Water conflicts 3.1 Flashcards
What is the main river in China?
Huang He (the yellow river).
What type of production needs to be reduced in China on its dry northern plains or aquifers?
China needs to reduce its food production, otherwise the yellow river will diminish to a “dire” level within the next 30 years.
Why was the Kaifeng Well Drilling company effected?
Strict regulations have meant that they can only make 2 wells a year and only drill in areas with severe water shortages.
Why have China reduced the levels of drilling?
The restrictions are set to slow down the rate of aquifer depletion.
Why was the Sanmenxia dam built in 1960’s and why was it not effective?
It was built to help chronic flooding, however instead it slowed the rivers current, increasing the amount of floods occurring.
Why is the Huang He river known as the yellow river?
The wind-blows silt into the river and sediment is picked up in its upper and middle course where the soil erodes easily giving the river a yellowy colour.
What did the residents of Nagao do to refrain from drinking the putrid river water?
They used long plastic tubes and connected it to a single well to gain water from China’s groundwater.
What percentage of water runoff from the yellow river is soaked up by agriculture?
80% but half of it is lost to leakages in pipes and ditches.
Why were canisters of silver iodide launched into the sky near Madoi?
They used this cloud seeding program to increase the rainfall near the rivers source.
What do environmentalists is leading to the death of the yellow river?
Greenhouse gases are believed to be contributing to the death of the Yellow River
Why does China not want to slow down its growth rates to reduce its pollution levels?
Economists warn China economists warn that a slowdown in China’s economic growth could lead to political instability.
In what year did China face the yellow rivers worst flood?
The worst flood ever in the history of the world occurred in August 1931, where the river flooded 33,976 square miles and killed four million people and left eighty million people homeless.
Why is the yellow river known as the river of sorrow in China?
The river is known as the river of sorrow, because it is one of the most dangerous and destructible rivers that has changed course 26 times and produced 1,500 floods that have killed millions of people.
