Three Gorges Dam

I have always been somewhat of a fan of the Three Gorges Dam project. Maybe not because it was the wisest thing to do, at least according to many scientists in the West who criticize it. But, the sheer audacity of the project and the will behind it has impressed me. Just moving all those people forcefully was a feat in itself. There are times when the US government could copy a page from that book (The book of a government doing something regardless of the people). Wait, they do do that kind of thing. Well, if only they weren't simply bastards and destroying the country.

Back to the big dam. The lake/reservoir is filling up with trash and waste because of a fairly dry year. There is not enough water for the river system to process the garbage, or something. Soon they will be raising the water level again and all the junk that is near the shore will also join the floating trash in one big cesspool :(. This is exactly what people had predicted would happen. This is planning at its best. Sometimes I am amazed how China manages to have so many people. It is a giant trainwreck.

Previously, maybe two weeks, there was a story about a town that had a couple hundred cases of lead poisoning in kids. Some, like 2 or so, we have permanent brain damage. This was all because a selfish factory near the down refused to follow proper procedures after having been warned numerous times. The plant has since been shut down. Elsewhere, polluting plants are pumping large amounts of SO2 into the air, causing acid rain. This is destroying the viablity, without the excessive use of fertilizers, of large tracts of farmland in China. In about 20 years, China will be importing food from elsewhere. Factory owners and most government officials are useless in China.

This is not to say that other countries, America, don't also suck. But, they suck in different ways. But, China probably has to be studied on a more local level. That is one of its main problems. Everything is designed to be guided by the central government. China would benefit from micro-planning at the local level. Also, more decentralization. When wrongs are perpetrated against communities, they have to petition the central government for reparations/justice. The distance involved is prohibitive. The government officials have no stake in the community becuase of regional divisions/loyalties. It just doesn't work. Damnit.