Issue 8, May 8th to May 14th, 2009

OPINION

Getting out of the shade (China Dialogue, 5/13/2009) The economic crisis has put pressure on China’s solar power industry. In the first section of a three-part article, Julian L. Wong argues that the government can take advantage of the situation to accelerate the use of domestic solar resources.

Creating an environmental miracle in China (Huffington Post, 5/13/2009) That observation sums up why I am here to help launch the Guangdong Environmental Partnership. I founded this non-government organization 18 years ago and never thought that one day we would partner with China to deal with energy efficiency, green house gas emissions and environmental health and safety.

Energy integration for China (China Dialogue, 5/11/2009) Energy security and climate-change challenges mean that China must make use of diverse power sources. The key is to integrate them early on, writes Ni Weidou.

PUBLIC SECTOR/NGOs

Highly destructive climate impacts loom for a small number of cities and countries (New York Times, 5/13/2009) Fiercer storm surges brought on by climate change will claim the most land in Latin America, uproot the most people in the Middle East and wreak the greatest economic destruction in East Asia, new research finds: “China, Vietnam and Korea will see surge zones increase dramatically. More land (about 14,407 square kilometers) will be inundated in Indonesia than anywhere else, followed by China and Vietnam.”

OANA calls for media role on environment issues (Xinhua, 5/13/2009) The Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) on Wednesday called on journalists to play a role on reporting environment issues. The calling was made by OANA at a workshop on the Role of Media in Preserving Environment held in Manado, capital of Indonesia's North Sulawesi province, where the World Ocean Conference (WOC) is going on.

Canadian consumers 2nd-worst in environmental impact survey, China scores near the top (CBC News, 5/13/2009) For the second year in a row, Canada has placed second-worst among 17 countries on an international ranking of consumer behaviours that have an impact on the environment. The top-scoring consumers of 2009 were found in the developing economies of India, Brazil and China. India placed first overall with a total score of 59.5, up from 58 last year.

International water forum focuses on sustainable water management in China (Water World, 5/13/2009) The 2nd International Water Forum, organized by Noppen Co Ltd covers two windows: Shanghai Urban Water Forum and Industrial Wastewater Forum held on 18-19 May in Shanghai and 1-2 June in Shenyang respectively.

US-funded environmental-friendly training program launched in S China’s Guangdong (Xinhua, 5/13/2009) A non-government sustainable development association from the United States Wednesday kicked off an environmental awareness improvement program in this capital city of Guangdong Province, an economic powerhouse in southern China.

Plight of the panda: Animals struggle after quake (CNN, 5/12/2009) As people across China's Sichuan province continue to rebuild their lives one year after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake leveled some towns and cities, the region's famed giant pandas are still struggling due to the devastation wreaked by the deadly temblor.

Cereal crop provides first evidence for prehistoric farming’s East-West spread (Xinhua, 5/9/2009) New evidence from the latest research by the University of Cambridge suggests that millet may have been the world's first Chinese takeaway some 7,000 years ago.

Mystery worms turn on northwest China Herdsmen (The Post Chronicle, 5/8/2009) An invasion of unidentified worms has forced 50 herdsmen and their families from their grassland homes, taking 20,000 head of livestock with them, in northwest China's Xinjiang region, state news agency Xinhua said Friday.

A map of China’s cancer villages (China Digital Times, 5/8/2009) Chinese reporter Deng Fei and Doubleaf have Google Mapped China’s cancer villages. A screenshot is below. See the Google Map here. The map also provides news report details on each of the listed villages.

Rare bird flies back from the dead (Xinhua, 5/9/2009) The future of a rare species of bird that was once thought to be extinct got a huge lift this month when a chick was born at a zoo in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Critical choices for China’s dialysis patients (Caijing, 5/8/2009) The infections at Shanxi Coal Central Hospital and the Taiyuan Public Transportation Co. Employee Hospital, both in the city of Taiyuan, prompted a central government investigation of local health care and improvements that lowered infection risks. But the changes also pushed costs beyond the means of some patients.

