Wheat fields wilt in drought as parched earth spreads from China to Kansas – ‘I’ve never seen so many problems in so many places’

By Luzi Ann Javier, Madelene Pearson, and Whitney McFerron; William Bi in Beijing, Phoebe Sedgman in Wellington, Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in Singapore, and Tony Dreibus in London; Editors: James Poole, Steve Stroth 6 June 2011 The worst droughts in decades are wilting wheat fields from China to the U.S. to the U.K., overwhelming Russia’s return to […]

Plan for China’s water crisis spurs concern

By EDWARD WONG1 June 2011 DANJIANGKOU, China — North China is dying. A chronic drought is ravaging farmland. The Gobi Desert is inching south. The Yellow River, the so-called birthplace of Chinese civilization, is so polluted it can no longer supply drinking water. The rapid growth of megacities — 22 million people in Beijing and […]

China faces ‘very grave’ environmental situation, officials say

By IAN JOHNSON3 June 2011 BEIJING — China’s three decades of rapid economic growth have left it with a “very grave” environmental situation even as it tries to move away from a development-at-all-costs strategy, senior government officials said on Friday. In a blunt assessment of the problems facing the world’s most populous country, officials from […]

Maplecroft: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and USA rated ‘high risk’ for short-term energy security

June 2 (Maplecroft) – New research that evaluates worldwide energy security, has identified the G7 economies of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and USA as being at ‘high risk’ in the short-term, whilst China and countries from the oil producing MENA region are highlighted as facing increasing challenges in the future. Risk analysis and mapping […]

Continued drought threatens Three Gorges Dam’s power to maintain Yangtze water transportation

By Wang Qian (China Daily)28 May 2011 BEIJING – The Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project, might lose the battle against the worst drought to hit Central China in 50 years if no rains fall by mid-June. “If the drought continues and there is no rainfall before June 10, the dam will lose […]

China power crunch to worsen as drought slashes hydropower

By David Stanway, with additional reporting by Niu Shuping in Beijing and Ruby Lian in Shanghai; Editing by Ken Wills25 May 2011 BEIJING (Reuters) – The worst drought to hit central China in half a century has brought water levels in some of the country’s biggest hydropower producing regions to critical levels and could exacerbate […]

China faces worst drought in 50 years – ‘All the rice fields have dried up’

By Leslie Hook in Beijing, with additional reporting by Gwen Chen in Beijing 24 May 2011 Chinese authorities will step up the release of water from the Three Gorges Dam in a bid to tackle a drought in southern China which has put pressure on drinking water, crops, shipping lanes and electricity production in what […]

China ‘hit by power crunch’ amid drought, forced to ration electricity

May 18 (AFP) — Chinese factories are facing curbs on electricity use as coal prices soar and a severe drought hits hydropower plants, state media have said, with possible major shortages ahead this summer. The situation has highlighted the difficulties faced by China, the world’s largest energy consumer, as global fuel prices climb and the […]

Severe drought forces release of water from Three Gorges Dam

YICHANG, May 7 (Xinhua) – The Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project, is expected to increase its water discharges over three days in a bid to fight the severe drought that has ravaged Central China’s Hubei province and some southern provinces since February. The discharge speed of the dam will accelerate to 7,000 […]

Study warns of rising mercury level in Arctic species

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Global mercury emissions could grow by 25 percent by 2020 if no action is taken to control them, posing a threat to polar bears, whales and seals and the Arctic communities who hunt those animals for food, an authoritative international study says. The assessment by a scientific body set up by the […]

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