Issue 19, July 31st – August 6th, 2009

OPINION

A deadly silence hangs over China’s wetlands (Shanghai Daily, 8/6/2009) In "Silent Spring," the book that helped launch the environmental movement in the United States four decades ago, author Rachel Carson evokes a spring season in which birds had been killed by pesticide abuse and their songs could no longer be heard. Now, the silent spring is not far away in many places in China, and birds are vanishing, not because of pesticides, but because their habitats are shrinking.

The Western consumption problem: We can’t just blame China (Solve Climate, 8/4/2009) There are lots of ways to reduce carbon emissions. Invest in renewable energy sources. Transition to sustainable agro-ecology. Rework visions of regional planning. Surround cities with greenbelts. Launch an Apollo Project for national mass-transport infrastructure. Or just claim they’re China’s fault.

Who’s on First? (China Environmental Law Blog, 8/4/2009) There have been two “firsts” recently reported in the China environmental litigation arena. It is easy to get the two cases confused because the plaintiff in both is the All-China Environmental Federation (ACEF).

Decline in energy intensity won’t extend (Caijing, 8/4/2009) The 3.35 percent year-on-year drop in first-half energy intensity, the biggest decline since 2006, is unlikely to continue in the second half as heavy industry rebounds, a senior researcher said.

Polluting power: China’s top 10 power companies (China Environmental Law Blog, 8/3/2009) I have not been slow to criticize Greenpeace when I believe it has pursued soft targets or otherwise pulled its punches in China, so when it tackles an important and sensitive domestic issue and delivers a clear and needed message to the Chinese government, I am happy to offer it praise.

Activists cheer China’s plan to move refinery (Reuters, 7/31/2009) China's decision to shift the location of a planned $5 billion oil refinery and petrochemical plant in the south after years of public outcry is a sign that environmental concerns can shape policy.

PUBLIC SECTOR/NGOs

Activists cheer China’s plan to move refinery (Reuters, 7/31/2009) China's decision to shift the location of a planned $5 billion oil refinery and petrochemical plant in the south after years of public outcry is a sign that environmental concerns can shape policy.

Placenta trade thrives (The Straits Times, 8/5/2009) Hospitals in China are engaging in a thriving trade in fresh human placentas, seen as a source of nutrition, despite a government ban, state media reported on Wednesday.

Blast from the past: Plague strikes China (ABC News, 8/5/2009) Over the weekend, news emerged that a variant of the same bacteria that caused the infamous" Black Death" or bubonic plague, in medieval Europe had claimed three lives in the Chinese province of Qinghai, prompting the government to quarantine the town of Ziketan, home to 10,000 people.

Green housing to improve energy efficiency on Mount Qomolangma (Xinhua, 8/5/2009) Cattle dung has traditionally been a major source of household energy for 55-year-old Yuzhen and her neighbors in the Ralong village, Dingri County, at the foot of Mount Qomolangma.

Seventeen die in China building collapse (The Age, 8/4/2009) At least 17 people were killed when a building collapsed amid torrential rain in north China's Shijiazhuang city, state media reports.

Protests help clear the air (China Daily, 8/4/2009) For more than two decades, Guo, 74, and his neighbors have fought to rid their once beautiful Xixin village of the pollution caused by the belching chemical plants nearby.

3 dead, 3 missing in central, SW China floods (Xinhua, 8/4/2009) Three people were killed and three others went missing as torrential rains hit central and southwest China, local government officials said Tuesday.

CORPORATIONS

21 still in hospital after ammonia leak makes 246 ill in north China (Xinhua, 8/6/2009) Twenty-one of the 246 people who fell ill after an ammonia gas leak Wednesday in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region remained in hospital Thursday, a local work safety official said.

The future of crop protection in China (Bharatbook.com, 8/6/2009) Bharatbook.com Pleased to announce a new report on "The Future of Crop Protection in China" gives current situation of crop protection technologies in China.

Shanghai lands world’s largest carbon capture project (ChinaCSR, 8/6/2009) Huaneng Shidongkou No. 2 Power Plant Carbon Capture project, which is reported by Chinese media to be the largest of its kind in the world, will come to Shanghai.

City of Foshan, China selects ESRI’s GIS solution to improve urban planning (Directions Magazine, 8/6/2009) ESRI Canada, in conjunction with ESRI China (Beijing) and Guangzhou Digital Cities Institute (DCI), today announced that the City of Foshan will implement ESRI’s geographic information system (GIS) solution to establish a standard GIS platform across the city and improve urban planning. ESRI Canada will provide consulting services for the project, with DCI and ESRI China providing software sales and service support.
New report just published: The Environmental Market in China (ReportLinker PRWire, 8/5/2009) Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report related to the Environmental services industry is available in its catalogue.