CORPORATIONS

CNOOC to tap BG for gas needs (China Daily, 5/14/2009) China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) yesterday said it had signed an agreement with British natural gas producer BG Group to buy gas from the latter's liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia.

China Bio-Energy Reports record first quarter 2009 financial results (PRNewswire, 5/13/2009) China Bio Energy Holdings Group (OTC Bulletin Board: CBEH), a leading manufacturer and distributor of biodiesel and distributor of petroleum-related products including gasoline, diesel, and heavy oil in China, today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2009.

China’s Shanxi province to consolidate aluminum industry: Antaike (Platts, 5/13/2009) China's Shanxi Province plans to consolidate its aluminum sector as part of its metallurgical industry stimulus plan, state-owned nonferrous metals information provider Beijing Antaike Development said Wednesday.

Chinese solar company plans U.S. manufacturing plant (Solve Climate, 5/13/2009) China-based solar producer Suntech Power announced plans this week to build a manufacturing facility in the United States to serve the growing U.S. market for large-scale utility projects and to take advantage of government incentives.

Sino-US joint venture build plant to “turn waste into energy” (People’s Daily, 5/12/2009) US firm Covanta recently announced that it will form a joint venture with Jiangsu Taineng and invest 30 million USD to build a plant to "turn waste into energy," providing electricity to the cities of Taixing and Yangzhong.

Waste firms seek out China (The Straits Times, 5/12/2009) As China spends tens of billions to clean up after years of environmentally destructive growth, companies big and small are scrabbling for contracts to restore polluted waterways and landfills. But while tougher environmental rules and increased incentives are driving investment, the carrots and rebates are not expected to last forever and companies that sign on to long-term projects are vulnerable to policy change.

China’s Fujian refinery starts trial runs at new 160,000 b/d CDU (Platts, 5/12/2009) China's Fujian Refining & Petrochemical has begun trial runs at its newly built 8 million mt/year (160,000 b/d) crude distillation unit in Quanzhou city, a company source said Tuesday.

Lavender gardener job has sweet smell of success (China Daily, 5/12/2009) A tourism destination in Zhaoqing city, Guangdong province, is looking to put itself on the map by emulating the recent success of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The large lavender garden in the Panlongxia ecology area of the city is offering two high-paying jobs to women from across the globe.

PIA to be enlisted at Shanghai Bourse: Kuwait, China sign refinery pact (Arab Times, 5/11/2009) Kuwait has signed an agreement with China to build an oil refinery and petrochemicals complex in Guangdong province in China, Kuwait’s state news agency said on Monday.

Roland Berger study predicts China’s goal of becoming leader in e-mobility as realistic (ATZ online, 5/13/2009) A study entitled "Powertrain 2020 - China's ambition to become market leader in e-vehicles" that has been conducted by the German strategy consultancy Roland Berger describes the actions being taken by the Chinese government and outlines scenarios for the future e-mobility markets.

Over 2 billion ton coalfield discovered in Hami, Xinjiang (People’s Daily, 5/13/2009) Exploration personnel from Geological Team 216 of the China National Nuclear Corporation recently made a major breakthrough in the Tiaohu area of the Santanghu Basin in Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County, Hami in eastern Xinjiang.

Coal tar spill pollutes SW China river (Xinhua, 5/10/2009) Environmental protection and firefighting staff in southwest China have begun cleaning a river polluted by a coal tar spill from a local chemical company.

Controversial chemical plant in SE China starts construction (Xinhua, 5/8/2009) Construction of a controversial chemical plant started Friday in Zhangzhou, in southeast China's Fujian Province, two years after work to build an identical plant was halted in another Fujian city nearly 100 km away.

Wind farm with largest single power generation unit ready for operation (People’s Daily, 5/8/2009) Construction of the Zhangbei Manjing wind farm project, which has a 200,000 kilowatt of total installed capacity, was recently completed and ready for operation. The project was financed and constructed by the China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation (CECIC). The wind farm will have the largest single power generation unit in China.

