Damming the Three Gorges

A critique of a questionable hydroelectric project recently planned by the Chinese government to dam the Yangtze River. The original feasibility studies created by Western engineering consultants are scrutinized, showing such disturbing elements as the displacement of 1 million Chinese people.

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Recently, the Chinese government has decided, with a minimum of fanfare, to press ahead with one of the largest hydroelectric project ever built - a dam across the Yangtze river at the Three Gorges. The dam aims to generate 17,500 MW of electricity, will displace over 1 million people, and will create a lake over 450 miles long. This is a full and independent critique of the project. Using the Canadian Freedom of Information Act, the authors were able to obtain access to the feasibility studies by Western engineering consultants. They show how far short of an acceptable standard the advice given to the Chinese government was - in one instance, 500,000 people were deliberately left out of the account to minimize the apparent impact of the dam. So grave were the failings that charges of professional misconduct have subsequently been laid. The book presents all information in a non-technical manner.