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China’s Water Problems

July 7th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Water CarrierTied up today so let me send you over to The Green Leap Forward, in particular a recent article on China’s water situation.  Lots of other China water information at Crossroads  and All Roads.  Good and important stuff, especially since in the heat of Shanghai over the past week, I must have consumed 25 gallons of water–straight from the tap, of course.

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2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Crossroads // Jul 11, 2008 at 11:46 pm

    Charlie.

    Just found a fantastic article on water, and it is a prime example of just how far outta whack the policies are.

    According to the Shanghai Daily Water Usage to Hit Record High , officials in Shanghai are now looking at some difficult choices to preserve water.

    Officials said they may limit the water consumption of some sites if the increasing water usage threatens supply, especially when daily maximum temperatures rise above 35 degrees Celsius for more than 10 consecutive days,

    first target for cuts:

    “We will first target some entertainment sites which are not vital to people’s daily life, such as sauna houses

    Fair enough… huge waste of water there

    Areas that need to be protected:

    “We have to ensure the water supply in residential areas, hospitals, Olympic and Expo venues and foreigner-related hotels.”

    Not sure about you, but I am thinking that there really are more important things to save than the Expo venue right now…. of course, no need to protect the agriculture when you risk thirsty foreigners on Nanjing Road unable to quench their thirst

    Have a good weekend
    Rich

  • 2 cmcelwee // Jul 12, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    Rich: Thanks for the article. It is really distressing on a number of levels. There is no water shortage in Shanghai (unlike Beijing); there may be a shortage of “drinking” water, but that is caused simply by a failure to provide the necessary infrastructure to clean it up and get it to where it is needed. This is when I start to lose patience with the Olympics- and Expo-related preparations–when it starts to divert attention and resources from more fundamental concerns. As to the foreigners: let them drink beer.

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