Issue 6, April 23rd to April 29th, 2009

OPINION

Managing water resources fairly (China Dialogue, 4/29/2009) Policy-makers suggest water trading as a means to manage scarce resources in southern China. Tang Hao examines the benefits and pitfalls of such a system.

Are we neglecting the food crisis? (Asia Sentinel, 4/29/2009) If the global food shortage crisis has made consumers in developed countries feel the sting of surging food prices, it can at the same time be a direct cause of malnutrition and starvation for people in poor countries.

Much ado about solar (The Green Leap Forward, 4/28/2009) 2009 may be shaping up to be the Year of Solar. No, really.

An uncertain future on the Plateau (China Dialogue, 4/28/2009) Glacial melt poses critical risks to biodiversity, people and livelihoods on the Tibetan Plateau. Katherine Morton explores the possibilities for an effective regional response.

Blacklist blacked out by Black Dragon River Province (China Environmental Law Blog, 4/27/2009) This one probably falls more into the “how not to hold a press conference” category, but it does have an environmental angle so will cover it here. (h/t and thanks to environmental attorney Sabrina Wang and, seperately, The Wu Way 無為 for bringing this story to my attention).

China’s green predicament: Glass half empty or half full? (The Green Leap Forward, 4/25/2009) When it comes to describing China’s energy and environmental situation, there is a need for journalists, critics and observers to keep the big picture in mind and appreciate the contradictory and schizophrenic nature of Chinese policy making. Environmental impact assessments have been skirted, but a renewable energy stimulus package is on the cards.

Fanning the flames (China Dialogue, 4/23/2009) The forest fires that recently flared up in Nepal raise important questions about the effects of climate change on the Tibetan Plateau. Navin Singh Khadka reports.

PUBLIC SECTOR/NGOs

Asia readies for swine flu after hard lessons from the past (AP, 4/29/2009) Before swine flu emptied restaurants and cinemas and made surgical masks a common sight in Mexico, similar scenes unfolded in Asia earlier this decade as it dealt with the back-to-back health emergencies of SARS and bird flu.

China low-carbon path hard but doable – study (Reuters, 4/29/2009) China must swiftly decouple its rapid economic growth from rising carbon dioxide emissions for global greenhouse gas levels to stay manageable, the authors of a new study said, urging sweeping support to help that transition.

87 down with food poisoning (The Straits Times, 4/29/2009) SOME 28 people are hospitalized in northwestern China after falling ill from suspected food poisoning.

China thanks Korea for help with yellow dust (The Chosun Ilbo, 4/28/2009) Weather experts in China have thanked the Korean government for helping minimize damage from the worst sandstorms in decades in the country's northwestern regions.

In Gabon, Activists Challenge Chinese Mine (Worldwatch Instititue, 4/28/2009) Three years ago, Gabon's future appeared set to change. In 2006, a Chinese-owned consortium, CMEC, agreed to provide $3.5 billion to develop the Belinga mine as well as associated roads, rail, seaport, and a hydroelectric dam. The support seemed like a blessing for impoverished Gabon, until media reports revealed that the country would receive only 10 percent of the mine's profits and that CMEC would receive a 25-year tax break.

E China’s Shandong says 22 children die of hand and mouth disease (Xinhua, 4/28/2009) Twenty-two children died from hand-foot-mouth disease as of Sunday in eastern China's Shandong Province, the provincial health administration announced Tuesday.

OSU and Peking University scientists lead study on danger of certain air pollution (The Oregonian, 4/28/2009) Scientists at Oregon State University and China's Peking University hope a new partnership will help understand the health impact and cancer-causing potential of certain air masses and where they come from.

Study says warming poses peril to Asia (New York Times, 4/27/2009) With diminished rice harvests, seawater seeping into aquifers and islands vanishing into rising oceans, Southeast Asia will be among the regions worst affected by global warming, according to a report scheduled for release on Monday by the Asian Development Bank.

Bamboo damage from quake may cut wild panda breeding (Xinhua, 4/25/2009) Damage to wild panda habitats in quake-stricken Sichuan Province will affect breeding by the endangered species although captive pandas' numbers are expected to increase this year, officials said yesterday.


China’s green leap forward? (Christian Science Monitor, 4/23/2009) Activists must tread softly to avoid antagonizing Beijing, but there’s much at stake in this rapidly developing country.

Sandstorms in Northern China (The Straits Times, 4/23/2009) Yellow clouds of dust and sand shrouded large parts of north and northwest China on Friday, the state weather bureau reported, snarling traffic and suffocating locals.

CORPORATIONS

Yantai to have more green hotels (ChinaCSR, 4/30/2009) Yantai in Shandong Province aims to increase the number of green tourist hotels and economy hotels to promote energy saving and emission reductions.

Profit from China’s drive for clean water (Money Week, 4/27/2009) China has many things in abundance. People. Land. Ambition. But when it comes to the world's most precious commodity, supplies are painfully short.