Waste Management and Shanghai Chengtou holding partner in China’s fast growing waste-to-energy market (PRNewsire, 8/5/2009) Waste Management (NYSE: WM) and Shanghai Chengtou Holding (SC Holding; Shanghai Stock Exchange, stock code: 600649) today announced the signing of an agreement for WM to purchase 40 percent of Shanghai Environment Group (SEG), a leading provider of environmental services in China, from SC Holding.

Hundreds sickened by China chemical plant: state media (AFP, 8/4/2009) More than 500 people have been sickened by pollution from a chemical plant in central China that has also been blamed for two deaths, state media reported Monday.

China refiners boost diesel output on fishing season (Bloomberg, 8/4/2009) China Petrochemical Corp. and China National Petroleum Corp., the nation’s biggest refiners, will increase oil processing volumes at their plants this month from July levels to meet seasonal diesel demand from fishermen.

New report just published China Environment Statistical Yearbook, 2007 (Reportlinker PRWire, 8/2/2009) Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report related to the Environmental services industry is available in its catalogue.

GOVERNMENT

Beijing to capture subway wind to generate electricity (CCTV.com, 8/7/2009) If you have traveled by the subway, you'll already know about the wind whistling past when trains pull into stations. Now, there is a group of people in Beijing who are testing to see if they can capture this wind to generate electricity. Wind that is normally ignored may be transformed into electric power to meet subway stations’ demand for electricity. Though the idea seems far-fetched, it shows that there is much energy that has not been harnessed.

News analysis: US, China cooperation crucial to slowing climate change (Xinhua, 8/6/2009) China and the United States must now cooperate like never before to slow the pace of climate change, experts say.

China leads global green jobs race (Reuters India, 8/6/2009) China is winning a global race to create "green collar" jobs, six months after countries worldwide launched $500 billion spending plans to drive a low-carbon economy

China-made probe to explore Mars (Shanghai Daily, 8/6/2009) The China-made "YH-1" Mars rover will be launched in October - the country's first attempt to explore the red planet - as part of a joint mission with Russia.

Warning of worst Yangtze River flooding in years (Xinhua, 8/5/2009) The Chinese government on Wednesday issued an alert and urged stepped-up effort to fight against the expected worst flooding in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River since August 2004.

Tower removed to eliminate radiation (China Daily, 8/5/2009) A signal tower emitting radiation next to a kindergarten has been dismantled after complaints from local residents in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, sources from the kindergarten said yesterday.

Best custodian of environment is people themselves (China Daily, 8/5/2009) China's mammoth population is both the country biggest environment challenge and its strength, since people themselves are the best custodian of environments, a senior UN official said Thursday.

China says its efforts to cut greenhouse emissions effective (Xinhua, 8/5/2009) China on Wednesday said its efforts to cut greenhouse emission were the best in the world, vowing continued work.

China, US offer no quick boost to solar slump (Reuters, 8/4/2009) Investors are banking on fresh government incentives in the United States and China to help pull the solar sector out of its slump, but it will be next year before demand from those markets even begins to make a dent in the global glut of solar panels.

China struggles to satisfy thirst for water (Jane’s Security News, 8/3/2009) China is facing increasing shortfalls in the water resources it needs to sustain economic growth. Despite infrastructure projects to address the problem, the consequences of the shortages are already being felt internationally.

China builds wind energy observation network (Xinhua, 8/3/2009) China has established a national network to observe wind power, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said Monday.

MEP tightens up on environmental labels for vehicles (ChinaCSR, 8/3/2009) China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has issued two circulars which require environmental labels be adopted for all vehicles.

India, China to cooperate over Himalayan glaciers: Jairam (Press Trust of India, 8/3/2009) India and China are in talks to monitor the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas, a border region crucial to both countries' water supplies, India Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh has said.

China energy efficiency ‘improves in first half’ (AFP, 8/2/2009) China cut its average energy consumption by 3.53 percent in the first half of 2009 from a year ago, helped by massive stimulus spending on green projects, the government said Sunday.

Energy saving starts with a light bulb (Xinhua, 8/1/2009) Five 1-yuan (0.14 U.S. dollars) light bulbs for everyone....On Saturday morning, Beijing residents in many communities queued up to buy the energy-efficient bulbs, which have a normal retail price of 10 yuan.

Oil plant relocation decision halted (Shanghai Daily, 8/1/2009) China’s decision to shift the location of a planned US$5 billion oil refinery and petrochemical plant in the south after years of public outcry is a sign that environmental concerns can shape policy.

PNNL proposed for U.S.-China energy research center (Tri-city Herald, 7/31/2009) The Washington congressional delegation is urging Energy Secretary Steven Chu to consider Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland for a new U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center.