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dam-l Forwarded mail... tgp ecologically sound???
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From owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org Mon Nov 17 02:04:56 1997
From: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 22:30:47 -0800 (PST)
Message-Id: <199711170630.WAA09401@igc3.igc.apc.org>
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>Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 10:49:01 PST
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>
> BEIJING, Nov 5 (AFP) - Chinese officials have defended the
>massive new Three Gorges dam from criticism that it would cause
>environmental damage.
> The official Xinhua news agency on Wednesday quoted officials
>who insisted the world's biggest hydro-electric development was "an
>ecological project."
> The blocking of the Yangtze valley is to be ceremonially started
>on Saturday and Lu Youmei, president of the China Three Gorges
>Project Development Corp. said the government has attached "great
>importance" to the ecological problems that could crop up during
>construction.
> In a meeting with a senior French official who was not
>identified, Lu said the project would control flooding, which has
>often plagued the area during the wet season, Xinhua reported.
> The dam, to be completed on 2009 at a cost of some 200 billion
>yuan (23 billion US), will generate 18,200 megawatts of electricity
>annually, thereby reducing the need to burn highly polluting coal --
>currently the source of 70 percent of China's energy.
> Energy produced by the Three Gorges plant will stand in for 50
>million tonnes of coal, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 100
>million tonnes, Xinhua said. It will also reduce production of dust,
>sewage and other waste, it added.
> Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by coal use is a
>cause of the greenhouse effect blamed for global warming.
> While the dam will produce relatively clean power, coal use is
>not expected to drop, as overall energy demand in China -- fuelled
>by rapid economic growth -- is growing quickly.
> The article also said 20 sewage disposal plants will also be
>built on the upper reaches of the Yangtze, addressing concerns that
>the reservoir would collect untreated sewage and cause a water
>pollution problem.
> The dam will create a 632 square kilometer (253 square mile)
>reservoir.
> The government has launched a "diversified biological protection
>program" which includes three animal reserves and 12 fish-egg
>hatching grounds. Rare fish and other aquatic species as well as
>alligators will be properly protected, Xinhua said.
> Overseas environmental groups have predicted the dam would wipe
>out rare river fish species by destroying fragile ecosystems.
> Workers at the site are due to block the Yangtze river's natural
>course on Saturday to allow construction of the main dam to begin.
> Xinhua also quoted Wang Jiazhu, a hydro-engineering expert and
>deputy manager of the China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development
>Corporation as saying the project design had been reliable.
> "We are now fully confident with the successful damming of the
>Yangtze, more than 60 percent of the excavation work for building
>the permanent shiplocks has been completed, and all technical
>difficulties concerning the building of cofferdams and the
>concrete-pouring are also tackled," he added.
> Nevertheless, according to another project official, whom Xinhua
>did not name, more knotty technical problems will possibly crop up
>as the project enters into the second stage construction following
>the damming.
> Meanwhile, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is to
>issue on Saturday a set of stamps featuring the damming of the
>Yangtze.
>-=-=-
>
>YICHANG, CHINA, 5-NOV-1997: A boatman watches the river traffic as
>the sun sets over the Yangtze River at Yichang 40km (25 miles) east
>of the Three Gorges Dam project November 5. While critics call the
>project a cultural and environmental disaster, the government
>promises the dam will control flooding and provide massive energy
>generation and commercial benefits to the region. [Photo by Robyn
>Beck, AFP]
>
>
>Organization: Copyright 1997 by Agence France-Presse
>Subject: China defends Three Gorges dam from environmental critics
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Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 23:34:09 -0800
From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully)
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Subject: China defends Three Gorges dam from environmental critics
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