Saturday, January 9, 2010

Water, water ... (Plus, pollution in the Yellow River)

Great posting at Green Leap Forward on water availability in China. (I know some of you guys are "wet side" in CEE!)

"A look at a new report by McKinsey that analyzes the economics of water solutions in developing countries. It finds that in China, 55 different solutions exist to close its imminent water availability gap that actually results in a net savings, rather than expenditure, of $21 billion by 2020."

And in other water-intersects-energy news:

"Chinese authorities are scrambling to protect the drinking water for tens of millions of people after a massive fuel leak into the Yellow River spilled into a reservoir yesterday [January 5]. A diesel pipeline from Lanzhou, in Gansu province, to Changsha, in Hunan province, was found leaking last Wednesday near the Chishui River, a tributary of the Weihe River, which flows into the Yellow River. The fuel reached the Sanmenxia reservoir on the Yellow River despite a huge effort to halt its spread."

Spill puts China water supplies at risk (The Australian)


Reporting on the original fuel spill last week here:

Large Oil Spill Reported in China (NYTimes)
China oil spill hits Yellow River (AFP)

Water pollution remains one of the most serious environmental challenges that China faces. As the AFP piece notes, "More than 30 years of unbridled economic growth have left most of China's lakes and rivers heavily polluted, while the nation's urban dwellers also face some of the world's worst air pollution. More than 200 million Chinese currently do not have access to safe drinking water, according to government data."


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