13/2010 in agriculture, contaminated water, drought and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Another salt lake set to dry up as a result of drought and water diversion projects. Photo retrieved from: www.greenprophet.com

“Like the Dead Sea, Lake Orumiyeh has shrunk to half its former glory. And the creatures that used to call it home have sought solace elsewhere, as the lake becomes increasingly saline. Located in the northwest province of West Azerbaijan providence, Lake Orumiyeh is part of the world’s largest saltwater wetlands, according to the Financial Times, but both drought and irrigation projects risk drying it up altogether. If this happens, it will leave behind an enormous and dangerous reservoir of salt.

One resident of Ghoschi, a town located astride the lake, claims that flamingos used to call out six or seven times a day, but now they are no longer there. And the brine shrimp on which they fed have disappeared completely.

Nearly 70% of waterfowl species have disappeared while the former shore is now a “salt-strewn desert.”

Environmentalists claim that an extended drought accounts for nearly 70% of the lake’s loss, but the rest is attributed to irrigation projects that are used to cultivate 1.4 million hectares of agricultural land.

Residents worry that like the Aral Sea, the lake will dry up completely, leaving behind up to 10 billion tonnes of salt that could potentially cause storms that would travel as far as Tehran. Up to 13 million people could be displaced.”

Read more: Greenprophet

lily victoria