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Beijing to suck itself dry because of Olympics

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The Beijing Olympics are putting a strain on already-tight water supplies, says a new report by Canadian based Probe International.

The city’s two main reservoirs are also holding less than 10 percent of their original capacity, it said.

Statistics show that the per capita fresh water resources in Beijing is only 300 cubic meters, or one-eighth of the national average and one-30th of the world's average.

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This is largely due to the fact that Beijing is putting up many artificial lakes and gardens for the Olympics. Riding by the Olympic forest park this past winter, there was so much dust everywhere, getting in your eyes. They had trucks driving around putting water on the road, to lessen the dust, especially in front of the "Bird's Nest" so that people driving by could see that is looked nice. They planted a large amount of trees for this forest park, and in the winter I said to myself "How are these trees gonna grow? The dirt/soil looks so dry." Riding by the park this past week, the grass seems quite green and the trees look healthy. It seems as if water must have been poured day after day to get this place looking like that. As the Bird's Nest is now complete, from the fourth ring road you can see pristine ponds formed in front of the stadium, with cute little rowboats (that look more American, than Chinese) buoyed. (Puke.)

If I ride the train south from Beijing, through Hebei province, I see a place that is feeling the effects from water loss. I see farmers hacking away at dirt with no clear sign of any water in sight, just sights of rivers that are all dried up, except for maybe a trickling stream.
sustainablejohn

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