Yangtze River Hits New Record For Human, Industrial Waste - 30.5 Billion Tons Dumped In 2006 - AFP

[hatrack]

A record 30.5 billion tonnes of industrial, farming and human waste were dumped last year into China's Yangtze River, the country's longest, state media reported. The quantity was twice as much as two decades ago and an increase of 900 million tonnes, or 3.1 percent, from the previous year, Xinhua news agency said late Tuesday.

The widespread dumping of industrial, agricultural and domestic waste has seriously polluted the Yangtze, a situation some ecologists warn will be worsened by the massive Three Gorges dam, which they say will create a "giant toilet bowl" of trapped sewage behind it.

The Asian Development Bank last month warned that water pollution in China, driven by rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, had reached "alarming" levels.

Xinhua, quoting a study by the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission, said 2006 was the first year sewage dumping had increased by less than five percent.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2007/071114031216.0n02lwtr.html

I'm sorry, you were saying something about a "green" Olympics?

On edit: Sorry, it was 30.5 billion tons, not million. Oops.

[XemaSab]

1. I'm going to go listen to the radio with gliderguider.

:(

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x121407

[Javaman]

2. It will be a...wait for it....

A GREEN ZONE!!! LOL :rofl:

Thank you thank you! I'll be here all week, don't forget to tip your waitress!

[Nihil]

3. 30.5 billion tonnes is a LOT of sh*t ...

> A record 30.5 billion tonnes of industrial, farming and human waste
> were dumped last year into China's Yangtze River ...

1.0 g/cm3 is accepted as the average density of human feces.

If the 30.5 BT was all human waste is would be a volume of
30.5 * (billion) * (tonnes->g) / (cm3 -> m3)
= 30.5 * 1000000000 * 1000000 / 1000000 m3
= 30.5 * 1000000000 m3
= 30.5 CUBIC KILOMETRES of shit ...

:wow:

(PS: I did read that it included "industrial" waste as well as human
and farming waste so the mound would be somewhat smaller than the
above due to the higher density of heavy metal pollution, etc., but
it still provides an interesting visual!)

[tom_paine]

4. Yaaaaay! It's a new record! If we humans try hard enough, next year will be ANOTHER record.

Could I be more proud? A record!