China to create 18 major coal bed methane bases by 2010 (Dow Jones, 4/29/2009) Dow Jones quoted the National Development and Reform Commission said China will introduce preferential policies to expedite extraction and utilization of coal bed methane, creating at least 18 major bases with more than 100 million cubic meters of annual output each by 2010.


Yangzhou building wind power equip base (JLM Pacific Epoch, 4/28/2009) Work has started on a two-square kilometer wind power equipment manufacturing base in the Hanjiang District of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province.

Going the distance (Wall Street Journal, 4/27/2009) China wants to use melting snow on the Tibetan Plateau to power neon lights more than a thousand miles away in Shanghai. And to make that vision a reality, it is dusting off a 40-year-old technology for moving electricity -- ultra-high-voltage power lines.

China Set to Overtake U.S. as Biggest Wind-Power Growth Market (Bloomberg, 4/27/2009) China is poised to become the biggest growth market for wind-power generating capacity this year as the recession and credit crisis crimp expansion in the U.S., the head of the Global Wind Energy Council said.

Genome projects launched for three extreme-environment animals (Eurekalert, 4/26/2009) BGI-Shenzhen, in association with several other research institutes, announced today the launch of three new genome projects that focus on animals living in extreme environments. The three selected genomes are those of two polar animals: the polar bear and emperor penguin, and one altiplano animal: the Tibetan antelope.

Zhang Yadong’s new “green” album (China Daily, 4/29/2009) Chinese music producer Zhang Yadong, best known for producing pop icon Faye Wong’s speculator albums, spoke with chinadaily.com.cn about his latest album Underflow, along with a future album themed on the environment.

China bulding $315-mln hydropower station in Pamirs (Xinhua, 4/29/2009) China is building a 315-million-U.S.-dollar hydropower station in the Pamirs to improve irrigation, power generation and flood control in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

China May Cut Iron Ore Imports by 21%, Group Says (Bloomberg, 4/29/2009) China, the world’s largest consumer of iron ore, may cut imports of the steelmaking ingredient by about 21 percent this year as demand from mills slumps, an industry group said.

Landslides kill 11 in Yunnan (Photo, Shanghai Daily, 4/28/2009) Rescue workers search for the missing yesterday in Zhaxi Township of Weixin County in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Two landslides struck Weixin on Sunday, killing 11 and leaving 15 missing, as of yesterday. One landslide was the result of unsafe quarry production, officials said, while the other was caused by continuous heavy rainfalls over three to four days.

China to start building spur line for Russian crude in May (Platts, 4/28/2009) China plans to start construction in May of a 960 km pipeline in the

country's northeast that will eventually link up with a Russian crude line,

Wang Dongjin, deputy general manager of the China National Petroleum Corp.

said Monday at a launching ceremony held in the Amur region, according to the

official website of China National Petroleum Corporation.

China energy recovery announces record backlog orders for 2009 (PRNewswire Asia, 4/28/2009) China Energy Recovery, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CGYV) (ISIN: US16943V2060; "CER"), a leader in the waste heat energy recovery sector of the industrial energy efficiency industry, today announced the company has record backlog orders of RMB223 million in contract value (approximately US$32.7 million based on the exchange rate as of the date of this press release). This represents an 86% increase compared to the backlog orders of RMB120 million (approximately US$17.6 million) at the same time in 2008. These orders are expected to be completed in the next 12 months with the majority to be completed by the end of 2009.

Zhejiang based Wanxiang group to produce new energy vehicles (People’s Daily, 4/27/2009) In the near future, electric cars will feature in the daily lives of Hangzhou residents. This type of vehicle need not be refueled, and is able to run for 200 kilometers after being fully recharged.

Israeli oranges faked in China (BBC, 4/26/2009) A twist has emerged in the story of Israeli citrus fruit reportedly sold in Iran in defiance of a ban on commercial dealings between the two enemy states.

Chemical plants dismantled after river pollution (China Daily, 4/24/2009) Workers dismantled a pharmaceutical factory Friday in Jiangsu Province, the last of 34 chemical plants near a river that was contaminated two months ago.

China agreed to be LNG from Exxon’s Papua New Guinea venture (Bloomberg, 4/24/2009) China, the world’s second-biggest energy user, has agreed to buy liquefied natural gas from Exxon Mobil Corp.’s $11 billion venture in Papua New Guinea, said two people with knowledge of the transaction.

OZ Minerals sells Indonesian mine to China Sci-Tech (Bloomberg, 4/24/2009) OZ Minerals Ltd., selling mines to China Minmetals Group for $1.2 billion to pay debt, agreed to sell its Martabe gold and silver project in Indonesia to China Sci-Tech Holdings Ltd. for $211 million.

GOVERNMENT

China energy efficiency improves in Q1: government (AFP, 4/30/2009) China cut average energy consumption by 2.9 percent on year in the first quarter, as a major stimulus package helped save energy while maintaining economic growth, the government said Wednesday.

