China awakens to its devastated environment: "The CCP is now embarking on major dam projects whose purpose is simply to trap sediment. The Xiaolangdi Dam across the Yellow River, with a $1 billion World Bank loan, is one example. Another is the 220-meter-high Xiluodu Dam across the Golden Sands River. It is designed to cut by a third the silt that will otherwise accumulate in the Three Gorges Dam reservoir... Within 20 years, the Xiaolangdi Dam, for which nearly 400,000 people had to be moved, will probably be useless, as the reservoir behind it will have silted up entirely. None of the dams built in the Mao era along the Huai River have lasted more than 20 years before needing extensive and costly renovation. The Three Gorges Dam, which is supposed to have a 70-year life, is not likely to turn out to be any different."

China awakens to its devastated environment: "The CCP is now embarking on major dam projects whose purpose is simply to trap sediment. The Xiaolangdi Dam across the Yellow River, with a $1 billion World Bank loan, is one example. Another is the 220-meter-high Xiluodu Dam across the Golden Sands River. It is designed to cut by a third the silt that will otherwise accumulate in the Three Gorges Dam reservoir... Within 20 years, the Xiaolangdi Dam, for which nearly 400,000 people had to be moved, will probably be useless, as the reservoir behind it will have silted up entirely. None of the dams built in the Mao era along the Huai River have lasted more than 20 years before needing extensive and costly renovation. The Three Gorges Dam, which is supposed to have a 70-year life, is not likely to turn out to be any different."