GOVERNMENT

China, Hong Kong confirm second swine flu cases (AFP, 5/14/2009) China and Hong Kong confirmed Wednesday their second separate cases of swine flu, both in passengers who flew in from North America, and stepped up the search for those who came into contact with them.

Urumqi hits environmental target (China Daily, 5/14/2009) The local government has taken a number of measures in recent years to promote energy conservation and emission reduction. The result of these steps is that Xinjiang achieved its environmental protection target for the first time last year, in accordance with targets laid down as part of the Eleventh Five-year Plan (2006-10).

Black carbon presents key opportunity for US-China cooperation on climate change, health (IGSD, 5/13/2009) Reducing black carbon emissions could be part of the solution to two major problems plaguing China, said experts participating in an event yesterday organized by the Woodrow Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum. The discussion focused on opportunities for the U.S. and China to work together on solving some of the health and environment issues that have been a result of the country’s rapid economic development.

Actions for disaster prevention and reduction by the Information Office of the State Council (China Daily, 5/12/2009) The Information Office of the State Council, or China's Cabinet, issued China's Actions for Disaster Prevention and Reduction yesterday. Following is the full text.

FDA alerts consumers to recall of water-based face paints (US Food and Drug Administration, 5/12/2009) The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to stop using certain cosmetic “Face Paint” items labeled as distributed by Oriental Trading Co., Omaha, Neb., due to adverse event reports of skin reactions in children. These items were distributed nationwide.

Pakistan, China to enhance cooperation in environment sector (The News International, 5/12/2009) Pakistan and China will enhance cooperation in the environment sector, particularly in clean development mechanism and establishing protected areas in the trans-boundary region covering the Khunjerab National Park (KNP) in Pakistan and the Taxkorgan Nature Reserve (TNR) in China.

Unapproved additives found in herbal tea (Shanghai Daily, 5/12/2009) Unapproved herbal additives have been found in a popular Cantonese-style herbal tea drink, an official with the country's Health Ministry confirmed yesterday.
Chemical substance abnormality relates with aftershocks (Xinhua, 5/11/2009) Abnormity of some chemical substances is related to aftershocks of the earthquake, said sources with the Ministry of Land and Resources on Monday.

China poised to go all out with clean tech (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/10/2009) China is at a crossroads. This nation of 1.3 billion people is faced with the daunting task of building on its 30 years of unprecedented economic development without further damage to its environment.

China outpaces US in cleaner coal-fired plants (New York Times, 5/10/2009) China’s frenetic construction of coal-fired power plants has raised worries around the world about the effect on climate change. China now uses more coal than the United States, Europe and Japan combined, making it the world’s largest emitter of gases that are warming the planet.

Beijing to raise water prices (Reuters, 5/10/2009) The Chinese capital of Beijing will raise water prices this year as it tries to conserve precious supplies, China News Service reported, citing a local official.

Officials detained over alleged nuclear plant land acquisition graft (People’s Daily, 5/9/2009) Two Chinese officials have been detained for falsifying compensation claims for land expropriated for a nuclear plant project, the procuratorate in the southern Hainan Province said Saturday.

Green Hops: New renewable energy targets, more carbon tax chatter, Singapore-Najing eco-city announced (The Green Leap Forward, 5/8/2009) China’s energy intensity was down 2.9% in the first quarter of this year, reports the National Bureau of Statistics. The decrease is based on a 6.1% growth in GDP measured against a 3.04% increase in energy consumption. So remember this–despite and increased movement towards “decoupling”, energy consumption still rises as long as GDP rises. Power consumption in the first quarter also dipped (by 4%), but the decrease in March (2%) was less than in January an Februrary (5.2%), suggesting that the economy may be starting to bottom out.

Government gives boost to TCM use (China Daily, 5/8/2009) Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a new prescription for health as medical institutions will now be required to bolster their TCM departments.

US Commerce chief plans clean energy trip to China (Reuters, 5/8/2009) U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on Friday he will travel to China this year to promote sales of U.S. clean energy goods as part of the Obama administration's effort to fight global warming.