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Quick update

June 28, 2013 / / 2 Comments

Again, it’s time to apologize.  A lot has happened this month and I’ve neglected this blog even more than usual.  The news that might be of interest to you is that I’m back in the U.S. and will be based here for the next few years as I work towards a Ph.D.  But never fear, this blog is not yet doomed – I plan to maintain a research focus on wilderness protection in China, so I’m going to continue posting on topics in line with the original spirit of this blog.

I hope that comes as a relief to all 3 of you who still regularly visit.

Invasion of the apple snails

May 31, 2013 / / 0 Comments

If you’ve seen these pink globular clusters near lakes and ponds, then it’s already too late – you’ve been invaded by apple snails from South America.

This notorious species was introduced to China in 1981 and has since spread throughout the warmer parts of the country.  It’s called 福壽螺 in Chinese, and is believed by many to be poisonous if eaten.  According to multiple sources on the internet, this appears to be untrue, although it is often a carrier of a frightening parasitic nematode.

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Dongjiang Expedition Part 4: The perils of small hydropower

May 23, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Small hydropower, roughly defined as having 300 kilowatts to 30 megawatts of electricity generation capacity,  is often lauded as a low environmental impact solution for rural electrification.

In some cases, small hydropower may be useful and sustainable.  However, like large hydropower, its deployment must be planned carefully.  Small hydropower plants with reservoirs cause the same type of damage dealt by larger plants, including flooding of productive land, fragmentation of river ecosystems, and alteration of natural flows.

In-stream hydropower plants, which don’t require reservoirs, generate electricity by diverting water from the natural stream into sloped pipes that lead to turbines.  An important requirement for sustainable operation of in-stream hydropower plants is the maintenance of minimum ecological flow in the natural stream.

The over-deployment and poor planning of small hydropower has irreparably destroyed river ecosystems all over China, and Guangdong Province is no exception.

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