Chinese state media say work crews in Tibet are turning the Lhasa River into a series of artificial lakes. The Chinese government’s Lhasa River Project aims to build six dams along a 20-kilometer long stretch of the river. Media reports say the man-made lakes are designed to help the travel industry, improve water quality, and prevent sandstorms. The project is aimed at creating what Chinese officials are calling a “green environment.” But some critics disagree. Fan Xiao is a Chinese geologist with the Sichuan Geological Society. He told VOA’s Tibetan Service that “dams can slow down the river flow and damage the water quality.” He calls the dams “problematic,” explaining that they will lead to sedimentation, which damages water quality. He also said the water environment capacity, the amount of water kept in each lake, will decrease and be more easily polluted. He added that “flowing w ater is much better than still water.” Agricultural Impact Also known as Kyichu, the Lhasa River provides irrigation and drinking water for Tibetan farmers in nine counties. Work on two major hydropower dams has already affected many farmers. The dams are being built northeast of the city of Lhasa, in Lhundup and Maldro Gungkar counties. The two have an estimated cost of over $1 billion, according to the China Tibet News service. Earthquake risk Geologist Fan Xiao also says Chinese officials are ignoring the serious risk of the Lhasa River Project causing earthquakes. Some leading engineers and geologists have linked the 7.9-magnitude Sichuan quake of 2008 with work on China’s huge Three Gorges Dam. According to the China Daily, the Lhasa River Project’s first working dam – named “Dam No. 3” -- has already widened the river more than 300 meters. It has also created a water storage capacity of 1.5 million cubic meters. If all six dams are of about the same size, they could hold about 9 million cubic meters of water in Lhasa Valley when finished. Environmentalists are concerned about how the remaining construction work will impact Salmon migration. A China Daily article quoted someone described as Dam No.3’s project manager. It said the official promised that the project would not harm the movement of fish. “The dam gate will open for the fish to propagate in due time; therefore, it won’t pose a threat to the ecology of river downstream,” the project manager said. I’m Anne Ball. Yeshi Dorje reported on this story for VOANews.com. Marsha James adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. What do you think of the Chinese damming the Lhasa River? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section below and on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story artificial - adj. not natural or real sedimentation - n. the natural process in which stone is carried to the bottom of a body of water and forms a solid layer capacity - n. the largest amount that can be held or contained migrate - v. to move from one area to another at different times of the year quote - v. to repeat something said or written by another person propagate - v. to produce
from Voice of America http://ift.tt/1KBFJeV
via IFTTT
الاشتراك في:
تعليقات الرسالة (Atom)
المشاركات الشائعة
-
As President of the United States, Donald Trump shakes a lot of hands. But look out. If you shake Trump’s hand, you might get pulled off y...
-
Even in the world of medicine, what is old is new again. Thousands of years ago, Egyptians used it to sterilize drinking water. Ancient Roma...
-
00:00:02 OPRAH WINFREY: "Hattie Mae, this child is gifted," and I heard that enough that I started to believe it. 00:00:08 ...
-
Zimbabwe wants small business to be able to get credit to start or grow a business. If the country’s Parliament approves a bill proposed l...
-
Olayemi Samson is a Nigerian entrepreneur. He is turning plastic waste into useful things like clothing, school bags, car covers and shoes...
-
from Voice of America https://ift.tt/2JX5szY via IFTTT
-
Learn from your hosts, Anne and Jonathan the meaning of momentous. from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2a2yXS4 via IFTTT
-
An unpublished United Nations report says that North Korea sent materials that could be used in chemical weapons to Syria and missile techno...
-
South Korea’s government proposed on Monday to hold military talks with North Korea to reduce tensions between the two countries. The South ...
-
Tensions between North and South Korea have increased sharply since the North’s announcement that it tested a nuclear weapon for the fourt...
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق