Global East Asia response paper

Kenneth Pomeranz, 2009

Steger chap. 6: The ecological dimension of globalization April 5 Thurs. lecture: Consumerism, over- population, and globalization � Chap. 6 Response paper due: Tues. April 17

10:00 PM Wed. April 18 Chap. 6 Recitation

Chap 6 readings April 10 Tues. lecture: Hydropower and the politics of managing water resources � Reading: Kenneth Pommeranz, “The Great Himalayan

Watershed: Water shortages, mega-projects, and environmental politics in China, India, and Southeast Asia,” japanfocus.org (2009)

April 12 Thurs. lecture: Depopulation and the environment � Reading: Peter Matanle, “Towards an Asia-Pacific

‘depopulation dividend’ in the 21st century: regional growth and shrinkage in Japan and New Zealand” japanfocus.org (2017)

Tues. April 17 extra credit opportunity 6:10-7:30 documentary film by dir. Steven Okazaki, White Light, Black Rain: the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki � Clicker will be used to take attendance at

beginning and end of film

Steger, Chap. 6 review Threshold to nowhere?

“…the contemporary phase of globalization has been the most environmentally destructive period in human history.” (p. 108)

Overpopulation + Consumerism Environmental degradation is not just a product of total population. � It is as much a function of per capita

consumption. � Example: U.S. is 6% of world’s population,

but consumes 30-40% of world’s resources.

Population Growth 7.6 billion humans translates to vastly

increased pressure on the planet’s ecosystems:

� Food (requires water) � Water � Timber (requires water) � Fibers (requires water)

Electronic devices OFF

Pomeranz: Himalayan Watershed Essay’s organization: � China’s water woes and the push to the Southwest � State-building and dam-building in the Himalayas � Implications for Tibet and Tibetans � The other side(s) of the mountains: Pakistan, India,

Nepal, Burma, Vietnam � Climate change, disappearing glaciers, and other

nightmares � Conclusion

Raritan watershed

Raritan watershed

Raritan River

Raritan Bay � Raritan Bay is located at the southern portion of New

York Bay between New York and New Jersey. � The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's

Staten Island, on the west by Perth Amboy, on the south by the Raritan Bayshore communities of Monmouth County, and on the east by Sandy Hook Bay.

� The bay is named after the Native American Raritan (tribe) of the Lenape nation.

Raritan Bay

Himalayan Watershed

Himalayan Mountain Range Product of the collision of the Indian subcontinent and the Eurasian landmass that began about 10 million years ago.

India, Nepal, Tibet, China

Himalayan ecosystem � Like the Amazon river basin, it is one of the

most biodiverse and fragile ecosystems on earth.

� Glaciers and annual snowfalls in this area feed rivers serving 47% of the world’s people.

� The unequalled heights from which those waters descend could provide staggering amounts of hydropower.

Chomolungma (Mt. Everest)

Nepal

Tibet

The Great Himalayan Watershed TOPICS � Water Shortages � Mega-Projects � Environmental Politics

AREAS—linked by geography/topography � China � India � Southeast Asia

“Rivalry” (related to “River”)

Comes from Latin term rivalis, “one who uses the same stream as another.” � Indicates that conf licts over water usage are

ancient, found in every era and in every region.

Overview of questions about water 1. Who gets to use water? (power, politics) 2. What are the technological limits to using

water? (technology, economics) 3. What are the environmental limits to using

water? (ecology) 4. How should water be used fairly? (ethics)

China’s water woes

China’s (and India’s) economic and social achievements –both during their “planned” (socialist) and “market” (capitalist) phases – have depended on unsustainable rates of groundwater extraction.

China’s water woes Current amount of water withdrawal in North & Northwest China is not sustainable, relying on deep wells to extract groundwater. � Agriculture is the biggest user (65%) of

water—for irrigation. Water is used efficiently in urban areas. � Savings in water must come from rural

usage.

How to define wasteful vs. efficient? 1. Center-pivot irrigation 2. Drip irrigation (micro-irrigation) 3. Uncovered ditch irrigation

Center pivot irrigation

Drip irrigation

Ditch irrigation

How to define wasteful vs. efficient use? � Is center-pivot irrigation wasteful?

� Evaporation replenishes moisture in atmosphere � Is drip irrigation (micro-irrigation) efficient?

� Works efficiently with water stored aboveground, but does not replenish groundwater or atmospheric moisture and depletes long-term aquifer

� Is uncovered ditch irrigation wasteful? � Leaks replenish groundwater, evaporation replenishes

moisture in atmosphere

Solutions to China’s water woes � Technological solutions (listed by cost):

� $ Implement low-tech methods to reduce water loss (fix leaky pipes, cover /line irrigation ditches)

� $$ Implement high-tech irrigation systems to use water more efficiently

� $$$ Divert water in South & Southwest (Lower Yangzi, Three Gorges, Tibet) à to North & Northeast (Shandong, Beijing, Manchuria)

� [$$$$ Desalinization plants to turn ocean water into fresh water]

Expensive solution SNWTP—South-North Water Transfer Project � East Route (completed) ER-SNWTP � Middle Route (completed) MR-SNWTP � West Route (delayed) WR-SNWTP

The other side of the mountain Many people and governments further downstream use rivers that start in the Himalayas, and are worried how Chinese initiatives will affect their current or future water usage. � Tibetan and West China rivers: (contested rivers √)

� Tsangbo (Yalong Zangbo) √ � Salween (Nu) √ � Mekong √ � Yangzi (Yangtze) � Yellow (Huanghe)

China’s geographical advantage

The rivers start on China’s side of the border, and their claims upstream cannot be challenged downstream.

China’s economic advantage Of all the countries involved, only China can finance any project they choose without borrowing from international lenders. � AIIB Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank ($100 billion

capitalized) � World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and big private

banks are not ardent environmentalists and have refused to fund controversial projects

China’s technological advantage

China has a technically sophisticated dam- building industry, due to the experience of building the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River

Itaipu dam Brazil-Paraguay

Tsangbo River in Tibet Currently f lows south to Assam, to help form the Brahmaputra, which joins the Ganges to form the world’s largest river delta, supplying water for 300 million people. � China intends to build a dam and change

the direction of f low beyond the dam, so that it will feed into the SouthàNorth diversion project.

Tsangbo-Brahmaputra River

Yarlung Tsangpo River https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbcFov1EvnY 1.35

Salween (Nu) River Flows through Yunnan, Burma (Myanmar), and forms the Burmese-Thai border, one of the few large, free- f lowing rivers left in Asia.

� Both Burma and China are planning to build hydroelectric dams; power generated in Burma will be sold to Thailand, Vietnam, and China.

� Building dams facilitates the Burmese government’s control over ethnic minority populations.

� The Salween watershed serves only 6-7 million people.

Salween: River of Ethnic Minorities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf9IkxGtnIk (10.53)

Mekong River

The Mekong watershed serves around 70 million people in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. � China has completed three hydroelectric

dams on the Upper Mekong, with plans for 8-15 more.

The Mekong: A River Rising https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng- interactive/2015/nov/26/the-mekong-river-stories-from- the-heart-of-the-climate-crisis-interactive

Pomeranz implies the need for global governance “No international agreements exist for sharing the waters of those rivers that cross borders, or even sharing data about them.”