China, Japan join hands to fight crisis (China Daily, 4/30/2009) Premier Wen Jiabao and his visiting Japanese counterpart Taro Aso yesterday pledged to join hands to deal with the global financial crisis. The two leaders also agreed that a Japan-China Plan for Comprehensive Cooperation in Environment and Energy Conservation will be launched.

China rejects reports as origin of swine flue (AFP, 4/30/2009) China on Wednesday rejected foreign media reports pointing to the country as the source of a deadly swine flu outbreak, saying they were baseless and aimed at tarnishing the nation's image.

China’s MEP takes national action to reduce carbon emissions (ChinaCSR, 4/30/2009) China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has announced it will take action to lower carbon emission from 11 Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Chongqing, and Tianjin.

Stimulus helps meet green goals (China Daily, 4/30/2009) The nation's stimulus package has benefited energy conservation and emission controls with energy used to generate growth dropping further in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

China allocates $3.4 bln on energy saving, ecological projects (Xinhua, 4/30/2009) China has allocated 23 billion yuan (3.37billion U.S. dollars) for energy saving, anti-pollution, ecological and environmental protection projects since the fourth quarter of last year, a senior official told Xinhua Wednesday.

China relaxes business regulations (LA Times, 4/29/2009) During hard economic times, American businesses often implore government to ease up on regulations to help them survive. In China, officials are more than happy to oblige.

China hopes for more oil co-op with Kuwait (Xinhua, 4/29/2009) China hoped to increase cooperation with Kuwait in the petroleum sector, Vice Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday in a meeting with Kuwait's oil minister.

Beijing to build, expand 13 water plants by 2014, official says (Xinhua, 4/29/2009) Beijing plans to build and expand 13 facilities by 2014 to process water from the Yangtze River, with combined capacity of about 1 billion cubic meters annually, an official with the city government said Wednesday.

Huntsman and other governors to visit China for climate talks (The Salt Lake Tribune, 4/29/2009) A delegation of about five governors be traveling to China early next month to meet with officials to discuss clean energy in the rapidly developing nation that has surpassed the United States as the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.

WHO Boss has SARS baggage (Forbes, 4/29/2009) Margaret Chan's leadership in the swine flu pandemic is questionable after the way she handled SARS.

Farmers angry over land deal (Shanghai Daily, 4/28/2009) Farmers in Shaanxi Province are complaining that a county government is allowing villas to be built on land which they had to give up.


China, India to seek $200 billion in Climate-Change aid (Bloomberg, 4/28/2009) China, India and South Africa, three of the developing world’s biggest greenhouse-gas producers, said industrialized nations should contribute at least $200 billion a year to help them fight global warming.

China to try 18 for landslide that killed 277 (AP, 4/27/2009) China said Monday it would prosecute 18 officials for corruption and negligence for their roles in a landslide of mud and mining waste that swept through a village last year and killed at least 277 people.

Local governments may ignore standards (China Daily, 4/27/2009) Environmental officials and researchers warn against further ecological degradation, because local governments may be ignoring environmental standards as they implement parts of the multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan.

China Falls Short on Olympic Cleanup (ScienceNOW Daily News, 4/27/2009) When most people think about the Olympic Games, they envision blazing torches, gold medals, and triumphant athletes. But a handful of scientists saw the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to find out what happens when a major industrial city suddenly cuts back on air pollution. The first analysis of this "experiment" concludes that China's efforts produced only a slight improvement in Beijing's air quality.

Hefei chooses environment over polluting businesses (China Daily, 4/27/2009) Four years ago, Hefei, the provincial capital of central China's Anhui province, was trying to lure as many businesses as possible to set up in the city. But as any visitor to Hefei this spring would notice, the government's agenda is now eco-friendly.

Liaoning seeking clean air (China Daily, 4/27/2009) Liaoning province, once notorious for poor air quality, has started clearing its skies. Liaoning is one of the old industrial bases in Northeast China and long relied mostly on manufacturing industries, which led to excessive energy consumption and severe environmental degradation.

China’s government to fund overseas oil acquisition (Bloomberg, 4/24/2009) China, which agreed last week to acquire a share in a Kazakh oil producer, will provide financing for overseas asset bids by domestic oil companies taking advantage of slumping energy prices, an industry official said.

Transplanted trees receive “intravenous drip” in NW China (People’s Daily, 4/24/2009) The survival rate of more than 16,000 transplanted trees has reached 98 percent in this capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province thanks to "intravenous drip" that give trees extra nutrition and protection, the local gardening authority said Friday.

China reveals it has 1054 tons of gold (Reuters, 4/24/2009) China revealed on Friday that it had quietly raised its gold reserves by three-quarters since 2003, increasing its holdings to 1,054 tons and confirming years of speculation it had been buying.