People’s Daily Online - Beijing, China
The last generator of China’s Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River went online yesterday, meaning that the world’s largest hydropower plant has become fully operational.
Launched in 1993, the project’s original plan called for the 26 generators to produce 84.7 billion kWh of electricity annually after its completion.
This was later expanded to include six more turbines installed underground by 2012 to reach a capacity of 22,500 MW. …
UN General Assembly is reviewing a new international treaty to safeguard enormous pools of underground water shared by more than one country.
AlertNet | Paris, France — Underground aquifers contain 100 times the volume of fresh water found on the Earth’s surface but they have been neglected under international law despite their environmental, social, economic and strategic importance.
On Monday, that will change as the UN General Assembly receives the draft of a new international treaty to safeguard these enormous pools of underground water shared by more than one country. …
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Environmental Graffiti | Cole Hendricks
A new report prepared in advance of the largest ever conference on climate change, details the findings of a two year preliminary study regarding how people react migrationally to changing climates. The conference, sponsored by the UN, will be held in Bonn, Germany and will be attended by over 600 experts and representatives of almost 80 nations. One of the areas of concern to be discussed at the conference is environmental based migration and the problems to poses. …
Wed Oct 29, 2008 | By Emma Thomasson - Analysis
ZURICH (Reuters) - The world’s top sellers of bottled water are trying to stop western consumers turning back to the tap by addressing environmental issues and trumpeting health benefits, while expanding aggressively in emerging markets.
Nestle, the world’s biggest bottler of water with brands like Perrier and Poland Spring, said last week the economic slowdown and environmental concerns were hurting sales in western Europe and North America. …
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The Guardian | Wednesday October 29 2008 | Juliette Jowit
The world is heading for an “ecological credit crunch” far worse than the current financial crisis because humans are over-using the natural resources of the planet, an international study warns today.
The Living Planet report calculates that humans are using 30% more resources than the Earth can replenish each year, which is leading to deforestation, degraded soils, polluted air and water, and dramatic declines in numbers of fish and other species. As a result, we are running up an ecological debt of $4tr (£2.5tr) to $4.5tr every year. …